The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1

Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

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This is not a systematic treatise, but a series of nine papers,
all of which, except the last, have been already published. But
we are grateful to Dr. Brunn and to his publishers for having
collected these articles, which were scattered in various
periodicals and written at wide intervals of time. In their
present form they are instructive as revealing to us Dr.
Brunn's general habits of mind in approaching his subject, as
well as more useful and better adapted to a wide circle of
readers. The first of these articles on the Farnese Hera
appeared in the _Bullettino dell' Instituto_, in 1846, and is
described as the "first attempt at the analytical consideration
of the ideal of a Greek God," while the entire series may be
taken as evidence that "the intellectual understanding of ideal
artistic productions can be reached only on the basis of a
thorough analysis of form." For his analysis of sculptural
form, and his keen intuitions, Dr. Brunn has long been held in
high esteem, and it is interesting to learn what we can of his
methods. In considering the Hera head he first examined the
original, afterwards a cast of it for many hours, then compared
these impressions with observations made upon a human scull. In
doing this he brings the work of art to nature, so as to
substantiate or correct his impressions. We see him following
the same method in the articles upon the Medusa and upon
Asklepios. But this reference to nature is for the most part
casual and incidental. It is not to nature but to literature
that he resorts for help. He is not content to trust himself
entirely to the method enunciated in the preface. He does not
rest satisfied with the ideals as he reads them in the
sculptured faces. He rather assumes that these ideals were
fixed before they were expressed in marble. He looks at the
heads of Hera and Zeus through "ox-eyed" and "dark-browed"
glasses. He accepts the Divine ideal from the pages of Homer,
rather than from the marble form, whenever it is possible. His
mind is still imbued with doctrines concerning the "eternity of
ideas" and "inward necessity," which he must have reached in
some other way than by the analysis of external forms.

But while we may regard the method as not consistently applied,
we have no fault to find with the method and no sentiment but
that of admiration for the fine powers of observation displayed
in these articles. There seems to be nothing in the form of the
eye that escapes his attention. The slightest variations in the
form of the lids, in the positions of the eyeball, he notices
Page 90 and assumes that they were made the vehicles of expression.
Similarly the forehead, the mouth, the chin, the hair are most
attentively studied as vehicles of expression. Surely few, even
trained archæologists, can read these pages without having
their powers of observation quickened. By far the greater
portion of workers in the field of Greek sculpture are
concerned at the present time with the morphology of art for
the sake of its history. The analysis of forms is utilized to
ascertain an historical series, to discover schools, to
establish dates. Here we find scarcely a mention of schools or
artists, no reference to history and not a date. The analysis
of form leads to the interpretation of monuments and the
establishment of ideals. It is the physiology, not the history
of art. The publishers, who are gaining a world-wide reputation
for their photo process reproductions, have added to this book
a series of fine phototype plates.

A.M.

Page 91

ARCHÆOLOGICAL NEWS.

SUMMARY OF RECENT DISCOVERIES AND INVESTIGATIONS.

AFRICA.

EGYPT.

TEXTS OF THE PYRAMIDS.--_Biblia_ for November, 1892, contains
an article by Dr. Brugsch on "The Texts of the Pyramids." It
mentions the opening of one of the smaller pyramids of the
Sakkarah group in 1880 by Mariette Pasha and the discovery of a
number of hieroglyphic inscriptions beautifully chiseled into
the walls of the inner aisles and chamber, which gave the name
of the maker of the pyramid as Pepi, and fixed its date at the
VI Dynasty or about 3,000 B.C. Prof. Brugsch then gives an
account of his own work at the request of Mariette upon a
second pyramid opened by Mariette's men at Sakkarah, where the
walls of the chamber were covered with hieroglyphic
inscriptions. A granite coffin, also, was found adorned with
hieroglyphics repeating in different places the name of the
King. The inscriptions on the walls had been destroyed in a
number of places by treasure hunters.

Maspero, Mariette's successor, opened a number of pyramids of
the same group and found a great quantity of inscriptions. As a
result, new texts were discovered in a number of pyramids of
which three belonged to the royal houses of the V and VI
Dynasties. Maspero then published a copy of all these
inscriptions together with their translation as far as this was
possible.

These discoveries establish the important point in the study of
the language, that its "iconographic phrase" dates from the
most ancient times and goes back even to Menes the first king.
The grammar, vocabulary and the construction of words and
sentences betray the awkward stiffness of a language in its
first literary beginnings, but it is shown in all its youthful
strength and pregnance.

A reciprocal comparison of all the texts found establishes the
fact that they belong to a collection of texts known as "the
Book." This "book" contained all the formulas and conjurations
Page 92 used after death, is a guide for the deceased in the unknown
future, and a book of charms, in which guise the Egyptian faith
made its appearance in the most ancient period of culture,
although containing nothing of the philosophy or history of the
ancient Egyptians, it gives us much interesting information
relating to mythology, geography, astronomy, botany and
zoology.

For the ancient Egyptians believed that their earthly
districts, cities and temples had heavenly counterparts of the
same name; in fact, the whole geography of this world was
duplicated in the world to come. The celestial inhabitants
consist of the immortal company of the "shining" with the solar
god at their head. Each constellation is designated as the
abode of the soul of one god benificent or maleficent. In his
wanderings the soul of man came in contact with these abodes of
the evil gods and the book which covered the walls of his
mortuary chamber provided charms which made him proof against
harm.

The texts of the pyramids promise to the departed the enjoyment
of a new life which he continues to live in the earth, in the
body, in heaven, in the spirit. The soul had power to reunite
itself to the body at will. We find in the texts mention of
Egyptian political institutions at the remotest period, the
existence of a high type of civilization. Agriculture was
highly developed. All the domestic animals, with the exception
of the horse and camel, are introduced, the arts of cooking, of
dressing and of personal adornment, all find mention.

