Petrie, William M. Flinders: Ten years' digging in Egypt: 1881 - 1891 (London, 1892)

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TEN YEARS' DIGGING IN EGYPT

them all,when at last they break down from exhaustion;
or perhaps one or other, completely mad for the time,
rushes off into the desert, and is followed, for fear he
may injure himself. After a pause, some other phrase
is started, and the same round is gone through. After
about half an hour of this they separate with a great
sense of devotional virtue, and wearied with excitement.

Some curious observances are connected with acci-
dental deaths. Fires of straw are lighted one month
after the death, around the ground where the body

115. Housks in Upper Egypt.

has lain ; and where blood has been shed iron nails
are driven into the ground, and a mixture of lentils,
salt, &c.j is poured out. These look like offerings to
appease spirits, and the fires seem as if to drive away
evil influences. Funeral offerings are still placed in
the tombs for the sustenance of the dead, just as they
were thousands of years ago.

The very hazy notions about all foreign places, and
the blankncss of ignorance concerning surrounding
Nature, is a strong reminder of mediaeval times. To
say that the earth is round is flat heresy in Egypt;