Three members of the Clive archeology expedition, along with a number of fellahin excavators, were ambushed and murdered by marauding Bedouin tribesmen near Giza on Saturday.  The dead included Martin Winfield (London), Johannes Sprech (Leipzig, Germany), and James Gardner (Shrewsbury).  According to Cairo Police, the bodies had been robbed of valuables and then dumped into the Nile, from which they were later recovered by natives.

The Clive Expedition had been in Egypt since November of last year, excavating near Giza and Memphis.  The expedition had been plagued by misfortune from the start.  Its one major archeological find, the intact sarcophagus of a previously unknown queen from the 11th Dynasty, wa stolen by tomb robbers before it could be properly examined.  One former member of the expedition, Dutch archeologist Jan Vanheuvelen, was murdered in Cairo last month.

The two surviving expedition members, Dr. Henry Clive (Durham) and Mrs. Agatha Broadmoor (Norwich) had been visiting Cairo at the time of the massacre.  Dr. Clive described the slain men as "intrepid antiquarians and formidable scholars, whose loss will certainly be felt in the world of archeology."

According to Police Inspector Curwen, the rampaging Bedouins were armed with the most lethal modern firearms, including shotguns and automatic pistols.  It is speculated that the Bedouins obtained these weapons from renegade arms merchants operating from Italian Cyrenaica.

In Cairo, British High Commisioner Sir Reginald Atwater denounced the murders as senselesss and barbaric and vowed that the appropriate response would be made.

A memorial service for the three slain men is scheduled for Sunday, 10 am, at All Saints' Church.  Contributions should be sent to the Penhew Foundation, c/o British Embassy.
 

                                                                                                                                                        - CAIRO BULLETIN, Apr 13, 1925