W. M. Flinders Petrie

“ A vertical junction a few inches high, clean sand on one side and earth on the other, will lead to tracing the whole plan of a destroyed temple; a little patch of sand in the ground will produce a foundation deposit to your hands, and give the age of a building which has vanished; a slightly darker soil in a trench will show you the wall of a town which you are seeking; some bricks laid with mud instead of sand in a pyramid will point the way to the sepulchre. A beginner is vastly disappointed that some great prize does not turn up after a week or two of work ”

“ But it is rather in Europe than in Egypt that our interest centres. As no European literature remains to us older than the sixth or seventh century B.C. (except the oral poems) , it has been too readily assumed that no civilization worthy of the name could have dwelt here, and that we are indebted to the East for all our skill. So far from this being the case it now seems that we must almost reverse the view. We have in the Egyptian records the accounts of a great European confederacy, which smote Egypt again and again,—Greece, Asia Minor, Italy, and Libya, all leagued together. ”

“ Islam is all in all to the fellah: the unbelievers he looks on as a miserable minority; and it is only the unpleasant fact that they cannot be crushed at present that prevents his crushing them, and asserting the supremacy of Islam. A clever Arab once remarked to me concerning a department which was mismanaged by European direction, ‘How much better it would be to have an Arab over it!’ But on my asking where he could find a native whose corruption would not be far worse than the present rule, he could but reluctantly give in. ”

“ Even a particularly good-natured and pleasant native remarked with gusto how good it would be to take a certain family who were of thievish habits, and pour petroleum over them—from the old woman to the baby—and so burn them all up alive: he gloated over the thoroughness of the undertaking, while all the time he was cheating his own employer. It is a pity for their sakes that they do not believe in witchcraft, the whole village would so much enjoy the festivity of doing a ducking, in the fashion of our ancestors. ”

“ The fallen blocks of the granite pylon needed to be turned over, as they were all cut out of older sculptures; and to do this without tackle, I dug a trench on one side of the heap of blocks, and then rolled them over one by one into it, so as to turn them. In this way I examined every block, and discovered the fragments of the enormous colossus of Ramessu II in red granite, which must have been about 80 feet high, and have towered far above the temple roofs, amid the forest of obelisks which adorned the city. The toe alone is as large as a man’s body. ”

“ In short, all the essentials of an advanced architecture seem to have been quite familiar to the Egyptians; and we must cease to argue from the simplicity of the religious buildings which we know—such as the granite temples of Gizeh, or the limestone temple of Medum—for deciding on the architecture of the fourth and third dynasties. We seem to be as far from a real beginning as ever. ”

“ This earliest civilization was completely master of the arts of combined labour, of masonry, of sculpture, of metal-working, of turning, of carpentry, of pottery, of weaving, of dyeing, and other elements of a highly organized social life; and in some respects their work is quite the equal of any that has been done by mankind in later ages. ”

“ In one place, however, we find that there are no chips or potsherds lying about: track around, and find the space of this clearance, probably it runs along for some distance; you are on the top of a mud-brick wall, denuded down to the level of the rubbish in which it is buried. Follow the clear space, and you will outline the fortifications of the city or its temple. Or perhaps you notice a difference in the vegetation—no plants will grow on particular ground; here is probably a mass of hard mud-brick or stonework, without moisture or nutriment, and you will thus find the walls. ”

“ Many visitors to Egypt see the dancing and howling derwishes, but few know of the common and less obtrusive orgies of the same kind in the villages. They are connected strictly with a devotional sentiment: a man who has just joined in such excitement will tell you that it is ‘good to see Allah’ in that way—much like the fervid and maddening religious intoxication which yet finds a place in English civilization. ”

“ In the first place, a strong and just government, with a sufficient amount of an incorruptible European element to crush out bribery and ensure justice; this, in a couple of generations, would go far to alter the national character. To trust one’s money to the care of the government at the post-office, is the idea which astounds a fellah more than anything else he can learn of England. An education in which the Koran is but incidental, and not a crushing load on the memory, is another necessity. ”

