448 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1915. 



period only the so-called " round roads " which above, upon the 

 mountain, connect the tombs and the frontier stelae, and their con- 

 necting roads which lead through the plain from north to south, as 

 also the roads from the tombs to the various points of the city. The 

 " round," or encircling, roads possibly served for the military guard 

 of the city territory. As regards the object of the other roads, the 

 most plausible assumption for the present is that they connected the 

 working places, unfinished tombs, and frontier stelae with one an- 

 other and with the factories in the city. 



In this year's campaign only a few large estates, but very many 

 small premises were cleared, especially such as already had been 

 investigated and rummaged by our English and native predecessors 

 during the excavation of the city, so that little was learned as to the 

 general arrangement of buildings on large areas. But one assump- 

 tion which was formerly questioned was definitely proved. What 

 was formerly, though with some doubt, designated as a front garden 

 on the street, is now proved to exist at house O 48, 14 (pi. 3, fig. 1) 

 in the form of tree holes regularly arranged w^ith a rectangular 

 border of bricks. The general arrangement seems to be that the 

 house garden proper was inclosed within high walls and thus hidden 

 from public view, but in front of the high wall there was another 

 garden surrounded by low fences, so that passers-by could enjoy the 

 trees and bushes. This consideration for the public, however, is not 

 a characteristic of the oriental, who timidly conceals his possessions 

 behind high walls. But the customs of the ancient Egyptians, espe- 

 cially those practiced in the home and the family, must not be meas- 

 ured by the customs of modern Mohammedan Orientals. 



One remarkable habit which was this year firmly established, 

 though it was in former years often observed, but not clearly recog- 

 nized, shows how conservative Egypt is. On the estate of a wealthy 

 man (house P 47, 17) the main entrance on the street and the entrances 

 to the dwelling were walled up. The walling-up was executed when 

 the wooden doors were still in their frames. Later the white ants, 

 which at Tell el-Amarna devour anything made of wood or similar 

 substances, destroyed the wooden doors behind the masonry. The 

 owners who departed from this estate, probably on their return to 

 Thebes, secured their property, which they perhaps expected to use 

 again, by walling it up against housebreakers. This custom had 

 already been practiced in the Old Kingdom, as in the mortuary 

 temple of King Sahu-re', near Abusir, and is still employed in Egypt. 

 Thus several years ago the German consul general, after all the pack- 

 ing cases of his predecessor had been lost, had the storeroom which 

 held his own properties walled up on the advice of natives who were 

 familiar with the conditions of the country, and with the desired 

 result, for the boxes were all there when he departed, though some- 



