EXCAVATIONS AT ABYDOS—NAVILLE. 585 
tomb, but a reservoir, a great hydraulic work. This shows that the 
ancients well understood the flow of subterranean waters, the laws 
which control their rise and fall. It is very probable that this reser- 
voir played some réle in the worship of Osiris. The cells are perhaps 
those which appear in the Book of the Dead; it is possible also that 
the water was believed to have a curative property and that it was 
of service to invalids who came there to seek a cure. Did the barque 
of Osiris sometimes float on this reservoir, towed by the priests who 
followed the footpath ?’—for the solar barque such as one sees in the 
tombs of kings was always pulled along by a tow line, stopping at 
some of the doors or chambers. Such are the questions which arise 
and to which we can not yet reply. 
The few travelers who have already seen the reservoir of Abydos 
have been struck with the grandeur and dignity of the edifice, in 
spite of the ruined condition in which it was found. Who would 
have thought a few months ago that at 10 meters underground there 
would appear a structure such as this, surpassmg in grandeur the 
most colossal Cyclopean edifices? What astrange country this Egypt 
is! We were beginning to believe that we had found all the great 
structures and that nothing more remained to be discovered. Who 
can say that this region does not conceal beneath the ground some 
majestic work of the most ancient Egyptians that may bring sur- 
prises as astonishing as those of Abydos? 
