brick, rectangular plaques of gold, silver, copper, lead, carnelian, jasper, lapis-lazuli, each inscribed either with the king's prenomen or nomen, and several fragments of lead and copper ore. The faïence plaque is 2 inches long, and the mud brick 1 inches; all the other plaques are much smaller (B.M. 23556). A deposit from the southwest corner of the temple which Aaḥmes (Amasis II) built at

Nabêshah included three models of bricks stamped

or

обо

(© 5 * ), plaques of gold, silver, carnelian, lapis

lazuli, copper, lead and limestone (B.M. 23503).

The custom of placing foundation deposits under the corners of pyramids was adopted by kings of Nubia and the Northern Sûdân, and thanks to the munificence of the Sûdân Government, the British Museum possesses a valuable series of the foundation deposits which were excavated by Dr. Reisner at Nûrî, a famous pyramid field near the foot of the Fourth Cataract. The following is a description of three typical deposits:-The deposit of king Ånlåmen consisted of (1) Six blue faïence plaques, three stamped, and three moulded, containing the prenomen and nomen of the king-Ankhkarā and Anlamen; (2) a blue-glazed faïence brick inscribed "Son of Ra, Anlamen, beloved of Hathor, giver of life"; (3) Rectangular plaques of gold, silver, copper and lead, inscribed with the king's prenomen, and models of slabs of mother-ofemerald, lapis-lazuli, alabaster, crystal and red stone similarly inscribed (B.M. 55562-63); (4) A

The deposit of king Åspelta consisted of—(1) Two faïence plaques inscribed with prenomen and nomen of the

king; (2) Faïence models of two bricks inscribed

lar bricks of copper, lead, red stone, mother-ofemerald, lapis-lazuli, crystal, alabaster and faïence, each inscribed with one of the king's names; (4) a semi-circular piece of alabaster, inscribed Åspelta, and a piece of crystal 1 inches long, with a thread worked on it like a screw without point. These probably represent tools that were used in the construction of the pyramid (B.M. 55564). The deposit of Mal-uaib-Åmen, whose prenomen was

Kheperkara, consisted

of (1) A faïence cartouche, coarsely shaped, stamped with his son

plaque uninscribed; (3) Fifteen rectangular bricks of bronze, lead, mother-of-emerald, lapis-lazuli, haematite (?), etc., of different sizes; (4) a white stone, and bronze models of seven tools and other objects used in the construction of the pyramid (B.M. 55573). No object has been found among any set of foundation deposits which suggests that the deposit was other than purely commemorative— in other words, no deposit carried with it any magical protection of the building under which it was found.

OBELISKS

THOUGH the word obelisk is derived from the Greek oßeλiokos, a "little spear," the object itself is purely of Egyptian origin, and is called in the hieroglyphs tekhen, The obelisk, or “sunstone," as it is sometimes called, was assuredly connected with the worship of the sun, but whether it was actually worshipped as a god, or merely regarded as an earthly abode of the Sun-god or the solar spirit, is not clear. The oldest form of it is found in the tombs of the IVth dynasty. In these limestone obelisks are found in pairs, one standing on a small raised platform on each side of the stele, or the false door, through which the Ka of the deceased came from its tomb to enjoy the offerings made to it. Their presence was supposed to keep malignant spirits and influences from passing through the stele and down to the mummy chamber to harm the dead. In the great solar temple of User-en-Ra, or Nuserrā

of the Vth dynasty, the Sun-god Rā was represented by an obelisk standing on a sort of truncated pyramid, which in its turn stood on a sub-plinth. On its eastern side stood an alabaster altar, on which were sacrificed victims, probably captives taken in battle, whose blood was carried off by channels along the north side into alabaster bowls which were placed to receive it. As obelisks were used to protect the dead, so

a king

they were employed to protect the great buildings and temples which were built by some of the kings of the XIIth, XVIIIth and XIXth dynasties. The oldest survival of these is the obelisk which Usertsen (Senusert) I set up at Heliopolis; as the lowest

