ANCIENT TOMBS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7743, 14 May 1887, Page 5

ANCIENT TOMBS.

Major-ftfineral Fnuici.H Gronfcll, in a letter to The Times, stated that last year while in command of the Frontier Fiold Force, heapentsevoral months at Assouan which town, under tho anciont name of Syone, was for 4000 years n. C. the ancient frontier town dividing Egypt and Nubia. It was evident that so populous and important a town must have poasassed a lurge necropolis. No tomb 3, however, of any importauce had beon discovered. It was thon determined to ► earch the oppoaito bank of the .Nile. Looking from Assouan at the sandstone bill on iho west bink of the river, thero wire indications that the rock had been scarped in many plnceß, iiud that paths and steps had beun constructed, showing I the existence of romoinn which though buriod by drifting sand, would doubtless repay tho trouble and cost of uucovei ing. Towards the close of the year 1885 laborers were Bet to clear away sumo

of tho sand, and thns discovered two in tombs of. the mxOi i!ynasty(about B. v. F< 3300), which new approached by two P inclined planes with flights oE steps on P each side of thorn. These were made ai for the purpose of hauling up the sarco- ni phagi and mummies from the river to it the tombs. A littlo further north was h discovered the entrance of several othr-r a; tombs, which were made in the 12th b dynasty (li. c. 2700). Owing to the con- h siderable expense incurred in clearing 1< away tho iunci, only one of those im- o portant tombs could bo partly explored v last year, and Mijor-General Grenfell n appeals for t'und3 to cirry on the work, c