The texts of the pyramids then, though they fail to give us any
information with regard to the life or history of the kings
whose chambers they adorned have still much significance for
the universal history of civilization.

THE MARRIAGE OF AMENOPHIS IV.--The Amarna tablets show that
Amenophis married other Babylonian princesses besides Thi his
first wife who bore the title of "Royal mother, Royal wife, and
Queen of Egypt." A large tablet on exhibition at the British
Museum with two others in the museum at Berlin and one at Gizeh
gives a very entertaining correspondence between Amenophis and
Kallima-Sin, king of Chaldea and brother of one of Amenophis'
wives and father of two others. The tablet in the British
Museum is relative to the alliance with Lukhaite the youngest
daughter of the Chaldean king.

Kallima-Sin is reluctant to give his daughter to the Pharaoh
and advances various reasons for his indisposition while
Amenophis smoothly explains away the various impediments.

Matters take a new turn in the Berlin letter where we find the
Babylonian requesting a wife of the Egyptian monarch, the
request is curtly refused, whereupon Kallima-Sin replies,
Page 93 "Inasmuch as thou hast not sent me a wife, I will do in like
manner unto thee and hinder any lady from going from Babylon to
Egypt." Another letter however shows that Kallima-Sin finally
consented on condition of large emolument to send Lukhaite to
Egypt, and this very mercenary and diplomatic alliance was
finally made.--_Biblia_, V, pp. 108, 109.

THE DATE OF THE FOURTH EGYPTIAN DYNASTY.--Mr. Petrie's
statement in _Medum_ as to the passage-angle of Senefru's
pyramid completes a chain of astronomical evidence proving the
commencement of the IV Dynasty to have been very approximately
3700 B.C.

The entrance passage of the Medum pyramid has a polar distance
(allowing for the azimuth error of the passage) of about 45,
and, if intended for observation of a circumpolar star, fixes
the date of the structure within not very wide limits. Between
4900 and 2900 B.C. no naked eye star was within this distance
of the pole, except the sixth magnitude star 126 Piazzi (XIII)
which was so situate about 3820 to 3620 B.C., its minimum
distance being about 36'. Allowing an uncertainty of a few
minutes of arc, a date fifty years on either side of these
extremes would satisfy the requirements of the case.

The passage-angle of the Great Pyramid is 3° 30' below the pole
(3° 34' in the built portion, the latest). The Second Pyramid
passage has also an angle of about 3° 31' polar distance
(Smyth's measures--Perring and Vyse, whose angle measures are
not accurate, give 4° 5'). Finally the northern "trial-passage"
east of the Great Pyramid has the polar distance 3° 22' + or -
8'. Now at the date 3650 B.C. the star 217 Piazzi (somewhat
brighter than that last named) was at a distance of 3° 29' from
the pole, increasing to 3° 34' by 3630 B.C.

East of the Great Pyramid there are certain straight trenches
(one at the N.E. corner) running respectively 13° 6', 24° 22',
and 75° 58' east of North and west of South. At about the date
named these trenches pointed very nearly to Canopus at setting
and to Arcturus and Altair at rising, the average error of
azimuth being less than a degree.

But even these differences of half a degree or so are accounted
for. Refraction at the horizon amounts to about 35' of arc; if
we assume that the Egyptian (?) astronomers took it roundly at
30', and that they intended to observe the stars on the true
and not the apparent horizon, we find the azimuths would have
been (3645 B.C.):--

Canopus 13° 3' (W. of S.), Trench 13° 6'
Arcturus 24° 23' (E. of N.), " 24° 22'
Altair 76° 0' ( " ), " 75° 58'

These figures speak for themselves. The dates 3645 B.C. for the
trenches and external works, and 3630 B.C. for the completion
Page 94 of the entrance passage, with an interval of fifteen years,
accord with the probabilities of the case. It should be
remembered that they are deduced quite independently.

The net result is that the three reigns of Senefru, Khuffu, and
Kaffra may be definitely assigned to the century 3700-3600
B.C.--G.F. HARDY, in _Academy_, Oct. 29.

THE PETRIE PAPYRI.--A paper was read by Prof. Mahaffy at the
Oriental Congress upon "The Gain to Egyptology from the Petrie
Papyri."--The first part of the papyri placed in his hands by
Mr. Flinders Petrie consisted of classical documents which had
already been printed by the Royal Irish Academy in the
Cunningham Memoirs. Of these a large volume had appeared, which
was exciting vehement controversy in Germany. But in addition
to these there was a great mass of private papers which had not
yet been printed, but which had been deciphered partly by Prof.
Sayce and partly by himself. These papers were in two
languages-Greek and demotic, or the popular language of the
Egyptians. These were in part hieroglyphs done into cursive. Of
these demotic fragments a large quantity had been sent to the
British Museum. The Greek papyri still remain in his own hands.
Strange to say, only one of these texts is bilingual. These
interesting documents might be divided into--(1) legal
agreements, of which some were contracts, others receipts,
others again taxing agreements; (2) correspondence, partly of a
public and partly of a private character. In the former were
official reports, petitions, complaints. The private
correspondence was especially interesting in showing the
condition of society at that date. A large number of
Macedonians and Greeks were settled in the Fayum under the
second Ptolemy, about 270 B.C. In addition there was a large
number of prisoners from Asia, who must have been brought into
Egypt after the great campaign of the third Ptolemy, about 246
B.C. This mixed body were the recipients of large grants of
land in the Fayum. It was interesting to find that many of
these grants were as large as 100 acres, and the occupiers are
thus called [Greek: ecatontaronroi]. The farms were divided into
three classes of land. First, there was what was called the
Royal land, probably fruitful land was meant; the second class
was called [Greek: abrochos], or land still in need of
irrigation; and the third [Greek: aphoros], or land which would
bear nothing. This latter was also called [Greek: almuris], or
the salt marsh, which was still common in Egypt. These
recipients or allottees of land were called by a name familiar
to all readers of Greek history--[Greek clerouchoi]. Prof.
Mahaffy had found no native landowner mentioned in the papyri.
Page 95 But in many cases the natives had an interest in the crops on
something like a _metayer_ system. Among the crops grown were
the vine, olives, wheat, barley, rye. There was evidence in the
legal papers that alienation of these farms was not allowed.
Among the contracts are many between Greeks and natives. The
principal officers of the Nome were the Strategos, the
Oeconomos, and the [Greek: epimeletes], or overseer. The
commissioner of works had charge of drainage and irrigation
works. It was amusing to find that two currencies were
prevalent at that period, silver and copper. This discovery
disposed of the current theory that the copper currency only
came in under the late Ptolemies. The phrases for the rate of
exchange had long been known--[Greek: chalcos ou allage], but he
had now got hold of a later term, [Greek: isonomos] which might
be translated 'at par.' These documents were also valuable, as
being transcriptions from Egyptian into Greek, with respect to
our knowledge of the Egyptian language. As the Egyptians did not
write down their vowels, the vocalisation of the language was
hardly yet known. But results of much importance were
gained--first, of a palaeographical, and, secondly, of a
linguistic character. We now know exactly how they wrote in the
third century B.C., and we have also learnt what was the Greek
used by the respectable classes of that epoch. The Greek was
far purer and better than that of the Septuagint would lead us
to expect. There was still a large number of papers to be
deciphered, and a large addition to our knowledge might be
expected.--_Academy_, Sept. 24.

