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 The fight takes place near the river bank or seashore, 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-Rā, Mut, and Chensu. Speech of the prisoners, who beg the king to allow them to live that they may proclaim his power and glory.

scene.

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 Medinet Habû, was begun by

X

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 Hatshepset, 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 of 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

* 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 ushabtiu* 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 Ḥent-taiu, and Rogers Bey exhibited at Paris a wooden tablet upon which was written a hieratic text relating to the ushabtiu 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

* Ushabtiu 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.

in unearthing a veritable "Cave of Treasures," and M. Maspero, the Director of the Bûlâk Museum, straightway determined to visit Upper Egypt with a view of discovering whence came all these antiquities. Three men were implicated, whose names were learnt by M. Maspero from the inquiries which he made of tourists who purchased antiquities.

In 1881 he proceeded to Thebes, and began his investigations by causing one of the dealers, 'Abd er-Rasûl Aḥmad, to be arrested by the police, and an official inquiry into the matter was ordered by the Mudîr of Ķeneh. In spite of threats and persuasion, and many add tortures, the accused denied any knowledge of the place whence the antiquities came. The evidence of the witnesses who were called to testify to the character of the accused, tended to show that he was a man of amiable disposition, who would never dream of pillaging a tomb, much less do it. Finally, after two months' imprisonment, he was provisionally set at liberty. The accused then began to discuss with his partners in the secret what plans they should adopt, and how they should act in the future. Some of them thought that all trouble was over when 'Abd er-Rasûl Aḥmad was set at liberty, but others thought, and they were right, that the trial would be recommenced in the winter. Fortunately for students of Egyptology, differences of opinion broke out between the parties soon after, and 'Abd er-Rasûl Aḥmad soon perceived that his brothers were determined to turn King's evidence at a favourable opportunity. To prevent their saving themselves at his expense, he quietly travelled to Ķeneh, and there confessed to the Mudîr that he was able to reveal the place where the coffins and papyri were found. Telegrams were sent to Cairo announcing the confession of 'Abd er-Rasûl Aḥmad, and when his statements had been verified, despatches containing fuller particulars were sent to Cairo from Keneh. It was decided