Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-05-04
ARCHAEOLOGICAL sECEcET.
The Details OF Prof. FLINDERS re-
tries Latest Find.

tries Latest Find.
Rrief teiegraphic mention was maui
several days ago TO a recent iihpo,.
archaeological discovery made IN hsyp'
hv professor Flinders Petrie. Inc us-
tails Of the find are thus given In tne
New York Suns London Correspondent.
"The soil Of Egypt has just yielded w
arother secret. which archaeologists anu
the world at large will receive with tne
keenest interest. Professor fhhoers
trie. who Is the greatest Oh noum
Egyptologists. announces tne oiseo ~,
~ n new race, whose existence mar
Si,herto heen unsuspected In that ancient
iard He has lust returned from three
,,ontbs. search in the district between
RaiIas and Negadeh. thirty miles norm
~ Tbebes He uncovered the remains oi
several successive dynasties OK great
classical interest In the ruins Oh ,he
ancient town Of Nubt They were us
covered less than quarter Oh nne
awav from the remains of another CITY,
which &c utterly different In all It's con-
tents from anything heretofore iouna W
Egypt. II the town had been touhu III
Syria or Persia. no one wouiu na.e ~ p,
noaed n was connected with Egypt. NOT
pnIv was the town found. but also
series of cemeteries Of the same race
Nearly two thousand graves were ex-
cayated. Every object was noted In po-
sxi,n. and everything was preserved anu
marked by Petrie and his assistants
STRANGE AND INEXPL1cABlE.
The result was most strange and mex
plicable. Not a single Egyptian OBJECT
was found not a scarab, hierogiypn'
head. god, or amulet. such as are apunu-
ant in the neghboring Egyptian town.
MOI body was mummified or buried AT
fuII length. All were contracted. with
their knees bent up to their arms. Inc
age of these people was the next PROB
lem. Little by little the explorer nm''eu
their epoch until he can denniteiy say
that they lived between the seventh ana
ninth dynasties. or about 300 Is. Z.
They probably were the people who over
threw Egyptian civilization at the close
Of the old kingdom. and produced the
dark age of the seventh and eighth dy-
nasties. when the Egyptians seem TO
have been oppressed by disaster. II u
clear that the physiognomy OF the race
was fine and powerful. without trace
of prognathsm. Their stature was re-
markabie. some being over six feet In
height The great development OK the
legs point to their having been a nil
race Their hair was brown, wavy, ana
not crisp. The prominent. aqulline nose.
resemblance TO the Libyan and Amorite
tyne. one remarkable custom was the
eating Of portions of the bodies or DE-
ceased persons. The head was almost
always severed from the shoulders, and
the hands were often removed. Pottery
was placed over the decapitated neck
In one place was a handful or ribs, IN
another a handful OF arm bones, else
where q pile OF vertebrate. The bones OF
n. rad N
lines of bones were strewn round pit,
each with their ends broken OF and the
marrow scooped out All these things
point undoubtedly 10 ceremonial can
nibalism.
SUPERIOR POTTERY.
II Is not to be inferred that this I'm
piled ignorance OF civilization. In many
lines OF pottery. flint working, and bead
making these people were the equals or
superiors OF the Egyptians. Their arts
were well advanced In most ways, but In
two directions there was a low level. No
writing was known beyond personal
marks. Drawing and sculpture were In
rude condition. Metal, however, was
we'll known. Copper chisels or rather
adzes, show that the people were familiar
with woodwork. and traces Of finely
carved bed-frames with bulls feet were
found Copper needles show that sewn
garments were used and copper har-
poons were made. Flint work was more
highly developed than among the Egyp-
tians. The forms OF knives differ from
any Of the Egyptian race, and the ex-
quisite machine-llke taking OF them
shows the highest skill.
POINT WESTWARD.
Who this unknown race were ana
whence they came cannot yet be de-
cided. Their pottery shows some pecu-
liar resemblances TO that OF the Amorite
period In Palestine On the other hand,
several connections point westward to
Malta and Italy. Professor Petrie found
ample evidence In the same neighborhood.
which is a high plateau LOO feet above
the present level of the Nile, OF the ex-
istence OF a race OF men antedating all
history by many thousands OF years.
Large, massive fiints. beautifully worked
and unworn were discovered OF exactly
the same forms as these well known In
the river gravels Of France and England.
The enormous age Of these was shown
BY the black and brown staining OF
them, while others 5000 years old, by
their side. showed scarcely tinge or
weathering. Besides these. other hints
OF later palaeolithic type are found en-
bedded In the ancient gravels or the
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