A GREEK PAPYRUS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.--At the Orientalist
Congress in London a most interesting document was submitted by
the Rev. Professor Hechler. It is a papyrus manuscript
discovered a few months ago in Egypt, and is supposed by some
authorities to be the oldest copy extant of portions of the Old
Testament books of Zachariah and Malachi. These pages of
papyrus when intact were about ten inches high and seven inches
wide, each containing 28 lines of writing, both sides of the
sheet being used. The complete line contains from fourteen to
seventeen letters. The sheets are bound together in the form of
a book in a primitive though careful manner with a cord and
strips of old parchment. The Greek is written without intervals
between the words. The papyrus is in fair preservation, and is
believed to date from the third or fourth century. It thus
ranks in age with the oldest Greek manuscripts of the
Septuagint version of the Old Testament in London, Rome and St.
Petersburg. The differences in this papyrus tend to the
conclusion that it was copied from some excellent original of
the Septuagint, which was first translated about the year 280
B.C. The first summary examination has shown that it has
several new readings which surpass some of the other Septuagint
Page 96 texts in clearness of expression and simplicity of grammar. It
would also appear that it was copied from another Septuagint
Bible and was not written, as was frequently the case, from
dictation. A second scribe has occasionally corrected some
mistakes of orthography made by the original copyist. These are
still to be distinguished by the different color of the ink.

Professor Hechler said it was sincerely to be hoped that this
papyrus of the Bible, probably the oldest now known to exist,
would soon be published in fac-simile.

THE DATE OF THE AEGEAN POTTERY.--Quite a discussion has been
carried on between Mr. Flinders Petrie and Mr. Cecil Torr on
the subject of the period of the Aegean pottery in Egypt which
Mr. Torr regards as having been assigned to too early a date by
Mr. Petrie. The recent discovery of such fragments in the ruins
of the palace of Khuenaten at Tell-el-Amarna, which existed for
little over half a century in the xiv century B.C., would
appear to prove beyond doubt the correctness of Mr. Petrie's
position.--See _Classical Review_ for March; Academy, May 14
and 21, etc.

A PROFESSORSHIP OF EGYPTOLOGY.--Miss A.B. Edwards has left
almost the whole of her property to found a professorship of
Egyptology, under certain conditions, at University College,
London, The value of the chair will amount to about $2,000 a
year. Mr. W.M. Flinders Petrie has been appointed to this
chair, and no better selection could have been made.

EXCAVATIONS BY DR. BRUGSCH, COUNT D'HULST AND M. NAVILLE.--Dr.
H. Brugsch has been excavating during the past spring in the
Fayoum. At Hawara he has discovered a considerable number of
painted portraits. At Illahun he opened a tomb of the eleventh
dynasty, which had not been entered since the mummy was
originally deposited in it. Unfortunately the roof fell in
before it could be properly cleared out. At Shenhour he came
across the remains of a small temple. Since leaving the Fayoum
he has been working on the site of Sais.

Count d'Hulst has been excavating at Behbet, near Mansourah, on
behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund. The ruined temple there
is Ptolemaic, but the cartouche of Ramses II has been found in
the course of the excavations.

Mr. Naville has returned to Europe. His excavations at Jmei
el-Amdîd, the supposed site of Mendes, have been unfruitful,
and he has fared no better at Tel el-Baghliyeh.--_Athenaeum_
May 16.

Page 97
EXCAVATIONS BY LIEUT. LYONS AT WADY HALFAH, ABUSIR,
MATUGAH.--Lieut. H.G. Lyons has been continuing exploration at
_Wady Halfah_. He has cleared out the sand from one of the
temples, and found there eleven slabs with figures of a king
making offerings to the god Horus of Behen or Wady Halfah in a
chamber in front of the Hall of Columns. The names in the
cartouches have been erased, and it is, therefore, impossible
to identify the king. A second temple, with sandstone pillars
and mud brick walls, is inscribed in many places with the name
of Thothmes IV. This building had been flooded and filled to a
depth of 2 ft. with fine sand. The third temple of Wady Halfah
was completely surrounded by a line of fortifications, the
flanks of which rest on the river, but of these works only the
foundation remains. The discovery of them is, however,
decidedly important, for in them we must see beyond doubt the
great frontier fortress which marked the limit of the rule of
Egypt on the south.

