Include inside the book, on seperate sheets of paper and in envelopes that look “period”, two letters from the sister of the expedition leader to him. She is Una Persson, an archeologist as well, and in her second letter she mentions an interesting artifact with strange wordings on it - which have a crucial key to what is going on in the desert
PS - I wrote this pretty quickly here, so please excuse if it is poor quality. You can at least get some ideas from it.
Una
Harrison, Arkansas, United States
September 21, 191_
Dearest William,
Well, I will say this about the Ozark Mountains, as the locals refer to them - one might as well be in darkest Africa, so remote and foreboding are the forested slopes. The nearly uncivilized natives, the strange flora and fauna, the heat and humidity which have both continued on even into the beginning of Autumn.
Although I have taken great pains to choose a proper campsite, I still feel an overwhelming sense of unease and discomfort. My sleep continues to be disturbed - not by the Whippoorwills, although it took months to become accustomed to their incessant keening. No, something else disturbs my sleep, as if there is something tickling the edge of my mind. I must find some way to sleep without taking any more laudanum - I fear it is starting to affect my judgement.
I am certain that it is either the poor fare here or something in the water which has given rise to my baffling sickness. And of all things, this morning while washing up in Cecil Creek - I found that I had lost several large braids of hair! To think - your sister Una, losing her hair like some old maid at the age of 32! Well, at least no one will notice under this ridiculous hat - please say you received the Kodak properly!
I am taking my turn in the cave in an hour or so, to try and find out if more of the artifacts were carried deeper into it. Professor Byers has not yet written to tell me if he can identify the three artifacts I sent him - but then again, I don’t know if anyone contemporary could do so very easily, so perhaps he had to go wake up old Dr. Myron and see if he had any clues. I wish I had waited a couple weeks before sending them on - the one large “octopoid venus” figure I described last letter would have made a perfect complement to the others.
Well, Hanson is gearing up, so I must conclude. Billy will take this into town to be posted later today when he buys groceries. I really envy you being in the desert, Dear Brother. It is so wet and damp here I feel as if I am writing this from the bottom of an ocean!
Your Sister,
Una Persson
Harrison, Arkansas, United States
September 23, 191_
Dearest William,
I know this letter follows hot on the heels of the last one - but I must tell you of what I have found! I am so excited I can barely grip the pencil in my trembling fingers, but like Father always told us, I will soldier on.
I was marking out some zones for digging in an undisturbed area of the funerary pit in the cave, when my stylus hit something metallic. I brushed away dirt several centuries (millennia?) old from the object, and found a medallion of silver metal! I tell you William, my heart was in my mouth as I pondered what this could mean. I cleaned it in a drip-stone pool nearby, and with a piece of chamois brought forth an engraving on both sides of the medallion.
Without even considering what is engraved upon it, the medallion is the most exciting discovery I have ever made. It was found in earth that could be as old as 3000-6000 years, but is a perfect circular medallion of uniform thickness, sporting even a milled edge! This sort of craftsmanship is unheard of in Western Europe or Asia Minor at this era - but to find it in this godforsaken place, of all places! It appears to be of platinum, as it is as heavy as gold - refined platinum at that age? That in itself is worthy of world-wide notice!
And the symbols on it! I shall describe:
Obverse (at least I am guessing this is the obverse, don’t query me, but it just feels like the obverse) - an engraving of a large male figure, very Olympian looking and striking (reminiscent of Fyodor’s sculpture of Zeus in Amsterdam). In every way a complete and sharp male figure, except for the head - it is another octopoid representation, with 8 tentacles radiating from a solitary central eye, protruding from the neck of the figure. Under his left arm, he has a bundle of what appear to be rods or straight sticks, and his right hand is raised to the sky, pointing towards a constellation arrangement that is not one known on this Earth. Yes, I know what you are asking right now Dear Brother, and I shall answer - it is the same, exact constellation inscribed on the Ugric artifact Father brought back from Iceland! That same artifact that set us both on our respective paths - one to the dry deserts of Africa, and one to the caves of Arkansas.
Reverse - This is somewhat uneventful after the revelations on the obverse, but it is certainly worthy of description. It appears to be a depiction of a ziggurat in the center of a city. The buildings of the city are very small in comparison, and the impression one receives is the ziggurat is intended to be of enormous size. Both the ziggurat and the city appear to be located on a plain, surrounded by large mountains. There is an inscription around the edge of the reverse, and I will trace it here:
(Tracings)
In summary William, this may be the greatest find of my entire career, and may finally elevate me in the ranks of archeology to a point where men in the field might finally appreciate that a woman can also be capable of great discoveries and scientific work. I really don’t know how I will sleep tonight, as I am the rest of the camp are exuberant over this discovery. I suppose I will manage, since last night it was impossible to sleep at all due to the noise of what sounded like several large animals crashing through the woods. Harker took watch all night with his trusty Army .303, but even with his guardianship I was still too unnerved to sleep more than a few winks. Hanson thinks it’s deer, or elk, or maybe a black bear, but Harker just shakes his head and gets…strange. I think he’s a little worried, which I find very difficult to believe given what he’s been through.
Well, coffee is on, and I must go join the others, then compose another letter to Byers to see if he can secure more funding. I’m quite certain once he hears about my discovery today, money will be no object! It’s also time for my medicine - my hair loss is continuing, which has me very concerned, and this morning I actually loosened a tooth on Billy’s johnnycakes (much to the amusement of the camp)! Those events, combined with the rash, lead to believe I may have contracted some sort of tick fever. It would not be surprising, as the ticks are endemic here. One thing you don’t have to contend with in the desert!
Your Sister,
Una Persson
Anyways, I think a letter like this stuffed in the pages of the book would look very realistic and contemporary. Comments?
