( Uty ) 
Aet. XVIII *' — Account of the Sepulchral Caverns of Egypt 
With a Plate, By Colonel Steaton, C. B., 6th Dra- 
goons. Communicated by the Author. 
I HE Lybian chain of rocky mountains borders the western 
side of the Nile, and the Djibel Mokattem, the eastern side, 
sometimes approaching close to the river, at other times reced- 
ing to a distance of several miles. 
At Thebes, the cultivated plain is very extensive on the 
eastern, while it is more limited on the western bank, and, on 
both, the country is extremely fertile ; the dourra, or large 
millet (Holcus Durra,) attaining the height of six feet 
On the, western side, the rock is excavated into sepulchral 
caverns, forming the Necropolis of ancient Thebes, and now 
very generally occupied as dwellings by the population of the 
village of El Gournou. Some of these catacombs have a co- 
vered entrance, or vestibule, cut out of the rock, leading to a 
gallery, with mummy-pits on both sides, and at the extremity. 
In others there is no porch, but a descent, either perpendicular, 
on an inclined plane, or by steps in the rock, to a painted cham- 
ber, containing sometimes a few mummies, the greater part 
being deposited in pits, which are more sunk than the chamber. 
In the descending passage, as well as in the chamber, the sides 
and ceiling are polished as highly as wrought marble : The stone 
thus polished is remarkably white, and frequently is covered 
with a stucco quite as fine as plaster of Paris, of the most 
dazzling whiteness, and often, but not always, highly varnished. 
On the sides or walls thus prepared, are represented the feats of 
a hero, scenes drawn from the agriculture, manufactures, com- 
merce, sports and amusements of the ancient Egyptians ; or, 
we find representations illustrating their progress, in those re- 
mote periods, in the arts, the sciences, and in the luxuries, re- 
finements, and elegancies of life, or depicting a wide range in 
mythology, from which the Greeks and Romans have borrowed 
largely. These pictured representations are intaglios, relievos, 
or painted on the surface : the colours are, from the almost 
complete exclusion of the atmospheric air, in many sepulchres. 
* It is the staple of the country : the bread is made from it. 
