king, and from this it has been concluded that the building formed the PALACE OF RAMESES III. Elsewhere the king is shown smiting his enemies, and from the features and dress of many of them it is possible to tell generally what nations they represent; it is quite clear that the sculptor intended his figures to be typical portraits. It is a noticeable fact that the cartouches of Rameses III. are the only ones found in this building.

V. The Temple of Rameses III. is entered by passing through the first pylon, the front of which is ornamented with scenes from the wars of this king against the people of Arabia and Phoenicia. The weapons of the king are presented to him by Amen-Ra the Sun-god. In the first court is a row of seven pillars, to which are attached figures of the king in the form of Osiris; M. Mariette was of opinion that these declared the funereal nature of the building. The second pylon is built of red granite, and the front is ornamented with scenes in which Rameses III. is leading before the gods Amen and Mut a number of prisoners, whom he has captured in Syria and along the coasts of the Mediterranean; from these scenes it is evident that he was able to wage war by sea as well as land. The second court, which, according to M. Mariette, is one of the most precious which Egyptian antiquity has bequeathed to us, has a portico running round its four sides; it is supported on the north and south sides by eight Osiris columns, and on the east and west by five circular columns. The Copts disgraced this splendid court by building a sandstone colonnade in the middle, and destroyed here, as elsewhere, much else that would have been of priceless value. Beyond the second court was a hall of columns, on each side of which were several small chambers, and beyond that were other chambers and corridors and the sanctuary.

The scenes sculptured on the inside of the second court represent the wars of Rameses III. against the Libyans, in

which the generals and officers of the Egyptian king lead crowds of prisoners into his presence, whence they are brought in triumph to Thebes to be offered to the gods of that town. Elsewhere Rameses is making offerings to the various gods of Thebes and performing certain ceremonies. The procession, coronation of the king, musicians, and the sending off of four birds to announce to the ends of the world that Rameses III. was king, are among the many interesting scenes depicted here.

Outside the building, on the south wall, is a list of religious festivals, and on the north wall are ten scenes, of which the following are the subjects: 1. The king and his army setting out to war. 2. Battle of the Egyptians against the Libyans, and defeat of the latter. 3. Slaughter of the enemy by thousands, and the prisoners led before the king. 4. The king addresses his victorious army, and an inventory is made of the spoil captured. 5. The march continued. 6. Second encounter and defeat of the enemy called Takare; their camp is captured, and women and children flee away in all directions. 7. The march continued. On the way one lion is slain and another wounded. The country

passed through is probably northern Syria. 8. Naval battle scene. The fight takes place near the sea-shore, and Rameses and his archers distress the enemy by shooting at them from the shore. 9. Return towards Egypt. The number of the slain is arrived at by counting the hands which have been cut off the bodies on the field of battle. 10. Return to Thebes. The king presents his prisoners to the gods Amen-Ra, Mut, and Chonsu. Speech of the prisoners, who beg the king to allow them to live that they may proclaim his power and glory.

The temple of Rameses III. is one of the most interesting of the Egyptian temples, and is worthy of several visits. VI. Dêr el-Medînet. This small temple, which stands between the Colossi and Medînet Habû, was begun by

Ptolemy IV. Philopator and finished by Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II.; in one of its chambers is the judgment scene which forms the vignette of the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead, hence the funereal nature of the building may be inferred.

VII. Dêr el-Bahari. This temple was built by Ḥātshepset, the sister and wife of Thothmes II., B.C. 1600. The finest marble limestone was used in its construction, and its architect seems to have been an able man called Senmut, who was honoured with the friendship of the queen, and promoted by her to be chief clerk of the works. Before the temple was an avenue of sandstone sphinxes and two obelisks. It was built in stages on the side of a hill, and its courts were connected by means of flights of steps. As early as the XXIInd dynasty the temple had fallen into disuse, and soon after this time its chambers appear to have been used for sepulchres. The wall sculptures are beautiful specimens of art, and depict the return of Egyptian soldiers from some military expedition, and the scenes which took place during the expedition which the queen organized and sent off to Punt. This latter expedition was most successful, and returned to Egypt laden with things the "like of which had never before been seen in that land." The prince of Punt came to Egypt with a large following, and became a vassal of Hatshepset.

THE DISCOVERY OF THE ROYAL MUMMIES AT

DER EL-BAHARI.*

In the summer of the year 1871 an Arab, a native or Kûrnah, discovered a large tomb filled with coffins heaped one upon the other. On the greater number of them were visible the cartouche and other signs which indicated that

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* A minute and detailed account of this discovery is given by Maspero in Les Momies Royales de Déïr el Bahari (Fasc. I., t. IV., of the Mémoires of the French Archæological Mission at Cairo).

the inhabitants of the coffins were royal personages. The native who was so fortunate as to have chanced upon this remarkable "find," was sufficiently skilled in his trade of antiquity hunter to know what a valuable discovery he had made; his joy must however have been turned into mourning, when it became evident that he would need the help of many men even to move some of the large royal coffins which he saw before him, and that he could not keep the knowledge of such treasures locked up in his own breast. He revealed his secret to his two brothers and to one of his sons, and they proceeded to spoil the coffins of ushabti* figures, papyri, scarabs and other antiquities which could be taken away easily and concealed in their abbas (ample outer garments) as they returned to their houses. These precious objects were for several winters sold to chance tourists on the Nile, and the lucky possessors of this mine of wealth replenished their stores from time to time by visits made at night to the tomb. As soon as the objects thus sold reached Europe, it was at once suspected that a "find" of more than ordinary importance had been made. An English officer called Campbell showed M. Maspero a hieratic Book of the Dead written for Pi-net'em; M. de Saulcy sent him photographs of the hieroglyphic papyrus of Net'emet; M. Mariette bought at Suez a papyrus written for the Queen Hent-taiu, and Rogers Bey exhibited at Paris a wooden tablet upon which was written a hieratic text relating to the ushabti figures which were to be buried with the princess Nesi-Chensu. All these interesting and most valuable objects proved that the natives of Thebes had succeeded

* Ushabti figures made of stone, green or blue glazed Egyptian porcelain, wood, &c., were deposited in the tombs with the dead, and were supposed to perform for them any field labours which might be decreed for them by Osiris, the king of the under-world, and judge of the dead.