About five miles beyond the rock of _Abusir_, Lieut. Lyons has
excavated the large space, about two hundred yards square,
which is mentioned in Burckhard's 'Travels in Nubia,' and upon
which stand the ruined walls of what has been variously
described as a Roman fort or a monastery. He has come to the
conclusion that the building is undoubtedly Egyptian, and has
traced the site of the ancient stone temple inside it.

He reports that he has discovered old Egyptian fortresses at
Halfa and at Matuga, twelve miles south, the latter containing
a cartouche of Usertesen III: and has opened three rocktombs at
Halfa.--_Academy_, July 16 and Aug. 6.

NOTES BY PROF. SAYCE.--Besides Tel el-Amarna, I have visited
El-Hibeh and the little temple of Shishak, which was uncovered
there last year. It is, unfortunately, in a most ruinous
condition. One of the natives took me to a recently-found
necropolis at a place under the cliffs called Ed-Dibân, some
two miles distant, which is plainly of the Roman age, and its
occupants belonged to the poorer classes.

In the White Monastery near Sohâg, I found a stone with the
cartouche of Darius, which had formed part of the ancient
temple of Crocodilopolis.

I picked up some fine flint spear-heads near the line of Roman
forts on the north side of the Gebel Sheikh Embârak, where I
discovered an enormous manufactory of flint weapons and tools
three years ago.

Lastly, I may add that at the back of the Monastery of Mari
Girgis, about three miles south of Ekhmim, I found that another
cemetery of the early Coptic period has been discovered, and
Page 98 that it is providing the dealers with fresh supplies of ancient
embroideries.--A.H. SAYCE, in _Academy_, Feb. 27.

PRESERVATION OF MOHAMMEDAN MONUMENTS.--The Soc. for the
Protection of Ancient Buildings has protested, through Sir
Evelyn Baring, against the so-called restoration of the mosque
El-Mouyayyed and the mosque of Barkouk. It is proposed to
rebuild the domed minaret of Barkouk's mosque and the
suppressed bell-tower of the Sultan's mosque, which is to be
replaced by a bulbous roof.--_Chron. des Arts_, 1892, No. 31.

ABU-SIMBEL.--The Council of Ministers has granted £1,000 for
the preservation of Abu-Simbel, which is in danger of partial
destruction. The rock above the four colossi on the façade,
which is of sandstone with layers of clay, had become fissured,
threatening an immediate fall. A party of sappers from the army
of occupation have been sent to the temple, who, after binding
with chains the falling rock, will break it up. Further
examination will be made to ascertain whether additional work
is required for the protection of this temple.--_Academy_,
March 5.

ASSOUAN.--DAM.--A huge dam is to be thrown across the Nile at
Assouan: its height will raise the water to the level of the
floors of the ruins at Philae, enhancing rather than detracting
from their picturesque grandeur. It is said that the structure
of the dam will harmonize with the ancient architecture of
Philae. The material already cut and lying in the quarries of
Assouan will be almost sufficient to complete the
dam.--_Biblia_, V. p. 109.

TOMBS.--Some new tombs have been opened, one by the Crown
Princess of Sweden and Norway, the other by Mr. James. One of
them belonged to the reign of Nofer-Ka-Ra; and, in an
inscription found in it, Prof. Schiaparelli has read the name
of the land of Pun, which accordingly, was already known to the
Egyptians in the age of the dynasty.--PROF. SAYCE in _Academy_.

CAIRO (NEAR). DESTRUCTION OF AN ANCIENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH.--Rev.
Greville J. Chester writes (_Acad._ March 19). Permit me to
draw public attention to an almost incredible act of vandalism
which was perpetrated during the last year in Egypt, close to
the capital. The finest Roman ruin in Egypt was the fortress of
Babylon, south of Cairo, known also as Mus'r el Ateekeh and
Dayr esh Shemma. One of the most interesting sights in that
Dayr was the Jewish synagogue, anciently the Christian Church
of St. Michael, but desecrated by being handed over in the
Page 99 middle ages by an Arab Sultan to the Jews, and thenceforward to
the present time used by them as a place of worship. The
building was of much architectural interest. The old Christian
nave and aisles were preserved intact; but the Jews had
destroyed the apse which must have existed, and had replaced it
by a square Eastern sanctuary, and over the niche, within which
were preserved the Holy Books of the Law, had adorned the wall
with numerous Hebrew texts executed in gesso, forming an
interesting example of Jewish taste and work in the middle
ages. Some of the ancient Christian screenwork of wood was
preserved, but was turned upside down, probably because
gazelles and other animals formed part of the design. Behind
this building, in a sort of court, the very finest portion of
the original wall of the Roman fortress was visible, and, what
is more important, the inner and most perfect circuit of one of
the Roman bastion-towers, which outside looked out on the
desert.

All this is now a thing of the past. The Jews have razed the
ancient church and synagogue to the ground, and in its place
have erected a hideous square abomination, supported internally
on iron pillars. Of the fine Roman wall which bounded the
property, and with it the bastion-tower, with its courses of
brick at regular intervals, and its deeply-splayed windows, not
a vestige now remains.

