Benson, Margaret; Gourlay, Janet: The temple of Mut in Asher: an account of the excavation of the temple and of the religious representations and objects found therein, as illustrating the history of Egypt and the main religious ideas of the Egyptians (London, 1899)

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the temple of mut.

[part h.

CHAPTER V.

excavation in 1897.

We began our 1S97 excavation under circumstances
in every way more favourable.

Our funds were large enough to enable us to
begin with a fair staft; we engaged at once eight
diggers and their boys ; owing to a kind and un-
expected subscription from a fellow traveller we were
able to increase this number at the end of the first
week, and we still further augmented it in the weeks
that followed. We had also a much larger party to
give help in supervision ; and we began moreover
for the first time with some knowledge of our
ground and therefore some definite plan of digging.
The plan proved on the whole successful.

We set before ourselves three distinct objects: the
clearance of the rest of the temple ; the discovery of
further statuettes ; and a search after the elusive
foundation deposits, which must surely exist.

Our indirect object was likewise threefold : to
trace the accurate plan of the temple ; to determine
the history of the building ; and withal not to leave
the site disfigured with unseemly rubbish heaps, but
to give back to it so much of its charm as two