CLIMATE OF UPPER EGYPT. 265 



length, the coffins having mouldered to pieces ! 

 but from those, and even the more recently 

 entombed, not the least cadaverous smell is 

 discernible, and all the bodies exhibit a similar 

 appearance, being dry, and of a dark colour. 

 The floor, walls, and atmosphere of the 

 vaults of St. Michan's are perfectly dry, the 

 flooring is even covered with dust, and the walls 

 are composed of a stone which is peculiarly cal- 

 culated to resist moisture. This combination 

 of circumstances contributes to aid nature in 

 rendering the atmosphere of these gloomy re- 

 gions more dry than the atmosphere we enjoy. 

 In one vault are shown the remains of a man 

 who died at the advanced age of one hundred 

 and eleven ; the body has now been thirty years 

 in this mansion of death, and although there is 

 scarcely a remnant of the coffin, the body is as 

 completely preserved as if it had been em- 

 balmed, with the exception of the hair." It is 

 more probable that the stones forming these 

 vaults are strongly hygrometric, than that they 

 resist moisture. They probably withdraw all 

 the moisture from the air, and thus render 

 the customary decomposition impossible. 



The durability of animal and vegetable sub- 

 stances in Upper Egypt, in consequence of the 

 peculiar dryness of the air, is quite extraordi- 

 nary. In the most ancient tombs are to be 