CAIRO.--GIZEH MUSEUM.--M. de Morgan has been appointed director
of the Museum in place of M. Grébaut. This will meet with
general approval. He is young and energetic, and the work he
has done in the Caucasus and in Persia has placed him in the
front rank of archaeologists and explorers. Moreover, he is an
engineer, and therefore possesses a practical knowledge which,
in view of the conservation of the ancient monuments of Egypt,
is a matter of prime importance. He has asked the Board of
Public Works for £50,000 in order to secure the building
against fire; it is built of very inflammable material. During
the past summer the museum has been entirely rearranged by him.
Of the rooms in the palace, only some thirty-eight contained
antiquities last winter; now, however, about eighty-five are
used as exhibition rooms, and, for the first time, it is
possible to see of what the Egyptian collection really
consists. On the ground floor the positions of several of the
large monuments have been changed, and the chronological
arrangement is better than it was before. In one large room are
exhibited for the first time eleven fine _mastaba_ stelæ of the
Ancient Empire, (VI. Dyn.) which were brought from Sakkarah
during the past summer; they are remarkable for the brightness
of the colours, the vigour of the figures, and the beauty of
the hieroglyphics. On the same floor are two splendid colossal
statues of the god Ptah which have been excavated at Memphis
the hieroglyphics. On the same floor are two splendid colossal
statues of the god Ptah which have been excavated at Memphis
Page 100 during last summer, and many other large objects from the same
site. In a series of rooms, approached from the room in which
the Dêr el-Bahari mummies are exhibited, are arranged the
coffins and mummies of the priests of Amen which were brought
down from Thebes two years ago. The coffins are of great
interest, for they are ornamented with mythological scenes and
figures of gods which seem to be peculiar to the period
immediately following the rule of the priest-kings at Thebes,
_i.e._, from about B.C. 1000 to 800.

A new and important feature in the arrangement of the rooms on
the upper floor is the section devoted to the exhibition of
papyri. Here in flat glazed cases are shown at full length fine
copies of the 'Book of the Dead,' hieratic papyri, including
the unique copy of the 'Maxims of Ani.' and many other papyri
which have been hitherto inaccessible to the ordinary visitor.
To certain classes of objects, such as scarabs, blue glazed
_faïence_, linen sheets, mummy bandages and garments,
terracotta vases and vessels, alabaster jars, &c., special
rooms are devoted. The antiquities which, although found in
Egypt, are certainly not of Egyptian manufacture, _e.g._, Greek
and Phornician glass, Greek statues, tablets inscribed in
cuneiform from Tel el-Amarna, &c., are arranged in groups in
rooms set apart for them; and the monuments of the Egyptian
Christians or Copts are also classified and arranged in a
separate room.--_Athenæum_, May 14 and Nov. 19.

THE FRENCH SCHOOL AT CAIRO.--M. Maspero analyzed before the
_Acad. des Inscr._ (Oct. 28), the recent work and immediate
prospects of the French School at Cairo. The _Memoirs_ recently
issued show the field that it covers at present. First comes a
fascicule of Greek texts, the mathematical papyrus of Akmim,
explained and commented by M. Baillet; a long fragment of the
Greek text of the Book of Enoch, remains of the apocryphal
Gospel and Apocalypse of St. Peter, reproduced by M. Bouriant.
All these works are of extreme importance for primitive church
history. Arab archæology is represented by memoirs of M.
Casonova on an Arab globe, on sixteen Arab steles, and
especially by M. Burgoin's great work on Arab art in Egypt.
Father Scheil makes an incursion into Assyriology by his
publication of some of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, and in this
connection M. Maspero states that the intention of the school
is to extend their researches to Syria and Mesopotamia and to
include the entire East both ancient and modern. In the
Egyptian domain, besides the Theban fragments of the Old
Testament and the remains of the Acts of the Council of
Ephesos, the notable event is the appearance of the first
fasciculus of the work on _Edfu_ by M. de Rochemonteix. In it a
Page 101 complete temple will be placed before students. The entire
Egyptian religion will be illustrated, in all its
rituals,--ritual of foundation, of sacrifice, of the feast of
Osiris. M. Benedite has commenced in the same way the
publication of the Temples of Philae.--_Revue Critique_, 1892,
No. 45.

The investigations enumerated above are far from being all.
They represent merely the official governmental side of the
work. The learned societies have done a great deal; such as the
Ecole des lettres of Algiers, the management of historical
monuments (Tebessa), and the French School of Rome.

EL-KARGEH.--PLASTER BUSTS.--At a meeting of the _Académie des
Inscriptions_, M. Héron de Villefosse exhibited four painted
plaster busts from El-Kargeh, in the Great Oasis, which have
recently been sent to the Louvre by M. Bouriant, director of
the French School at Cairo. They have been taken from the lids
of sarcophagi; but the peculiarity about them is that the heads
were not in the same plane with the body, but as it were erect.
The features have been modelled with extraordinary
verisimilitude; the eyes are of some glassy material, in black
and white; the hair was modelled independently, and afterwards
fitted to the plaster head; the painting is in simple
colours--various shades of red for the skin, and black or brown
for the hair. M. Héron de Villefosse maintained that they were
certainly portraits. The physiognomy of one is Jewish; another
recalls a bronze head from Cyrene in the British Museum, which
Fr. Lenormant considered to be of Berber type; the third might
be Syrian, and the fourth Roman. The date is probably about the
time of Septimius Severus. M. Maspero declared that he had
never seen anything of the kind in any museum.--_Academy_, July
9.

These busts have been placed on exhibition at the Louvre, in
the _Salle des fresques_.--_Chron. des Arts_, 1892, No. 28.

According to a writer in the _Temps_, two are Greeks, one
Syrian and one a Jew. The Greeks are blond with straight hair;
the others have dark brown curly hair. All are bearded. The
drapery is white.--_Chron. des Arts_, 1892, No. 30.

The department of Greek and Roman antiquities at the Louvre has
also received from M. Bouriant two funerary inscriptions found
in the necropolis dating from the second century A.D. One is
Latin, tha other Greek.--_Chron. des Arts_, 1892, No. 32.

CHATBI (NEAR).--NECROPOLIS.--M. Botti has discovered between
Chatbi and Ibrahimieh a Roman necropolis of the first or second
century A.D.. at a depth of fourteen metres. It is excavated in
soft calcareous stone and its chambers and corridors are
Page 102 reached by a rock-cut staircase.

The bodies are both laid on the floor and placed in jars. They
were intact.--_Chron. des Arts_, 1892, No. 30.

