New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-02-20

| the other was intact, and became the special
| object of research. Here were found a quan-
| tity Of amphora. unknown in the later imperial
tomba These amphore were sealed and con-
| tanned grain. grapes figs. fat and incense and,
while the grain and fruit had crumbled tho
fat was still oily, and the incense had not lost
| It's reslnous attribute. Decorative art had
| reached high point A flock Of ducks in q
fresco found at Negadah would not look strange
| In a modern dining-room. and has nothing OF
the stiffness OF later Egyptian art The use OF
metal was practically unknown. but many ivory
fish and ivory furniture legs carved in the shape
Of animals show great skill. 1t is held by some
Egg biologists that fine stone carving reached
It's perfection In this period having degenerated
with the Introduction Of metal work The stone
| vases Of Negadah show a marvellous variety,
and all kinds Of stone were used in their COM
position. Many vases were made Of obsidiaS
glass and this. 1t Is said, must have beer
brought from nearer point than the lower
ranges Of the Caucasus The simple funeral
| slabs OF Negadah and their cuneforTn inscrp
lions indicate an early date. and show a rea-
| tonshp to Babylon. Such cuneform inscrp-
ton was almost unknown In Egypt after the
| early empire.
The two ancient cities mentioned afford an in
tereStlnB Illustration OF the CROWN OF proper
names On the earlier slabs at Negadah a man
Is made known by his one banner name"
Slabs Of a somewhat later date give second
title with the banner name and at Abydos
the title king of Upper and Lower Egypt was
found added for the first time.
But the feature that most distinguished these
early people from those OF the later empire was
their religion. This is proved by their treats
ment Of the dead. In place OF the later Egyp-
ton religion. which preserved everything, theirs
was an Asiatc religion. which sought to de-
stroy. The king being divine. his body was
cremated, that the smoke might watt his soul to
heaven. Thus the ruins searched by Jacques
de Morgan at Negadah consisted of brick cell
lar filled, for the most part, with charred re-
mains that fell with the burning upper struct'
ure. There were about twenty-five chambers
| surrounding the royal room, where few bones
of the king found. VI. Amelineau, in his
anti-Christian spirit. supported the theory that
these burned tombs had been destroyed by the
spite Of the early Christians but the recent
discoveries disprove the suppositon. Although
common mortals were not cremated ike their
king the disposal OF their bodies shows the
same idea Of destruction The corpses were
either twisted out Of shape or more commonly
broken In pieces and scattered In their tonDs.
In the latter case the bodies seem first to have
been buried in temporary graves. then the
bones taken out and scraped. The head alone
was left intact. and this makes clear the direc-
ton Of an ancient ritual. do not cut off the
head Of the dead" So long as mummfying was
regarded as the one Egyptian method Of sepul-
ture this direction was blind to modern scholars.
Now it is thought that the traditional cutting
off Of the head OF Osiris may have been only
the custom Of rs time The discoveries at
Toukh have been cOrroborative of those at
Negadah and Abydos. one peculiar feature OF
the work there has been the excavations in the
ancient refuse heaps, or ktchen-mlddens'
These have brought to light many curious
utensils.
The discoveries Of to-day are rapidly proving
the existence OF a distinct people and civillZa-
ton at the ushering in Of the ancient empire.
This nation was Of a white. Libyan race. VINO
came as conquerors from the region Of Babylon.
With them they brought wheat, barley. oxen,
sheep. goats the beginnings of writing and,
PERHAPS tools Traces of this race are said to
be found yet in the Balearic and Greek isles.
as well as in the Nile Valley. The inveterate
lying of the natives. and their habit Of ram
sacking the tombs greatly hirders the work OF
the Egyptologist Still. the very fact that the
tombs are being paged urges on the Work IN
the many places where no excavations have
been made Until recently the more ancient
to1nbs have been little harmed by the natives
as they contain practically no jewels. But now
the iourshing trade in anything that Is an
antiquity has tempted the natives to enlarge
their work Of dissertation