During the first ten minutes he confined himself to setting the scene-largely a description of the dig and its position on the island of Meganisi facing Levkas. He also outlined the object of the expedition. No mention was made of Van der Voort, either then or later. The geophysical nature of the site he described as Mesozoic limestone with a volcanic overlay. He then took us down through the dig, layer by layer, to demonstrate that, under the rock overhang at any rate, water had not disturbed the orderly levels of man's occupation of the site. At about 10.30 he reached the major discovery-the skulls.
I should say at this point that his presentation of the facts was extraordinarily effective, that flat North Country accent of his giving it a down-to-earth quality that almost
lulled one into accepting without query everything he said. The skulls had been found at a depth of about 12 feet below the present surface level of the shelter in association with obsidian weapons and animal bones. He showed us blow-ups of pictures he had taken of some of the weapons and I think you would have agreed that they could be categorized as belonging to a Levalloiso-Mousterian culture, though he used only the more general term Mous-terian. He also showed us blow-ups of other artefacts that were undoubtedly of a later period, animal bones, too, all of them demonstrably Magdalenian. Yet the three skulls, both types of artefacts and the animal bones had all been found at the same level. What he was saying, in fact, was that a species of advanced Cro-Magnon type man had occupied the cave-shelter contemporaneously with the more primitive Neanderthal type Mousterian man.
The last quarter of an hour was devoted entirely to the skulls, particularly the two with the brain cases broken open. Both these skulls were of the earlier, more ape-like Mousterian species of man, whilst the third was unquestionably of the much more highly developed Cro-Magnon type. The fact that they were found at the same level, together with artefacts of both species, is undoubtedly a serious blow to all those who subscribed to the view that Homo sapiens sapiens, as exemplified by Cro-Magnon man, evolved from Mousterian man with the evolutionary impetus of the Wiirm glaciation. But Holroyd claimed much more than that. Pointing to the holes in the two Mousterian skulls, he said, "The theory that Mousterian man died out naturally because he could not compete against the new post-glacial species of man cannot now be supported. Here in my hands I hold the evidence-this poor, backward, ape-like creature was murdered. And not because he was hostile to the new species. He was murdered because Cro-Magnon man-hunter, artist, our own Homo sapiens sapiens in embryo-was, like so many of our early ancestors, a cannibal. He ate the flesh of the earlier species he killed and he drove in the cranium with an obsidian hand-axe to get at the brain. And the marks of fire on these fragments of skull suggest that he cooked the head over a fire before scooping out the most delicate part of his meal." And on this he sat down.
Pretty sensational stuff! The mystery of the decline of Mousterian man at the emergence of a true horn sap Cro-Magnon species solved and in a way that branded Cro-Magnon man as a murderer and a cannibal. There were questions, of course, but Holroyd dealt with them all most efficiently and convincingly. I left it until the very end to put your query. It took him by surprise and for a moment he seemed at a loss. There was a long silence and I could sense the reaction of the hall to the mention of Van der Voort's name. There was hardly a person there who did not remember that extraordinary hoax.
Finally, Holroyd found his voice. He admitted that Dr. Van der Voort had been associated with the expedition in its early stages and that he had done some preliminary work in Greece the previous year. "I can assure you, however," he added, "that Dr. Van der Voort had nothing whatsoever to do with this discovery. Indeed, at the time I unearthed the skulls he was ill and had severed all connection with the expedition."
I then asked him whether it was true that his examination of the site had been due to information given him by Dr. Van der Voort. He replied, "No, sir. The information which led us to this particular site came from another source entirely-a Greek source."
I was reluctant to call him a liar in public, but I have requested that the Committee meet briefly before tomorrow's session when I will lay your information before them.
May 26
The Organizing Committee were greatly disturbed by the contents of your letter, which I read out to them at the meeting this morning. They felt that Holroyd's discovery, and the conclusions he had drawn from them, were of such vital significance that the questions raised in your letter must be investigated before Congress could publicly credit Holroyd with the discovery by publishing his paper in the form in which it was read. I could not of course substantiate the claims you made on Van der Voort's behalf, but inevitably a parallel was drawn with the case of Marais, also a South African. Moreover, as Grauers pointed out, the suggestion that Van der Voort was involved made it doubly important that Congress ascertain with absolute certainty that the skulls are what they purport to be before giving this discovery the stamp of their approval by publication of the paper.
In the end, it was decided to set up an investigating committee to look into the whole question and to report back as soon as possible; Grauers was appointed chairman and he has already requested Holroyd to submit all his evidence for examination. If I know Grauers, you can rest assured that he will be most Swedishly thorough, and also impartial. Naturally, he requires your personal attendance before the Committee. Can you fly back at once? It is very urgent, since Holroyd's reputation is at stake and Grauers insists that he be given the opportunity of cross-examining you on the information and charges made in your letter. We are trying to keep this "within the family" at this stage, so please do not discuss it with anyone until you have appeared before the committee.
I am sorry to break your holiday in this way, but I am sure you will appreciate the necessity.
Yours ever,
STEFAN
We saw Dr. Gilmore off on an Olympic Airways flight that afternoon, and in the evening, the three of us alone in the saloon after an excellent meal ashore, I took the Barretts into my confidence and explained to them what Borg's cable really meant. To my surprise, Florrie accepted it as though smug-
gling were an everyday occurrence. Perhaps that was her Cypriot blood. It was Bert who was shocked. "What did you expect, for heaven's sake," she said. "New engines and early-in-the-season charters don't come without strings attached. I knew all along it was something like this." The odd thing was that she seemed actually excited at the prospect. Bert, more practical, wanted to know what would happen if a Turkish gun-boat caught us at the moment of transfer.
Fortunately, no Turkish gun-boat appeared. The night of June 10 was dark and within half an hour of our arriving on station, outside the little cove to the south of the straits where St. Paul had once landed, a small boat arrived alongside. There were twenty-three packages, all quite small, in plastic bags and heavily padded. The transfer took less than ten minutes. By dawn we ^vere past Samos, heading west along the rocky coast of Ikaria under full sail, the wind strong from the south-a sirocco.
The simplicity of the whole operation left us slightly deflated. Bert seemed the least affected, though I noticed he chose this moment to strip down the water circulation pump, which was worn and showing loss of pressure. Florrie was nearer to my own mood-a need to re-create artificially the excitement that was suddenly lacking. We started drinking shortly after eleven and by lunchtime we were neither of us very sober. It was hot in the wheelhouse even with both doors open and for the first time she was wearing a bikini, her olive-brown flesh plump and smooth. I was stripped to the waist and I felt the warmth of her body against mine as she peered over my shoulder at the chart. "How many miles to Pantel-leria?"