EL-QAB.--Mr. Taylor has been excavating here for the Egypt
exploration fund, in continuation of the previous year's work.
Prof. Sayce reports, after Mr. Taylor's departure (_Acad._,
March 12), that more of the foundations of the old temple which
stood within the temple were then visible than the preceding
year. The fragmentary remains show that among its builders were
Usertesen (xii dyn.), Sebekhotep II (xiii dyn.), Amenophis I
and Thothmes III (xviii dyn.) and Nektanebo I (xxx dyn.) In one
of the tombs Nofer-Ka-Ra is alluded to as (apparently) the
original founder of the sanctuary.

GEBELEN.--TEMPLE OF HOR-M-HIB.--Prof. Sayce writes. "On the
voyage from Luxor to Assuan I stopped at Gebelon, and found
that the Bedouin squatters there had unearthed some fragments
of sculptured and inscribed stones on the summit of the
fortress built by the priest-king Ra-men-kheper and queen
Isis-m-kheb to defend this portion of the Nile. On examination
they turned out to belong to a small temple which must once
have stood on the spot. The original temple, I found, had been
constructed of limestone by Hor-m-hib, the last king of the
xviii dynasty, and brilliantly ornamented with sculpture and
painting. Additions had been made to the temple, apparently by
Seti I.; since besides the stones belonging to Hor-m-hib, there
were other fragments of the same limestone as that of which the
temple of Seti at Abydos is built, and covered with bas-reliefs
and hieroglyphs in precisely the same delicate style of art.
Eventually a building of sandstone had been added to the
original temple on the west side by Ptolemy VII Philometor. It
may be noted that Ra-men-kheper used bricks burnt in the kiln
as well as sun-dried bricks in the construction of the
fortress, as he also did in the construction of the fortress at
El-Hibeh.--_Academy_, March 12."

HAT-NUB.-THE EARLY QUARRY.-This interesting quarry has been
recently discovered by Mr. Griffith. Mr. Petrie writes: Allow
me to note that in this quarry, described by Mr. Griffith
(_Academy_, Jan. 23), and situated ten miles southeast of El
Tell in this plain, the main quarry does not contain any name
later than the vi Dynasty. The tablet in the thirtieth year
being of Pepi II (Nefer-ka-ra), and mentioning the _sed_
festival in that year, this might refer to the Sothiac festival
of 120 years falling in that year, and so be important as a
datum. There are seven painted inscriptions of Pepi II,
containing about fifty lines in all. There are also a great
number of incised graffiti.--_Academy_, Feb. 20.
Page 103

HAWARA.--MUMMY PORTRAITS.--Among the most important discoveries
of the year is that by Dr. Brugsch, of three mummy portraits in
the desert of Hawara. These were found, uncoffined, and buried
at a very slight depth below the surface.

The first is that of a woman: the portrait is brilliantly
executed in tempera, on canvas, and is the most ancient of
paintings on canvas known, for its date cannot be fixed later
than the first century B.C.

The next portrait was on the mummy of a man but instead of a
painting on canvas is a relief in stucco, gilded. The features
are carefully reproduced, as are the beard and whiskers.

The third mummy was provided with a beautifully executed
portrait on wood which is one of the best examples of ancient
painting, though not so rare as the other, for ancient
portraits painted on wood have long been known.--_Biblia_,
V.P.

HELIOPOLIS.--M. Philippe, the Cairo dealer in antiquities, is,
with permission from the Gizeh Museum, carrying on excavations
at Heliopolis, which have brought to light some tombs of the
Saïtic period.--_Academy_, Nov. 12.

KOM-EL-AHMAR.--"At Kom el-Ahmar, opposite El-Qab, I visited two
recently-discovered tombs, which contain the cartouches of
Pepi, and are in a fairly perfect condition. The walls are
covered with delicate paintings in the style of those of
Beni-Hassan, and explanatory inscriptions are attached to them.
The early date of the paintings and inscriptions makes them
particularly interesting. The tombs are still half buried in
the sand, and only the upper part of the internal decoration is
visible."--PROF. SAYCE, in _Academy_, April 2.

MEIR.--The authorities of the Gizeh Museum have, on the
suggestion of Johnson Pasha, caused excavations to be made at
Meïr, near Deirut, in Upper Egypt, which have already resulted
in the discovery of some tombs of the XI dynasty. It is
intended to continue these excavations.--_Academy_, Nov. 12.

MEMPHIS.--DISCOVERIES BY M. DE MORGAN.--At a meeting of the
_Acad. des Inscr._ Prof. Maspero communicated the result of the
excavations on the site of Memphis by M. de Morgan. He has
discovered among the ruins of the temple of Ptah a number of
monuments of importance. First, a large boat of granite,
similar to that in the museum at Turin, on which the figures
are destroyed; next, several fragmentary colossi of Rameses II,
and in particular two gigantic upright figures, dedicated by
this king, of Ptah, the god of Memphis, enshrouded in
mummy-wrappings and holding a sceptre in both hands; lastly,
some isolated figures, arranged in a court or a chamber. The
Page 104 importance of this discovery, said Prof. Maspero, will be
realised when we bear in mind that we possess no divine image
of large size, and that the very existence of statues of gods
in Egyptian temples has sometimes been denied.--_Academy_,
Sept. 17.

SEHEL.--THE TENTH DYNASTY.--Prof. Sayce reports that he has
been finding evidences of the little-known X dynasty in the
immediate neighborhood of the First Cataract. "Mr. Griffith and
Prof. Maspero have shown that certain of the tombs at Siût
belonged to the period when this dynasty ruled in Egypt. I have
now discovered inscriptions which show that its rule was
recognized on the frontiers of Nubia.

