DOI Artikel:
Smith, Cecil: Progress of Egyptology, [2]: Greco-Egyptian Antiquities
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10055#0046
32
Progress of Egyptology.
appearance which seems to be mica; the result being that they have
very much the same staring effect as the eyes of the Faiyuni portraits.
Seven examples of these gypsum portrait heads are in the British
Museum. During the spring of this year the oases of the Libyan desert
have been traversed by Mr. Herbert Weld-Blundell, who has brought
back from these rarely visited localities a quantity of photographs and
highly interesting information.
Once more the tomb of Alexander has been discovered. This announce-
ment may be looked for regularly every three or four years, and each
anniversary of its occurrence brings a fresh variegation of more or less
surprising detail. In the Egyptian Gazette of June 20th, 1893, it is
stated that one Joannides asserts that he has found in digging (at Cassar's
camp near Alexandria) the tombs of Alexander and of Cleopatra, at 16
and 12 metres respectively from the surface. Each tomb had the name
of the owner inscribed over the bronze door, and contained, besides
a marble sarcophagus, a tempting array of parchments (!), jewellery, and
Greek vases. Since more than a year has elapsed, and nothing further
of this remarkable discovery has transpired, we may safely leave Joan-
nides in full possession. On the other hand, it is only fair to say that
the odds are decidedly in favour of the great Macedonian having been
buried at Alexandria. In the Classical Review, 1893, p. 245, E. J. Chin-
nock collected seven passages from classical authors which go to prove
this. Arrian, Diodorus, Curtius Rufus, and Aelian are unanimous in
stating that Ptolemy conveyed the body thither; Suetonius and Dio
affirm that Augustus saw the body there : and Strabo says that the Sema
was an enclosure near the museum, in which were the tombs of Alexander
and the royal Ptolemies; the original golden coffin had before Strabo's
time been exchanged for one of transparent alabaster (hyalos). We may
perhaps hope that the newly founded Societe arche'ologique Alexandrine
will be enabled definitely to clear up the question : an earnest of their
existence has already appeared in the Rapport sur les fouilles pratiqvees
et a praiiquer a Alexandrie, by the energetic Conservateur of the Alex-
andrine Museum, G. Botti. The same writer has published a guide to
his museum (Notice des more, exposes au Mus. Gr. Rom. d'Alex.). While
on this subject we may notice a curious collection of fragments of precious
stones, marbles, &c, recently acquired by the Dresden Museum (Arch.
Anzeiger, 1894, p. 36). They were found from time to time washed up
on the shore of old Alexandria, on the site where the palace of the
Ptolemies stood, and probably formed part of mosaics belonging to this
palace : they include emerald, turquoise, red, yellow, and blue chalcedony,
Progress of Egyptology.
appearance which seems to be mica; the result being that they have
very much the same staring effect as the eyes of the Faiyuni portraits.
Seven examples of these gypsum portrait heads are in the British
Museum. During the spring of this year the oases of the Libyan desert
have been traversed by Mr. Herbert Weld-Blundell, who has brought
back from these rarely visited localities a quantity of photographs and
highly interesting information.
Once more the tomb of Alexander has been discovered. This announce-
ment may be looked for regularly every three or four years, and each
anniversary of its occurrence brings a fresh variegation of more or less
surprising detail. In the Egyptian Gazette of June 20th, 1893, it is
stated that one Joannides asserts that he has found in digging (at Cassar's
camp near Alexandria) the tombs of Alexander and of Cleopatra, at 16
and 12 metres respectively from the surface. Each tomb had the name
of the owner inscribed over the bronze door, and contained, besides
a marble sarcophagus, a tempting array of parchments (!), jewellery, and
Greek vases. Since more than a year has elapsed, and nothing further
of this remarkable discovery has transpired, we may safely leave Joan-
nides in full possession. On the other hand, it is only fair to say that
the odds are decidedly in favour of the great Macedonian having been
buried at Alexandria. In the Classical Review, 1893, p. 245, E. J. Chin-
nock collected seven passages from classical authors which go to prove
this. Arrian, Diodorus, Curtius Rufus, and Aelian are unanimous in
stating that Ptolemy conveyed the body thither; Suetonius and Dio
affirm that Augustus saw the body there : and Strabo says that the Sema
was an enclosure near the museum, in which were the tombs of Alexander
and the royal Ptolemies; the original golden coffin had before Strabo's
time been exchanged for one of transparent alabaster (hyalos). We may
perhaps hope that the newly founded Societe arche'ologique Alexandrine
will be enabled definitely to clear up the question : an earnest of their
existence has already appeared in the Rapport sur les fouilles pratiqvees
et a praiiquer a Alexandrie, by the energetic Conservateur of the Alex-
andrine Museum, G. Botti. The same writer has published a guide to
his museum (Notice des more, exposes au Mus. Gr. Rom. d'Alex.). While
on this subject we may notice a curious collection of fragments of precious
stones, marbles, &c, recently acquired by the Dresden Museum (Arch.
Anzeiger, 1894, p. 36). They were found from time to time washed up
on the shore of old Alexandria, on the site where the palace of the
Ptolemies stood, and probably formed part of mosaics belonging to this
palace : they include emerald, turquoise, red, yellow, and blue chalcedony,