DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.410#0046
36
TANIS.
reign of Aurelius, or within a few years of the
period I had assigned to the Benha mound. The
objects thus dated are, in blue glazed pottery a
flat bowl, 6f in. diameter, somewhat broken on the
edge in two places, but otherwise in fine condi-
tion ; twelve pieces of different patterns of bowls;
and part of a head of Bes. There are two pieces of
a rare glazed pottery, which at first sight would
be called Arabic, but one has the true dark
Roman blue glaze in the inside, and I found them
in the mound; the ground colour is an olivy
white, with patterns in light chocolate brown
impressed on it. In red and brown pottery there
were quantities of ribbed amphorae, cups with
re-curved edges, of which I brought three, and
lamp-handles, one with conventional vine-leaf,
another crescent-shaped, and another in two
lobes. A female head in pottery, with the hair
arranged in a broad roll around the face, gives
the best clue to the age of the mound, as it is most
like the style of the age of Aurelius. Of glass many
fragments were found : the bottom of a glass
bowl with ring-base, very clear and white, and
another piece also of very fine quality, both abso-
lutely unaltered by burial; a piece of a glass bowl
with engraved vine spray and grapes on it; a
piece of a conoidal glass bowl, of the form of the
magnificent amber-coloured specimens in the
British Museum; a piece of very thin glass flask,
with a thin thread of opaque yellow glass wound
round it; and three other fragments. All of
these are valuable as dated examples. Beside
this mound a few objects of unfixed age were
found, as a bronze spear-head, 6^- in. long, and
some pieces of Roman pottery and glass, in-
cluding one ostracon.
Of late Roman age, at San, there was a small
house built against the east side of the house of
Bakakhuiu: there I found pieces of a life-size
statue in hard limestone, much broken up,
(still left at San); while I brought away a jar
stopper of plaster stamped with the Christian
monogram, two varieties of coarse cloth, part of
a wooden comb, with wide and close teeth on
opposite sides, exactly such as is made now in
Egypt, a little scrap of silver chain, and an
oblong mass of lead, perhaps a weight, but too
much carbonated and dissolved for determination.
(All now in the British Museum.)
45. The tombs of Roman period at San, pro-
bably of the second and third centuries, have yielded
some good objects. In the plain on the south side of
the high mounds, between them and the avenue
of large blocks, a few graves were found just
below the surface. In one of these, with merely
a board above her, but a foot from the surface,
was a woman who had been buried in the rich
attire she had worn during her life. Her body
was swathed in several garments ornamented with
woven patterns, and also a large quantity of
outer wrappers of good quality (Find 63). In
all twenty-one varieties of material and pattern
were brought over, besides pieces of cord, of felt
or loose wool, and of the long hair of the mummy :
the skull will also come to England. On the
body were found three hollow gold rings; two
apparently earrings, with a circle of balls around
one part of the ring; a new type, and therefore
kept atBulak : also a nose-ring, which was plain;
pieces of a very small iron knife, and a long
necklace of glass beads. The woven patterns
can hardly be suitably described without draw-
ings; suffice to say that the varieties are as
follow :—(1) borders of red with white pattern,
edged with purple and black; (2) white pattern
in red, leaf design, large surfaces (a whole
garment ?) ; (3) white on red, circular groups
with edging, sewn on the base; (4) white on
scarlet, a broad strip with birds, vis-a-vis ; (5, 6)
two varieties of white on dark blue ground ;
(7) white and green on red ground, leaf pattern ;
(8) white, yellow, and blue on red ground; (9)
circular group, for sewing on, of red, green, and
white, with blue, yellow and red border; (10) very
fine stuff, yellow, red, and white, on the ground,
square design with birds and plants; (11, 12) also
two forms of borders of the same with plants ;
TANIS.
reign of Aurelius, or within a few years of the
period I had assigned to the Benha mound. The
objects thus dated are, in blue glazed pottery a
flat bowl, 6f in. diameter, somewhat broken on the
edge in two places, but otherwise in fine condi-
tion ; twelve pieces of different patterns of bowls;
and part of a head of Bes. There are two pieces of
a rare glazed pottery, which at first sight would
be called Arabic, but one has the true dark
Roman blue glaze in the inside, and I found them
in the mound; the ground colour is an olivy
white, with patterns in light chocolate brown
impressed on it. In red and brown pottery there
were quantities of ribbed amphorae, cups with
re-curved edges, of which I brought three, and
lamp-handles, one with conventional vine-leaf,
another crescent-shaped, and another in two
lobes. A female head in pottery, with the hair
arranged in a broad roll around the face, gives
the best clue to the age of the mound, as it is most
like the style of the age of Aurelius. Of glass many
fragments were found : the bottom of a glass
bowl with ring-base, very clear and white, and
another piece also of very fine quality, both abso-
lutely unaltered by burial; a piece of a glass bowl
with engraved vine spray and grapes on it; a
piece of a conoidal glass bowl, of the form of the
magnificent amber-coloured specimens in the
British Museum; a piece of very thin glass flask,
with a thin thread of opaque yellow glass wound
round it; and three other fragments. All of
these are valuable as dated examples. Beside
this mound a few objects of unfixed age were
found, as a bronze spear-head, 6^- in. long, and
some pieces of Roman pottery and glass, in-
cluding one ostracon.
Of late Roman age, at San, there was a small
house built against the east side of the house of
Bakakhuiu: there I found pieces of a life-size
statue in hard limestone, much broken up,
(still left at San); while I brought away a jar
stopper of plaster stamped with the Christian
monogram, two varieties of coarse cloth, part of
a wooden comb, with wide and close teeth on
opposite sides, exactly such as is made now in
Egypt, a little scrap of silver chain, and an
oblong mass of lead, perhaps a weight, but too
much carbonated and dissolved for determination.
(All now in the British Museum.)
45. The tombs of Roman period at San, pro-
bably of the second and third centuries, have yielded
some good objects. In the plain on the south side of
the high mounds, between them and the avenue
of large blocks, a few graves were found just
below the surface. In one of these, with merely
a board above her, but a foot from the surface,
was a woman who had been buried in the rich
attire she had worn during her life. Her body
was swathed in several garments ornamented with
woven patterns, and also a large quantity of
outer wrappers of good quality (Find 63). In
all twenty-one varieties of material and pattern
were brought over, besides pieces of cord, of felt
or loose wool, and of the long hair of the mummy :
the skull will also come to England. On the
body were found three hollow gold rings; two
apparently earrings, with a circle of balls around
one part of the ring; a new type, and therefore
kept atBulak : also a nose-ring, which was plain;
pieces of a very small iron knife, and a long
necklace of glass beads. The woven patterns
can hardly be suitably described without draw-
ings; suffice to say that the varieties are as
follow :—(1) borders of red with white pattern,
edged with purple and black; (2) white pattern
in red, leaf design, large surfaces (a whole
garment ?) ; (3) white on red, circular groups
with edging, sewn on the base; (4) white on
scarlet, a broad strip with birds, vis-a-vis ; (5, 6)
two varieties of white on dark blue ground ;
(7) white and green on red ground, leaf pattern ;
(8) white, yellow, and blue on red ground; (9)
circular group, for sewing on, of red, green, and
white, with blue, yellow and red border; (10) very
fine stuff, yellow, red, and white, on the ground,
square design with birds and plants; (11, 12) also
two forms of borders of the same with plants ;