342 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [April, 



were so, and two of the specimens are of this description and perhaps auri- 

 ferous, but too small for examination. 



Captain Jenkins has sent for examination two specimens, which I presume 

 to have been the silver ore reported some time back in the papers, as he 

 says of them that they " have been sent in as something very precious," but 

 he supposes them to be nothing but pyrites in an unusual form ;" and in this 

 he is right, as they are nothing more than Arsenical Pyrites, the Mispicked of 

 the Cornish Miners, deposited in, or which have taken the form of, part of 

 the stem of a plant and are wholly valueless, as they do not contain a particle 

 of any precious metal. 



Mr. Cheap, B. C. S. has presented us with a tray of specimens from Egypt 

 from which we shall be able to select a few good additions to our building 

 materials, and one or two to our geological collections. Mr. Cheap's letter 

 to Mr Laidlay says : — 



" Beauleahf 26th February, 1848. 



"My dear Sir, — It is hardly necessary for me to describe the specimens 

 but the localities of some may be interesting and enable others to make, 

 similar collections if desirable. The Syenite is all from the quarry at Asso- 

 wan (the Syene of the ancients). The Sandstone from the large quarry at 

 Silsilis in upper Egypt, from which nearly all the stone employed to build 

 the temples in Egypt is supposed to have been taken, and the enormous 

 space left blank leaves very little doubt that the materials of these magnificent 

 temples were hewn from these quarries. There are among the specimens some 

 round stones of a species of flint with circles in the centre. These I picked 

 up in the valley leading to the tombs of the kings behind Goomoo, and oppo- 

 site to Thebes. What is singular as regards them is that the Egyptians make 

 their bread (or rather biscuit, from its hardness) exactly like these in upper 

 Egypt, and must, from these stones, have taken the idea of the shape and form. 

 The only other specimen that requires notice is a lump of black granite. 

 This I picked up near the temple said to have been erected by Philip Arideus 

 or Alexander (son of Alexander the great) when Ptolemy was governor of 

 Egypt in their name. The temple is about the centre of those at Karnac, 

 and it is the only one built of this granite and the facing only is composed 

 of it. You will observe it is very black, and would no doubt stand a good 

 polish. It is very similar to what is used to build the Sona Mosjeed or 

 Mosque at Gour, and also one of the Mosques at Rajmahal. The specimens 

 were all collected by me during the months of October, November and Decem- 

 ber, 1841, in Egypt, and if of any use to the Society I beg you will present 

 them for me at the next meeting." 



