Stevenson.] ^^ [March 20, 



such as may here be seen, and whicli originally contained liquids — beer, 

 ■water, etc. — were placed along the sides. As many as eighty vases have 

 been found in one grave, and few interments were provided with less 

 than ten or a dozen. Among these were sometimes found a vase of black 

 incised ware, evidently imported. 



Jars of pottery with wavy handles, containing scented fat or its Nile- 

 mud substitute, were placed along the head end, with a rough pointed 

 brown jar in the middle. This type of pottery, Avhich was very common 

 and which gave rise to varieties of forms and uses during the sojourn of 

 these people in the Nile valley, must be regarded as part of their indus- 

 trial equipment, and is so specialized as to have led Mr. Petrie to suggest 

 that these men were related to the Amorites of Palestine, who used 

 similar pottery and who, he thought, might be another branch of the 

 stock to which these invaders of Egypt belonged. 



In bringing these objects to your notice, 1 am laboring under serious 

 disadvantages and I must claim your indulgence should it so happen that 

 I cannot make all points of detail clear to you. Although the collection 

 reached here early in the winter, lack of proper space to work it up and 

 to display it with safety, prevented my unpacking it until now, and I have 

 not had a chance to study each specimen as it should be studied. This is 

 all the more to be regretted as the material is quite new, and as, for the 

 first time in the course of our much more than satisfactory relations, Mr. 

 Flinders-Petrie, owing to pressure of business, was unable personally to 

 superintend the packing, so that I have had very little to guide me in my 

 identifications save my own limited experience and the general indications 

 furnished in Mr. Petrie's letters. The types peculiar to these strangers 

 are, however, as a rule readily recognized. 



The main difficulty has been with the alabaster and stone vessels, of 

 which we have a great quantity. These are principally derived from the 

 Mastaba tombs of the old empire, and in sorting them there lies therefore 

 some danger of confusion, especially where, as in the later layers of the in- 

 vaders, a certain overlapping took place. I have, however, onlj^ brought 

 here those specimens of Libyan stone work as to the origin of which I can 

 entertain no doubt : Elongated vases of various dimensions with useless 

 ledge like feet too small for use, intended to be suspended by means of 

 long tubular handles, a frog of breccia, and various other types which 

 have no Egyptian equivalents. These stone vessels are hand-worked and 

 show no trace of the turning-lathe. The material whicli I have not been 

 able to determine with certainty must remain until Mr. Petrie's full illus- 

 trated report is pul)lished, when each group of objects in our collection 

 will, no doubt, find its proper place. 



Most of the flint implements now before you are from the invaders — 

 these are oval in shape and eciually worked on both sides. There are, 

 however, a few dark weathered flints found upon the top of tlie limestone 

 plateau, some 1400 feet above the Nile— all of which show signs of a 

 longer exposure than that to which were subjected those flints to which 



