Egyptian Antiquities.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIII, Issue 16, 20 October 1909, Page 41

Egyptian Antiquities.

llie work of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt during the past ■winter was continued at Memphis, and extended to Thebes, and some of the results of that work have been exhibited in London. In the valleys to the north of the Tombs of the Kings, many acres of ground were searched by continuous trenching, and one fine untouched burial of the seventeenth dynasty was discovered, so Complete, as to be probably the richest entire burial that has been brought from Egypt. The coffin was only placed under a foot or two of stones and earth; at the side of it lay a dozen ■ vases in the string nets in which they had been carried; a chair, stools, baskets, and food lay around the coffin, ■with several smaller objects; ■whilst upon the mummy itself were four strings, of gold rings on the heck, four

gold bangles, earrings, and a beautifully worked girdle of electrum. AU these were exhibited, as weU as the coffin and the body it contained, the latter, however, being reduced to mere brown dust, though the bones are in perfect condition. There were numerous items of interest to Egyptologists, including foundation deposits of a temple at Thebes, built by the high priest Neb-un-nef, under Rameses 11., various bronzes, specimens of delicate ivory carving, copper ringlets from a statue, a sandal, pans of blue and green colour, scarabs, and jars of Greek forms of the seventh centuray 8.C., with Greek monograms of owners, showing that probably a Greek garrison was resident there at that time. There were also two colossal negro heads, an alabaster female figure of Mediterranean style, and two coffins with mummies, and ushabtis in boxes from an intact burial at Thebes of about 700 B.C. The great result of the year’s work at Memphis appears to have been the discovery of the palace of King Apries -—the Pharaoh Ilophra of the Bible—who was contemporary with Jeremiah. Hitherto no palace had beeir known in Egypt beyond the tower of Medinet Ilabu, and some portions of rather earlier date; now there is a great building, about 400 ft long and half as wide, preserved to 10ft or 15ft high. The stone-lined halls, of which several remain" were over 40ft long, while there were brick halls nearly as large, the walls of which were about 15ft thick. Some good bronze figures of gods were found, but the one supreme piece was a fitting of a palanquin, of solid silver, a pound in weight, decorated with a bust of Hat-hor, with a gold face. Of the finest workmanship of the time of Apries, and probably unique, it remained in the Cairo Museum.