The sun., 1894-08-20
rUIxs or prEHIsfoAro xorros.


There il now on exhibition in London an in
| tereStinR collection OF antiquities found IN re-
cent excavations made ON the site of koptos W
Egypt
The ancient site Of Koptos formed the Nile
termination of the oldest trading route Of the
world, the roadway passing through the Nalley
uf Hsmnamat tu the shores VI the hed Sea. A.
cording to tradition, KOptOs was one OF the ilrst
settlements founded by the dynsstic Egyptian
i'm migrants when they arrived from their home
ia the sacred land Of Punt In southwestern
Arabia Archseoiosists have looked, with hopes
OF obtaining valuable material. toward the site
OF Kuptos. Prof. Petrle returned not long ago
after spending eleven weeks in excavations
there, aud the collection now ON exhibition Is
part OF the result of his laOors.
The site Of the templeof KOptOs was thor.
uughly cleared, and the result was the discovery
OF no less than six successive temples ranging
from the most remote prehistoric time TO the
age of the Ptniemys Hundreds Of objects Of
great interest were discovered. Hitherto Egyp-
tian art and civilization have presented strik =
ing paradox. The further back one goes the
better the art In the lowest strata Of the tenn
Pile of Koptos Prof. Petrie discovered the re-
mains of an ancient settlement, which for the
first time reveals prehistoric Egypt.
There is on exhibition In his collection n mas
sivs head Of n statue, which is one Of three
figures found at great depth beneath the
ptolemalc temple. The statues themselves were
thirteen feet high, and were little, more than
truncated cones, the arms and legsbeing indi-
Gated by hammered out lines. and the ears and
whiskers were indicated in the same way. No
trace Of chisel work however, can be found on
any OF them. Girdles around the waist OF
each, and upon them are a series OF curious
OF the god OF the primitive people. A
writer IN an English paper says that these are
probably the first statues of Min, the god OF
Koptos. The face is IN no way Indicated, and H.
IS believed that IT was represented by wooden
mack.
In the rough sculptures on the bands and
girlles around these figures is represented
among other things. he fetich pole OF Min. II
Is all upright stan with n bouquet OF flowers at
the top: and surinonnted by an ostrich feather
Around this polo are hung 9sfrssrinss con
other girdle there Is representation OF
an elephant and u r remarka6le drawing
to connect the early settlers with the shores Of
the Red Sea and the district OF Somaliland.
where the elephant and gazelle would be known
Probably OF equal interest is a collection q
rude pottery made Of coarse Nile mud carefully
posed to belong TO the period OF the first or sec
ond dynasty, as the representation Of a dog with
large oval stand, is never found after the time
Of the third dynasty.
skfS sSSoe OF artists who had ae learned TO
model in clay. These artisans used in working
SOFT stone and wood the same finish that they
impaired to the plastic class.
Some Of the objects representing the prehis-
tortc period noticeable One OF them IL
alabester vase inscribed with the cartouchc Of
Kerfu, the builder Of the first pyramid. Two Of
the finest pieces of work in the collection repre-
sent the period of the twelfth dynasty. One
of them Is a figure of Usertesen I.
dancing before Min, and the other Is q repre-
eentation of Aminemhat standing before Min.
The former Of these is In intagic. and in tho
latter the hieroglyphics are RAISED. They are the
gem Of the collection by reason Of their delicate
finish and minute attention TO detail Some of
the foundation deposits OF the temple OF Koptos.
built by Thothmes H., were found in pits under
the centres OF the wall placed at the bottom OF
the pit, the upper part being filled In with hun
dreds Of vases. These deposits consist OF bronze
models Of tools, knives OF various sizes, narrow
chisels and axes, and all Of them Inscribed with
the words "Thothmes beloved Of Min Of Koptos."
number OF model corn ubbers, made of sand
stone and inscri bed with blue paint, were also
found. Several objects hitherto unknown
found In the Ptolemaic temple
Three tanks, having fourteen steps on each
side are among them. They evidently
models of the sacred tank of Min. and one OF
them bears an inscription OF Aristius Saturnius.
1t 10 supposed THAI these tanks were used by the
wealthier persons to perform ablutions OF their
hands and feet before entering the temple and
thus TO AVOID using the great tank of the CON-
mon herd. There Is q model of q foot at the bot
tom of one tank. This collection has demon
strated the richness of the field of Koptos, and
further interesting discoveries are expected.