"An examination of the position occupied by the numerous
inscriptions on the granite rocks of the island of Sehêl have
made it clear to me that we must recognize two periods in the
history of the sanctuary for which the island was famous.
During the second period the temple stood on the eastern slope
of an eminence where I found remains of it two years ago. As I
also found fragments of it bearing the name of Thothmes III on
the one hand, and of Ptolemy Philopator on the other, it must
have existed from the age of the XVII dynasty down to Ptolemaic
times. Throughout this period the inscriptions left by pious
pilgrims to the shrine all face the site of the temple. So also
do a certain number of inscriptions which belong to the age of
the XII and XIII dynasties. But the majority of the
inscriptions which belong to the latter age, like the
inscriptions which are proved by the occurrence of the names of
Antef and Mentuhotep to be of the time of the _xi_ dynasty,
face a different way. They look southward.

"This winter I have come across a large number of inscriptions
on the mainland side of the channel which look northward, that
is, towards the island. A few of these inscriptions are of the
time of the XII dynasty, but the greater number belong to the
XI dynasty, and one is dated in the forty-first year of
Ra-neb-kher. It would seem, therefore, that at the epoch when
they were inscribed on the rocks the sanctuary of Sehêl stood
either in the middle of the southern channel of the river or
upon its edge.

"On the island side of the channel there are a good many
inscriptions which are shown by the weathering of the
hieroglyphs to be older than the age of the XI dynasty. Indeed,
the inscription of an Antef is cut over one of them. They all
present the same curious forms of hieroglyphic characters, and
contain for the most part titles and formulæ not met with in
the later texts. Moreover, they are not dedicated like the
Page 105 later texts to the divine trinity of the Cataract, Khnum,
Anuke, and Sati, but to a deity whose name is expressed by a
character resembling an Akhem seated on a basket. Mr. Wilbour
and I first noticed it last year.

"One of the early inscriptions contains a cartouche which reads
Ra-nefer-hepu, the last element being represented by the
picture of a rudder. Now Mr. Newberry and his companions at
Beni-Hassan have discovered that one of the groups of tombs
which exist there is of older date than the time of the XII
dynasty. In this group of tombs occurs the name of a lady who
was called Nefer-hepu. She must have been born in the reign of
Ra-nefer-hepu, and will consequently belong, not to the age of
the XI dynasty, but to that of one of the dynasties which
preceded it.

"That this dynasty was the X is made pretty clear by the
inscriptions on the mainland side of the channel I have
described. Here I have found inscriptions of the early sort
mingled with those of the XI dynasty in such a way as to show
that they cannot have been widely separated in age. Moreover,
in one of them, the name of Khatî is associated with that of
Ra-mer-ab; and Khatî is not only a name which characterises the
XI dynasty, but it was also the name of the owner of one of the
tombs at Siût, which Mr. Griffith has proved to belong to the
time of the X dynasty. We were already acquainted with the name
of Ra-mer-ab from a scarab; and two years ago Mr. Bouriant
obtained a bronze vase which gave the double name of Ra-mer-ab
Kherti. Kherti is a king of the X dynasty. By the side of the
inscription which contains the name of Ra-mer-ab, I found
others with the names of Ra-mer-ankh and Ameni. That Ameni was
a king of the X dynasty has already been suspected.

"The inscriptions I have copied this winter, therefore, have
not only given us the names of some kings of the X dynasty, one
of them previously unknown; they have also shown that the power
of the dynasty was acknowledged as far south as the Cataract.
Moreover, they indicate that the government must have passed
from the X to the XI dynasty in a peaceful and regular manner."

SHAT-ER-RIGALEH.--Prof. Sayce writes: I have visited the
famous "Shat er-Rigâleh," the valley a little north of Silsilis
and the village of El-Hammâni, in which so many monuments of
the XI dynasty have been discovered by Messrs. Harris,
Eisenlohr, and Flinders Petrie. To these I have been able to
add another cartouche, that of Ra-nofer-neb, a king who is
supposed to belong to the XIV dynasty. His name and titles have
been carved on the rock at the northern corner of the entrance
into the valley by a certain Ama, a memorial of whom was found
by Mr. Petrie in the Wadi itself (_A Season in Egypt_, pl. XV.
No. 438). Mr. Spicer, whose dahabiyeh accompanied mine,
Page 106 photographed the inscriptions in which Mentuhotep-Ra-neb-kher
of the XI dynasty is mentioned, as well as the one which
enumerates the names of three kings of the XVIII dynasty,
Amenophis I, Thothmes I, and Thothmes II. One of the
inscriptions of Mentuhotep is dated in the thirty-ninth year of
the king's reign. The epithet _mâ-kheru_ "deceased" is attached
only to the cartouche of Amenophis I, not to those of the other
two kings, proving that they reigned
contemporaneously.--_Academy_, March 12.

TEL EL-AMARNA.--EXCAVATIONS BY MR. PETRIE.--Mr. Petrie
communicates the following report to the _Academy_: "During the
last four months I have been excavating at this place, the
capital of Khuenaten. Past times have done their best to leave
nothing for the present--not even a record. The Egyptians
carried away the buildings in whole blocks down to the lowest
foundations, completely smashed the sculptures, and left
nothing in the houses; and the Museum authorities, and a
notorious Arab dealer, have cleared away without any record
what had escaped the other plunderers of this century. I have
now endeavoured to recover what little remained of the art and
history of this peculiar site, by careful searching in the
town. From the tombs I am debarred, although the authorities
are doing nothing whatever there themselves, and the tomb of
Khuenaten remains uncleared, with pieces of the sarcophagus and
vessels thrown indiscriminately in the rubbish outside."