“ A yet more heartrending sight was the pile of papyrus rolls, so rotted that they fell to pieces with a touch, showing here and there a letter of the finest Greek writing. The next house, also burnt, was the best of all. Here we found the limestone statuette of the owner, Bakakhuiu, inscribed in demotic on the base; a sensible, sturdy-looking, active man, who seems to have been a lawyer or notary, to judge by his documents. Many household objects of pottery and stone were found, jars, mortars, &c., and a beautiful blue-glazed jar, perhaps the largest such known, and quite perfect. ”

“ Yet both in Egypt and Palestine the discrimination of mud-brick walls from the surrounding soil and rubbish in which they are buried, is one of the most tedious and perplexing tasks. To settle what is a wall and what is washed mud, and to find the limits and clear the face of the wall, is often a matter of half-an-hour’s examination. The two opposite ways of working are by trenching sections through the wall, or by clearing the faces of it. The first is clumsy, but is needful sometimes, especially if the wall is much like the soil, and the workman cannot be trusted ”

“ In some portraits the boldness of the work is almost like some modern romanticist’s; at a foot distance the surface is nearly incomprehensible, at six or eight feet it produces a perfect effect.
Several of these pictures when found were in a perilous state; the film of wax paint was scaled loose from the panel, and they could never be even tilted up on edge without perishing. After finding several in this tender state, and pondering on their preservation, I ventured to try the same process as for the stucco coffin. ”

“ Illahun has then proved of great value to our knowledge of Egyptian civilization; it has shown us a completely arranged town of the middle kingdom; it has surrounded us with all the products and manufactures of that age; it reveals the simultaneous use of finely wrought flint tools with those of copper, when bronze was yet unknown; it provides us with the writings of the period, including a will two thousand years older than any known before; the pyramid proves to be of a design new to us, and contains one of the finest examples of mechanical skill ”

“ Then there was a wall, either of the town or of some one large building which forms the whole ruin. Is there a ring of mounds with a central depression? Then there was a temple or large permanent building, with house ruins around it. Is there a gentle slope up one side, and a sharp fall on the other? Then it is a rubbish mound. Is the mass high above the general soil? Then several successive layers of habitation may be expected. So, even from afar, some ideas may be gleaned before setting foot on a ruined site. ”

“ But innumerable questions arise as work goes on, which can only be settled according to their circumstances: still, the soaking bath and the wax pot are the main preservatives.
The excavator should always be ready to take squeezes or photographs at once when required, and it is the best rule always to copy every inscription as soon as it is seen. If only an hour had been spent on the stele of Mesha, how much less should we have to regret! There is always the chance of accidents, and no risks should be run with inscribed materials. ”

“ When we entered a tomb, I opened the coffins in the gentlest way, drawing or cutting out the pegs which fastened them; and then a glance inside showed if any bead-work existed. If there were bead patterns, the next step was to fetch a petroleum stove down into the chamber, melt a batch of beeswax, and then when it was on the point of chilling, ladle it out, and dash it over the bead-work. If the wax is too hot it sinks in, and soaks all the mummy wrappings into a solid mass; if poured on, it runs off the body in a narrow stream. ”

“ Akin to this fanaticism is the ruling view of everything as kismet, the allotted fate. Perhaps no abstraction is so deleterious to a character as this;{175} as a man always can thus shut his eyes to the consequences of his own actions, and refuse to learn by experience. I never yet found a fellah who confessed to doing wrong, or to being sorry for what he had done. He may sometimes stand and look aghast at the consequences of his own carelessness; but he will do no more, and no less, if the damage is the fault of someone else. ”

