EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 261 



mainly like that of Egypt, but apparently rather later in historic times, as if the growth 

 originated in Egypt and took some time to pass from tribe to tribe. The intrusive 

 styles found after the Xllth Dynasty in Egypt are now shown to have come down from 

 Nubia. 



II-III Dynasties. A large cemetery between Sakkara and Abusir has been 

 cleared by Mr. Quibell, 1 containing a variety of fine mustabas, including that of Ra-hesi 

 from which came the celebrated wooden panels. This series will clear the develop- 

 ment of all this period. 



At Medum 2 the tomb chambers of the nobles Nefermaat and Atet were dis- 

 covered, and showed that the bodies had been more or less smashed up by the masons 

 before closing the chambers. The pyramid of Snefru was tunnelled, and most 

 important dates found on the stones. These show that the quarrying season was 

 from the 6th to the nth month of the calendar; as by the inundation this must be from 

 April to October, the period of the shifting calendar in the seasonal year is thus fixed. 

 This proves that somewhere between 1138 and 1683 years passed between the Illrd 

 and Xllth Dynasties; showing that Manetho's 1198 years cannot be reduced to 3 or 

 4 centuries as Meyer has proposed. 



Chronology. The discussion of the above result has led to a complete recalcula- 

 tion of the astronomical data by Mr. Knobel, 3 fuller than before. The details of the 

 application of this to history, and the explanation of the fact that the year formerly 

 began with Mesore and not with Thoth, are given by Prof. Petrie, 4 with diagrams 

 connecting the years, seasons, Egyptian shifting calendar, and rising of Sothis, so 

 that any question can be at once solved to a single day. The results for the main 

 periods (A) by purely external evidence of a physical nature, and (B) by Manetho 

 are: 



External By Manetho 



Alexander . . . . r i 3323.0. (332)8.0. 



XXVI Dynasty begins .,-,'. . 664 656 



XVIII " " . .,,'. 1587 1603 



XIII " . . ." 3366 3293 



IV - ; ; . before 4717 4651104822 



i I '.'. ?;: i " :. . 5500 to 6300 5420to559i 



:,(; :<:.<: ,,.-::irni/j' i : -:;V/ '::\- :.:. : ':.-. ': \ : .::} -.; 



The differences in the lower figures show the range of uncertainty; but as a whole the 

 close agreement is remarkable, and not a single fact in Egyptian history proves any 

 different result, so that there is no conflict of statements to be weighed. The whole 

 data of the Turin Papyrus, Manetho and Herodotus show that the Egyptians from 

 1500 B.C. down to 200 A.D. used a uniform and consistent chronology, which agrees 

 as closely as possible with external physical data back to the beginning of the kingdom. 

 More pieces have been found of the great historical register, known as the Palermo 

 stone. This was a national record of the reigns to a single day, during the first five 

 dynasties, and it shows the perfection of historical reckoning at that earliest age. 



IV -VI Dynasties. The granite temple near the Sphinx has been cleared in front, 

 and the upper temple which is connected with it has been entirely cleared; both are 

 of Chephren, and are excellently published by Dr. Holscher. 5 In restorations of these 

 and other temples it must be remembered that, the cultivation was about 20 feet lower, 

 and perhaps a quarter of a mile further away, when they were built. The temples of 

 Menkaura have been cleared by Reisner and fine portrait figures found, but not pub- 

 lished. 



The temples of Sahura, Neferarkara and Neuserra have now been fully described, 6 



1 Griffith in Arch. Report, 1910-11, p. 22. 



2 Wainwright in Meydum and Memphis III. 



3 Knobel in Historical Studies. 



4 Historical Studies. 



6 Holscher in Grabdenkmal des Konigs Chephren. 



6 Burchardt in Grabdenkmal des Konigs Sahu-re, Grabd. K. Nefer-ir-ke-re, Grabd. K. Ne- 

 user-re. 



