The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-20
DISCOVERIES AT BENI HAsAN.

the past season in the hillside at Beni Hasan, site already famous for it's painted tombs and early architectural features. Below the gallery along which. these lie there has now been found an extensive metropolis, remark able both for the preservation of the furniture in it's tombs and for the wealth of material which these supplied for illustrating the burial customs of the middle empire at time when pure Egyptian culture was nearing its cul- imitation.
 Though the rock-hewn tombs for which the site has become known are themselves of the eleventh and twelfth dynasties, 1t has been supposed, from the composition of place-names men, tioned on the walls and from other rea- sons, that the district was already of importance at an earlier perior, dating back possibly as far as the old empire. It is now seen that gallery of smaller rock tombs, at lower level, was hewn prabohly in the sixth dynasty. These tonbs are eight or ten in number, two of them being inscribed in the style and with the names characteristic of the period One of them, the tomb of a courier named Apa lHer-ab-a), chief man of his town, is also decorated in bas-relief and with paintings illustra- ting agricultural and other convention ~ al scenes. The tomb had been reused later in the middle empire for burial of other persons, and had been subse- quently broken into and plundered But the thieves had failed in three in- stances to observe the original burials at lower depth, leaving them entire with their original deposits of a1abaster vases and other tomb furniture undis- turbed. This tomb Temporarily num- bered 4SD will eventually be made ac- cessible to visitors, being the earliest yet:found in the vicinity.
 The other ton1bs were all of the early middle "empire--the eleventh and early twelfth dynastles. Four hundred and ninety-two of them were opened and examined. These, too, were hewn in the rock, but were of the more familiar character known as pit tombs, in which a vertical shaft gives access to small burial chamber tor chambers) at the bottom. More than one hundred of them had never been previously en- tered, and their doors were now opened - for the first time since they had been closed four thousand years ago at the time of the interment. In some cases the whole contents, being as it proved largely, of wood, had been destroyed by worms, but sufficient number of cases remained to render an unique series of observations possible.
 Iii the tomb of one Nefer-y, a chief physician, it was seen upon opening the door which closed the burial chamber that upon the painted coffin and at it's side were a number of wooden models of objects and scenes familiar from the wall paintings of the larger tombs. Nearest to the door, upon the coffin, was a great rowing boat, the twenty oarsmen standing and swinging back in time to the beat of two figures seated on raised platform in the center. Be- yondythis was the model of a granary, with six compartments in rows Of three on either side of the courtyard between them. Men are standing knee deep in real grain filling baskets, while schibe seated on the roof, pen in hand. keeps the count. A flight of steps leads up to the roof, which is pierced with holes through which the prain is poured into the chambers below, the doors being closed and sealed. The principle is nat ural, as it would be impossible to fill the chamber through the open door The method is still employed by the richer cultivators of the country, even by the head man of the village nearest to this site (El Kram). Behind the granary in the tomb were representa- tions of various occupations, also in models of wood. A man carries a large offering jar, a girls supports with one hand a basket poised on her head, and iii the other holds the wings of two geese. In a group women are engaged in making and baking bread; one grinds, another kneads, third is rak- ing the fire in which are small charred embers of wood. Another well-eXecu- ted group represents the making oi beer from fermentation of bread, by a process similar to that employed in the native industry to-day. One man is seen Inside a tub, pressing with his feet Two others are bearing water in pitch CTS suspended from yokes upon theil
 
 strainers placed loose upon the casks while in front @ number of casks lie naturally in row. By the side of the offin was a sailing boat. the numerou: sailors assuming the attitudes necessa ry for i1oisting the large square sail, ol which the yasds and rigging were wei preserved. Two men in characteristic pastures are using poles vigorously over the sides. The steering is done. ir all cases, by a large oar attached at the end of the shaft to post fixed in the boat, A short stick then fixed into tht shaft served the helmsman for tillel by which to turn the blade as required Finally, he collins themselves were found to be inscribed on the inside: with new Pyramid texts" of the time Of Unas. f
 The furniture of this tomb is charac teristic. and explains some of those 1T