TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION H. 809 



In other excavations in the neighbourhood the remains of two persons had 

 invariably been found together, one an adult, the other a child. The author 

 assigned the prehistoric sites near Burnley to three distinct periods, that of the 

 barrows, followed by the epochs of the Earth Circle and the Stone Circle. The 

 period of the barrows would appear to be the earliest, as the barrows — unlike 

 those in Yorkshire, explored by Canon Greenwell — had never, as far as the author 

 knew, been found to contain bronze objects. 



10. Antiquities near Kharc/a in the Great Oasis. 

 By Charles S. Myers, M.D. 



The photographs illustrating these antiquities were for the most part taken by 

 the late Anthony Wilkin, who accompanied the writer on his visit to the Great 

 Oasis in 1901. 



(i.) At the eastern entrance to the oasis is a large buttressed fortlike ruin, 

 called by the natives El Deir,* i.e. the monastery. Its walls have a thickness of 

 twelve feet, it covers about a hundred and ninety square feet. The neighbourhood 

 abounds in worked flint implements. 



(ii.) On a rising piece of ground about three miles north of the village of Kharga 

 stands the early Christian (Nestorian) necropolis, now called El Baguat. It con- 

 sists of streets of well-preserved tombs and funereal chapels of unburnt bricks, 

 formerly faced with plaster. Remains of mummy cloths can be seen. Niches are 

 built into the walls, probably to receive lamps and gifts of food for the dead. The 

 interiors of the tombs are decorated with the Egyptian ankh, birds, vine-tendrils, 

 &c. There is a large chapel and a tomb covered with frescoes of Biblical scenes, 

 photographs of which are exhibited. The buildings may be attributed approxi- 

 mately to the seventh century. 



(iii.) Somewhat nearer Kharga stands the well-preserved temple of Hibie, 

 begun by Darius I. and completed by Darius II., one of the most important monu- 

 ments of the Persian dynasty in Egypt. 



11. Egyptian Burial Ciistoms.^ By J OBJ^ GATtSTAffG, B.Litt. 



Excavations made during the past winter upon the hillside at Beni-Hasan, in 

 Upper Egypt, have resulted in the discovery of a necropolis of the Middle Empire, 

 about 2200 B.C., which has thrown much light upon the burial customs of that 

 period. Visitors to the well-known rock-hewn tombs of the princes and great 

 officials are familiar with the paintings of barques and ofierings and general 

 funereal furniture upon the walls. These newly found tombs are the burying- 

 places of the minor officials and distinguished women, the middle classes of the 

 locality. They are not sufficiently large, for the most part, nor of suitable 

 character, for mural decorations ; but they were found furnished with numerous 

 wooden models, which explain at once many points of interest connected with the 

 burying of the dead, and in themselves illustrate the industrial processes of the 

 ancient country. 



Altogether 492 tombs were found and examined. Many of these had never 

 previously been disturbed. Fortunately, too, in several instances the preservation 

 of the objects was perfect. They were seen, as the door of each tomb was opened 

 — boats under sail, funereal barques, granaries, men with oxen, women with 

 geese, brewers and bakers — ^all in their places, freshly painted and free from dust 

 or accumulation, exactly as they had been left four thousand years ago. A series 

 of photographic views of the interiors, taken by reflected light, illustrate the whole 

 process of the excavation, and these observations, stage by stage, as well as pictures 

 of the deposited objects themselves. 



A comparison of results obtained from the several well-furnished tombs shows 

 that there was some uniformity as to the character of the objects that furnished 



* To be published more fully in Man, 1904. 