part and its plinth are buried its exact height cannot be stated, but about 67 feet of it are visible.1 This king set up a pair of granite obelisks, of which this obelisk is one, before the great "House of the Sun," which he rebuilt, and he covered their tops (pyramidions) with copper cases. Both were standing when 'Abd al-Latîf visited the site A.D. 1200. Usertsen I also set up a red granite obelisk of unusual type at Ebgig, or Begig, a place near the modern town Madînat al-Fayyûm. It was rectangular in shape with a rounded, not pointed, end, and judging from the ruins of it which are now lying there it must have been about 50 feet high. The obelisks set up by the kings of the XVIIIth dynasty taper gradually from base to pyramidion and are abundantly decorated with inscriptions and reliefs. Thothmes I set up obelisks at Elephantine, but only a fragment of one remains; he set up a pair at Karnak, but only one bears an inscription of his. Hatshepsut set up four obelisks, but only one of them is still standing; the upper part of its fellow lies near it. According to the inscription on its pedestal the queen caused the pair to be quarried at Aswân, brought to Cairo, and erected in the space of seven months-a marvellous achievement. The height of her obelisk now standing is said to be about 98 feet.2 Thothmes III set up several obelisks at Karnak, but not one is to be seen there at the present day. The largest of these is probably that which now stands in the piazza of St. John Lateran in Rome. It was made by the command of Thothmes III, but was only set up several years later by Thothmes IV, who added his own inscription to the one which he had cut on it in the name of his grandfather. It was taken to Rome and set up in the Circus Maximus by Constantius, A.D. 357. It was thrown down and broke into three pieces, but was set up where it now is by Pope Sixtus V. It is a little more than 105 feet in height and is the highest Egyptian obelisk in the world. Thothmes III also set up a pair of obelisks in the great temple of Heliopolis, but they were removed to Alexandria and erected before the Roman temple (Caesarion) there when Barbarus3 was eparch of Egypt, in the year B.C. 612.4 One of these, which had fallen, and which was commonly known as Cleopatra's Needle, was given to the British by Muḥammad 'Alî early in the XIXth century. It was not removed from the place where it lay, near the railway station for Ramleh, until 1877, when, thanks to the munificence of Sir Erasmus Wilson, it was transported to England and set up on the Thames Embankment between Charing Cross

1 A scale model of this obelisk made by Mr. J. Bonomi is exhibited in the Fifth Egyptian Room in the British Museum (55199).

2 A scale model of this obelisk made by Mr. J. Bonomi is exhibited in the Fifth Egyptian Room of the British Museum (55198).

3 I.e., P. Rubrius Barbarus.

• See Merriam, The Greek and Latin Inscriptions on the Obelisk Crab, New York, 1873, p. 49; and Dittenberger, Inscriptiones Selectae, No. 656, Vol. I, P. 365.

Bridge and Waterloo Bridge.1 The inscriptions of Thothmes III run down the centre of the sides, and those on both sides of them were added by Rameses II. The other obelisk was given to America and was removed by Gorringe to New York, where it was set up in the Central Park.2 As was to be expected, Rameses II set up many obelisks at Tanis, and a pair at Karnak, and a pair at Luxor; one of the Luxor obelisks is still in situ, but the other is in Paris. As stated above he added bombastic inscriptions to an obelisk of Thothmes III, and he did not scruple to " usurp" the obelisks which his father Seti I set up at Heliopolis. With the end of the XIXth dynasty the custom of setting up massive obelisks of granite or basalt seems to have died out, and kings and officials contented themselves with pairs of comparatively small stone obelisks. Nekht-Her-heb, about B.C. 378, set up a pair of black basalt obelisks at the door of the sanctuary of the temple of "Thoth, the twice great,"

to whom they were dedicated. Where the temple was situated is uncertain, but they were taken to Cairo towards the close of the XVIIIth century, and set up before one of the mosques. On the conclusion of the treaty made by General Hutchinson they passed into the possession of the British in 1801, and were sent to the British Museum by King George III in 1802 (B.M. 919, 920). Amenḥetep II, the successor of Thothmes III, set up no large obelisks at Thebes, but it seems tolerably certain that he used obelisks to decorate the shrines of the small temples which he built in the Thebaïd. One of these still exists, and is now preserved in the Egyptian Collection at Alnwick Castle. It is one of a pair that this king dedicated to KhnemRā and was found in a village in the Thebaïd; it is made of red granite and is 7 feet 3 inches in height. It was given to Lord Prudhoe by Muḥammad 'Alî in 1838,3 and when it arrived in England it was set up at Syon House, Brentford.

It is clear from what has been said above that: (1) From the Vth dynasty onwards obelisks were associated with the cult of Ra and other solar gods; (2) kings like Thothmes III regarded the dedication of obelisks to the gods as acts of worship that were acceptable to the gods; (3) in the minds of the Egyptians the idea of protection was associated with a pair of obelisks. But under the rule of the Ptolemies an obelisk was set up to commemorate some special event, as, for example, the granite obelisk that Mr. J. W. Bankes excavated on the Island of Philae in 1815. This obelisk is

1 A handy popular account of this obelisk is given in King, Cleopatra's Needle, London, 1886. For Birch's description and translation of the texts on it see Athenaeum, October 27th and November 3rd, 1877. The story of its transport to England is given in Engineering, 1877-78.

2 For the account of the transport see Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks, New York, 1882.

3 See Birch, Catalogue, p. 344.