BENGAZI. 
373 
and here we have a mixture of the Greek and Egyptian modes of 
burial, as might naturally, indeed, be expected*. 
Not a trace of the mode in which the bodies had been embalmed, 
nor indeed of any bodies at all, could we perceive either at Teuchira 
or Ptolemeta. Not a single fragment, either of any cinerary urn 
or of vases of any description. The dampness of the climate, in the 
winter season, would no doubt contribute very materially to the 
destruction of the bodies when the covers were once removed from 
the excavated places which contained them ; but it is at the same 
time somewhat remarkable that not a single fragment of linen or bone 
could be met with (though we searched for them with great atten- 
tion) by which the mode of burial could be ascertained. The cause 
of this is most probably the occupation of the tombs by the Arabs 
who, as we have stated above, make use of them occasionally as 
I 
places of residence for themselves and their cattle; and would 
naturally throw out any similar remains when they chanced to 
be seized with a fit of cleanliness or industry. 
The pottery would also very speedily disappear before the re- 
peated attacks of the children ; and such urns or vases as were found 
at all perfect would be employed by the women for culinary pur- 
poses, and depdts of various kinds, and would naturally be broken in 
the course of time however carefully they may have been preserved. 
The fragments thrown out would soon be buried in sand blown up 
into the quarries, in heaps, from the sea ; and thus all traces might 
* The practice of burying the body entire was, however, very frequently adopted by 
the Greeks in other places, as we shall hereafter have occasion to mention. 
