EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN 99 



hosts at full stretch from early morning to late evening 

 every day. There was drawing, copying, photo- 

 graphing, recording, comparison of specimens, piecing 

 of them together, discussing them and planning new 

 work, besides attending to the discipline of many men 

 not concentrated at one spot, but dispersed among 

 different diggings. 



An amusing scene occurred at a stated hour every 

 morning, when the fellahs who had found any curios 

 and wanted to sell them were seated in a long row 

 at a fixed distance from the camp. They brought 

 in rotation what they had to sell. Professor Petrie 

 knew by long experience exactly how much the 

 various articles would fetch if taken to the dealers in 

 the large towns, and offered that amount for what he 

 cared to buy. The Arabs quite understood the 

 system, namely, that by accepting what was offered 

 they would get just as much as if they took a long 

 journey in hopes of a better bargain, so the traffic 

 was quick. The objects were bought out of funds 

 variously provided, but the Egyptian Government 

 reserved some rights of purchase in the end. 



The conversation at meal-time was usually most 

 interesting. Much was going on, and the originality 

 and fertility of the ideas of Professor Petrie and the 

 ingenuity of his explanations were marvellous. The 

 actual digging was of course monotonous and 

 laborious, but the faculties of those of the party who 

 superintended each locality were kept on the alert. 

 They had to record and to make maps as well as to 

 keep the labourers to their work, and to supervise 

 them narrowly. At nightfall the men, who had mostly 

 worked for Professor Petrie during previous years, 



