632 r OVULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and Herondas, all are due to Egypt. Moreover, of Christian times 

 we Lave a leaf of an early collection of Sayings of Jesus, a leaf of 

 gospel about two centuries older than any other biblical manu- 

 script, and a host of documents bearing on early Christianity, such 

 as the Gospel of Peter and other apocryphal writings which were 

 later banned by the Church. 



Now it may be asked how all these discoveries are made — in- 

 deed, many people take for granted that some government kindly 

 pays for it all. On the contrary, the only official influences are a 

 severe check on such scientific work. While a native Egyptian 

 can plunder tombs with but little hindrance, any one desiring to 

 preserve objects and promote knowledge must (after obtaining the 

 permission of the Egyptian Government for the exact place he 

 wants to work) be officially inspected at his own expense (a matter 

 of twenty or thirty pounds a season), and then, after all, give up to 

 the Government half of all he finds, without any recompense. The 

 English Government long ago gave up all claim for British subjects 

 to occupy any post in the Cairo Museum, thus putting a decisive bar 

 on the hopes of would-be students and hindering the object very 

 effectually. 



In face of all these disadvantages, work has yet been carried 

 on by the Egypt Exploration Fund and by the Egyptian Research 

 Account; both rely on English and American support, and the latter 

 body is intended expressly to help students in training. Besides 

 these, private work has been carried on during several years by 

 two or three other explorers, partly at their own cost, partly helped 

 by friends. The two societies above named have kept to the prin- 

 ciples that everything shall be published as soon as possible, and 

 that all the antiquities removed from Egypt shall be divided among 

 public museums as gifts in return for the support from various 

 places, nothing ever being sold publicly or privately. In this way 

 several centers in America send large annual contributions, have 

 representatives on the London Committee of the Exploration Fund, 

 and receive their share for museums every year. 



Besides this organizing of w^ays and means, there is quite as 

 important organization needed in the excavations. At present 

 most of the above-named work is done by a corps of men who have 

 been engaged at it for many years. They leave their homes and 

 assemble as soon as the winter begins; any dealing in antiquities or 

 misconduct since the last season excludes them from rejoining. 

 They each know their work, what to preserve, how to leave every- 

 thing intact in the ground where found, and how best to manage 

 different kinds of excavating. With such men it is always pos- 

 sible to screw more information out of a site, however much it mav 



