86 
with the Egyptians, their culture seems strangely 
alien, for it retained many features that had been 
extinct in Egypt for centuries, but now reappear 
strongly tainted with the effects of negro in- 
fluence. After reading the masterly interpretation 
of these data relating to the first appearance of a 
distinctively Nubian culture in Lower Nubia, it is 
easy to understand how these puzzling facts have 
so far misled all other recent writers who have 
discussed Nubian archeology. 
A very interesting feature of this report is the 
account of the superstructures that are found in 
association with these Middle Nubian graves, 
sometimes in the form of “a low dome of stone- 
work (Fig. 94), composed of circular corbelled 
courses, somewhat analogous to the mud-brick 
corbel vaults of the Protodynastic period in 
Egypt ” (p. 14), sometimes a simple cairn of stones 
roughly thrown together or more extensive circu- 
lar walls of stone surrounding the grave, often 
with a little ‘chapel’ for offerings on the east or 
north-east side. As the derivation of these types 
Fic. 2.—Cemetery 87. Grave 61. From ‘* The Archeological 
Survey of Nubia. Report for 1908-9. 
of superstructure from known _ Protodynastic 
Egyptian forms is unquestioned, itis very instruc- 
tive to note that precisely similar circular stone 
monuments (with offering chapels) have puzzled 
writers on Algerian archeology (see Maclver and 
Wilkin’s “Libyan Notes,” 1901, Chapter xzii.), 
who have not hesitated to class them with the 
megalithic group of structures in that. region. 
Limitation of space alone prevents a complete 
enumeration of all the other important features of 
these volumes. Further light is thrown upon the 
destruction of this characteristic Nubian culture, 
which flourished between the Sixth and Thirteenth 
Dynasties, by the Egyptian colonisation which 
followed the military expeditions of Usertesen ITI. 
And here, as elsewhere in Mr. Firth’s report, it 
is clearly shown how the facts brought to light in 
these archeological investigations corroborate and 
supplement the known historical evidence. 
There is now much more precise information 
concerning an interesting group of negroid people 
which made its appearance in Nubia between the 
second and sixth centuries a.p. They appear to 
NO. 2317, Oi, 03 || 
NATURE 
[Marcu 26, 1914 
be Nubas from Kordofan, perhaps the Nobadae 
brought into Nubia under Diocletian to check the 
incursions of the Blemmyes, who in turn were 
probably the nomadic kindred or descendants of 
the Middle Nubians who had taken to the Eastern 
Desert. 
The interesting mud-brick forts at Koshtamna, 
built originally somewhere about the time the 
famous Giza Pyramids were being erected in 
Eeypt, and frequently repaired and extended in 
subsequent ages, are fully and lucidly described. 
So also is the fortified Byzantine town of Sabagura. 
There is also much new information concerning 
the Ptolemaic-Roman and Byzantine periods in 
Nubia. 
The main part of the report consists of the de- 
tailed field notes, illustrated by numerous excellent 
woodcuts and a large volume of photographs and 
maps. This magnificent record of Prof. Reisner’s 
and Mr. Firth’s characteristically thorough survey 
of an extensive tract of difficult country will be 
indispensable to everyone who wants to understand 
the real history of the Nile Valley. 
G. ELiiotT SMITH. 
DHE CRIMINAL (AND OAGHE CRM 
R. GORING’S Blue Book on the English 
convict is unquestionably a product of 
immense patience and industry. In a preface 
contributed by Sir E. Ruggles-Brise, it is stated 
that, “In 1go1 Dr. Griffiths, Deputy Medical 
Officer of Parkhurst Prison, formed the idea of 
subjecting a large number of prisoners convicted 
of certain similar offences to accurate measure- 
ments in order to ascertain whether these showed 
any deviation from what may be described as the 
normal, i.e. non-criminal persons.” Under the 
encouragement of the Prison Commissioners, 
especially of Sir Bryan Donkin and Sir H. Smalley, 
and through the labours of several medical officers, 
the work grew in scope and magnitude. Ulti- 
mately it was placed in the hands of Dr. Goring, 
who was detached from duty with the view of 
tabulating the material at University College, with 
the assistance, and under the direction of Prof. 
Karl Pearson. 
“Tt soon became apparent that the scope of the 
work had grown, perhaps inevitably, far beyond 
its original purpose, viz.: the refutation or con- 
firmation, of the various theories that had been 
promulgated concerning the existence of the 
criminal type. It will be seen that the work now 
embraces a wide range, including not only an 
analysis of the physical and mental conditions of 
convicts, but also the data for speculation on 
very difficult and contentious questions as to the 
relative influence of heredity, environment, etc. 
Although the commissioners had not contemplated 
in the first instance a work of this magnitude, 
they feel it only fair to Dr. Goring that the work 
should be published on his own lines, and that 
1 ‘©The English Convict. A Statistical Study.” By Dr. C, Goring 
Pp. 440. (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office ; Wyman and Sons, 
| Ltd., 1913.) Price gs. 
