CHAF. XVI. SEALS. FORM OF TOMBS. 399 



of their being so stamped, and buried near the 

 tombs : unless, indeed, they were passports from 

 the family, or the priest who had the superintend- 

 ence of the tomb, to permit strangers to visit it. 

 They generally bear the name of the person of 

 the adjacent tomb, with that of his wife ; and 

 sometimes the same characters occur on different 

 ones, which vary also in size. They are mostly of 

 a conical shape, about a foot in length ; the cir- 

 cular face bearing the inscription being about three 

 inches in diameter*; and they appear to be made 

 for holding in the hand, and for giving rather than 

 receiving an impression. The characters were pro- 

 bably first put upon them, when unburnt, from a 

 mould. This they afterwards imparted to the clay 

 seals ; and the red liquid, into which they were 

 dipped, was intended to prevent their adhering. 



Similar seals were used for securing the doors of 

 temples, houses, and granaries. 



Tombs were built of brick and stone, or hewn 

 in the rock, according to the position of the Necro- 

 polis. Whenever the mountains were sufficiently 

 near, the latter was preferred ; and these were 

 generally the most elegant in their design and 

 the variety of their sculptures, not only at Thebes, 

 but in other parts of Egypt. Few, indeed, be- 

 longing to wealthy individuals were built of ma- 

 sonry, except those at the Pyramids in the vicinity 

 of Memphis. 



The sepulchres of the poorer classes had no up- 



* Several are met with in the British Museum and other European 

 collections. 



