I—EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND.
A.—EXCAVATIONS.
Work at the Temple of Deie el Bahari.
The campaign of excavation during the winter 1893-94 is the longest
that I ever made. The days during which the men were at work extended
from the 9th of December to the 15th of March. Owing to the kindness
of M. de Morgan, I had at my disposal a great quantity of railway
plant, and the result has been that the clearing of the temple has made
considerable progress ; in fact, I believe that as far as the clearing itself
is concerned—I mean the removal of the debris which covers the temple—
another campaign like the last would briug it to an end.
It is not necessary to dwell again on the special nature of the work
I have been doing for these two winters. Its aim is to bring to light
one of the most interesting temples of Egypt, of which up to last year
two-thirds were hidden by mounds of rubbish that sometimes reached a
height of more than 40 feet. Looking at the plan of the temple as it now
is, it may be seen that in the upper court (see PI. i.) the mounds are entirely
gone, and that on the middle platform, which is the most extensive, and
where the mounds were the highest, the colonnade, the hypostyle hall,
and the wall supporting the terrace are now quite free, and there remains
only a block about 18 feet high, which will require a month's digging to
remove. From a rough calculation, we may say that during these two
winters we have taken out of the temple nearly 60,000 cubic metres of
rubbish and stones, and carried this to a distance of 200 yards. It
would have been impossible to do this without the help of a tramway.
At the end of December I was joined by Mr. D. G. Hogarth, who
gave me most valuable help in the supervision of the excavations, which
requires a great deal of care and attention.
Another branch of our work, which has been carried on under the
direction of Mr. John E. Newberry, has been to replace the fallen stones
b
A.—EXCAVATIONS.
Work at the Temple of Deie el Bahari.
The campaign of excavation during the winter 1893-94 is the longest
that I ever made. The days during which the men were at work extended
from the 9th of December to the 15th of March. Owing to the kindness
of M. de Morgan, I had at my disposal a great quantity of railway
plant, and the result has been that the clearing of the temple has made
considerable progress ; in fact, I believe that as far as the clearing itself
is concerned—I mean the removal of the debris which covers the temple—
another campaign like the last would briug it to an end.
It is not necessary to dwell again on the special nature of the work
I have been doing for these two winters. Its aim is to bring to light
one of the most interesting temples of Egypt, of which up to last year
two-thirds were hidden by mounds of rubbish that sometimes reached a
height of more than 40 feet. Looking at the plan of the temple as it now
is, it may be seen that in the upper court (see PI. i.) the mounds are entirely
gone, and that on the middle platform, which is the most extensive, and
where the mounds were the highest, the colonnade, the hypostyle hall,
and the wall supporting the terrace are now quite free, and there remains
only a block about 18 feet high, which will require a month's digging to
remove. From a rough calculation, we may say that during these two
winters we have taken out of the temple nearly 60,000 cubic metres of
rubbish and stones, and carried this to a distance of 200 yards. It
would have been impossible to do this without the help of a tramway.
At the end of December I was joined by Mr. D. G. Hogarth, who
gave me most valuable help in the supervision of the excavations, which
requires a great deal of care and attention.
Another branch of our work, which has been carried on under the
direction of Mr. John E. Newberry, has been to replace the fallen stones
b