The region of main interest is the palace; and the only way to
recover the plan was by baring the ground, and tracing the
bedding of the stones which are gone. For this I have cleared
all the site of the buildings, and in course of the work
several rooms with portions of painted fresco pavements have
been found. One room which was nearly entire, about 51 by 16
feet, and two others more injured, have now been entirely
exposed to view, and protected by a substantial house, well
lighted, and accessible to visitors, erected by the Public
Works Department. With the exception of a pavement reported to
exist at Thebes, these are the only examples of a branch of art
which must have been familiar in the palaces of Egypt. The
subjects of these floors are tanks with fish, birds, and lotus;
groups of calves, plants, birds, and insects; and a border of
bouquets and dishes. But the main value of these lies in the
new style of art displayed; the action of the animals, and the
naturalistic grace of the plants, are unlike any other Egyptian
work, and are unparalleled even in classical frescoes. Not
until modern times can such studies from nature be found. Yet
this was done by Egyptian artists; for where the lotus occurs,
Page 107 the old conventional grouping has constrained the design, and
the painter could not overstep his education, though handling
all the other plants with perfect individuality. That
Babylonian influence was not active, is seen by the utter
absence of any geometrical ornament; neither rosettes or stars,
frets or circles, nor any other such elements are seen, and
perhaps no such large piece of work exists so clear of all but
natural forms. Some small fragments of sculptured columns show
that this flowing naturalism was as freely carried out in
relief as in colour.

Of the architecture there remain only small pieces flaked off
the columns. By comparing these the style can be entirely
recovered; and we see that both the small columns in the
palace, and those five feet thick in the river frontage, were
in imitation of bundles of reeds, bound with inscribed bands,
with leafage on base and on capital, and groups of ducks hung
up around the neck. A roof over a well in the palace was
supported by columns of a highly geometrical pattern, with
spirals and chevrons. In the palace front were also severer
columns inscribed with scenes, and with capitals imitating
gigantic jewellery. The surface was encrusted with brilliant
glazes, and the ridges of stone between the pieces were gilt,
so that it resembled jewels set in gold. An easy imitation of
this was by painting the hollows and ridges, and the crossing
lines of the setting soon look like a net over the capital. We
are at once reminded of the "net work" on the capitals of
Solomon, and see in these columns their prototype.

This taste for inlaying was carried to great lengths on the
flat walls. The patterns were incrusted with coloured glazes,
and birds and fishes were painted on whole pieces and let into
the blocks; hieroglyphs were elaborately carved in hard stones
and fixed in the hollowed forms, black granite, obsidian, and
quartzite in white limestone, and alabaster in red granite. The
many fragments of steles which have come from here already, and
which I have found, appear to show a custom of placing one
stele--with the usual adoration of the sun by the king and
queen--in each of the great halls of the palace and temple.
These steles are in hard limestone, alabaster, red granite, and
black granite. I have found more steles on the rocks on both
sides of the Nile, and have seen in all eight on the eastern
and three on the western cliffs.

The history of this site, and of the religious revolutions, is
somewhat clearer than before. Khuenaten came to the throne as a
minor; for in his sixth year he had only one child, and in his
eighth year only two, as we learn from the steles, suggesting
that he was not married till his fifth year apparently. On his
marriage he changed his name from Amenhotep IV (which occurs on
Page 108 a papyrus from Gurob in his fifth) to Khuenaten (which we find
here in the sixth). A scarab which I got last year in Cairo
shows Amenhotep (with Amen erased subsequently) adoring the
cartouches of the Aten, settling his identity with Khuenaten.
In a quarry here is the name of his mother, Queen Thii, without
any king; so she was probably regent during his minority, and
started this capital here herself.

The character of the man, and the real objects of his
revolution in religion and art, are greatly cleared by our now
being able to see him as in the flesh. By an inexplicable
chance, there was lying on the ground, among some stones, a
plaster cast taken from his face immediately after his death
for the use of the sculptors of his funeral furniture; with it
were the spoilt rough blocks of granite _ushabtis_ for his
tomb. The cast is in almost perfect condition, and we can now
really study his face, which is full of character. There is no
trace of passion in it, but a philosophical calm with great
obstinacy and impracticability. He was no vigorous fanatic, but
rather a high bred theorist and reformer: not a Cromwell but a
Mill. An interesting historical study awaits us here from his
physiognomy and his reforms. No such cast remains of any other
personage in ancient history.

According to one view, he was followed successively by four
kings, Ra saa ka khepru, Tut ankhamen, Ai, and Horemheb, in
peaceable succession. But of late it has been thought that the
last three were rival kings at Thebes; and that they upheld
Amen in rivalry to Khuenaten and his successor, who were cut
very short in their reigns. Nothing here supports the latter
view. A great number of moulds for making pottery rings are
found here in factories; and those of Tut ankhamen are as
common and as varied as of Khuenaten, showing that he was an
important ruler here for a considerable time. Of Ai rings are
occasionally found here, as also of Horemheb, who has left a
block of sculpture with his cartouche in the temple of Aten. So
it is certain that he actually upheld the worship of Aten early
in his reign, and added to the buildings here, far from being a
destructive rival overthrowing this place from Thebes.
Afterwards he re-established Amen (as I got a scarab of his in
Cairo, "establishing the temple of Amen"), and he removed the
blocks of stone wholesale from here to build with at Thebes.
Later than Horemheb there is not a trace here; Seti and Ramessu
are absolutely unknown in this site, showing that it was
stripped of stone and deserted before the XIX dynasty. Hence,
about two generations, from 1400 to 1340 B.C., are the extreme
limits of date for everything found here. The masonry was
re-used at Thebes, Memphis, and other places where the name of
Khuenaten has been found.
Page 109
The manufactures of this place were not extensive--glass and
glazes were the main industries; and the objects so common at
Gurob (metal tools, spindles, thread, weights, and marks on the
pottery) are all rare here. The furnace and the details of
making the coloured blue and green frits, have been found.
Pottery moulds for making the pendants of fruits, leaves,
animals, &c., are abundant in the factories; and a great
variety of patterned "Phoenician" glass vases are found, but
only in fragments.

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The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

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