“ Perhaps in some place nothing whatever may be found that would be worth sixpence in the antiquity market; and yet the results from walls, and plans, and pottery, and measurements, may be what historians have been longing to know about for years before.
It need hardly be said that the greatest care is required in making certain as to exactly where things are found. Workmen should never be allowed to meddle with each other’s lots of potsherds or little things; and any man mixing up things from elsewhere with his own finds should be dismissed. ”

“ Our common belief in the overshadowing importance of Rome in all our history is probably largely influenced by our literary history being derived from Roman sources, and this Italian view being fed for ecclesiastical purposes in the Middle Ages. In the broader view of the history of civilization in Europe, the spread of law and Latin in Southern Europe is perhaps Rome’s main result. ”

“ It is certain that the perceptions of an Egyptian are far less keen than ours. Their feeling of pain is hardly comparable with our own: with bad injuries, such as torn or crushed fingers, they do not seem at all distressed; and a boy said to me that it was no wonder I healed quickly, as I did not disturb a wound, ‘whereas an Arab would pull a cut open to look at it inside.’ With pain, so with the senses in health. ”

“ We see then that Daphnae is the complement of Naukratis: they were twin cities, and teach us even more by their contrasts than their resemblances. We again reach back, as at Naukratis, through the pre-Alexandrine period to the foundation of Greek power in Egypt. We again find the interaction of Greek and Egyptian civilization. We again see the rise of a local school of pottery, and have the great advantage of its being confined to just a century, of which we know the exact limits. ”

“ In reality, Egypt is one of the most delightful countries for a walking tour, as regards circumstances. For three months from the middle of November there will never be a day too warm for active exercise; there will be hardly any rain above Cairo, nor as much in the Delta as during the summer in any European country. There is the same safety as in England or France: in very lonely places, as upon the desert, an occasional robbery may be committed, but I have never been molested by either fellahin or Bedawin. ”

“ In cleaning down the face of a wall it may often be traced by its hardness, but this is not a test to be left to workmen, or they may cut away at random; a very good plan is to let the man trench along a few inches outside of the face of the wall, and then cut down the remaining coat of rubbish oneself, to bare the face. Though pottery, stones, &c., often serve to show what is accumulated soil, yet they are found in brick sometimes, and must not be relied on entirely. ”

“ This is done all in unison, and slowly at first; gradually the rate quickens, the accent is stronger, and becomes more of an explosive howl, sounding afar off like an engine; the excitement is wilder, and hideously wild, until a horrid creeping comes over you as you listen, and you feel that in such a state there is no answering for what may be done. ”

“ The temptation of having any credit of character is too great for them; they hasten to commute it for instant advantage, as soon as they see that there is anything to be made of it. The goose that lays golden eggs has a short and perilous life in Egypt.
That there is scarcely any sense of honour as to truthfulness need hardly be remarked. The idea of truth for its own sake does not weigh appreciably against either present advantage or serving the interest of another. The most respectable fellahin I have known would lie readily and unlimitedly, if they thought it beneficial. ”

“ As early as 1600 B.C., it appears that a considerable civilization existed in Greece, which flourished in the succeeding centuries, especially in alliance with Libya. Probably it was already beginning in the period of the thirteenth dynasty, before 2000 B.C. By about 1400 B.C. a great proficiency in the arts is seen; elaborate metal-work and inlaying was made, influenced by Egyptian design, but neither made in Egypt, nor by Egyptians. Glazed pottery painted with designs was successfully made, and the arts of glazing and firing were mastered. ”

“ On the desert hills behind Esneh I found what is—so far—the oldest thing known from Egypt. In prehistoric days the Nile used to fill the whole breadth of the valley, to a depth of a couple of hundred feet, fed with the heavy rainfall that carved back the valleys all along the river by great waterfalls, the precipices of which now stand stark and arid in the bleaching sun. Many parts of the valley are above the present river, and are now desert, so that at Esneh the hills are several miles from the Nile, and on a spur of one—where probably no man sets foot for{76} ”