1 23 375 Designs and estimates for the following new works, the total cost of which is valued at .£E. 511,000, are now in course of preparation :— ■ £B. Ministry of Justice .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 47,000 Ministry of Education Ministry of the Interior .. Ministry of Finance Re-roofing Egyptian Museum Miscellaneous Total ..

107.000 25.000 179.000 80.000 13,000 511.000 111 December 1908 a start was made on the permanent work of the Boulak bridge, and though the contractors have not advanced as rapidly with the piers as they originally hoped, they still contemplate their completion before the arrival of the flood. The spans should be erected by the end of the current year, but the bridge itself can hardly be opened before the spring of 1911. The sinking of the caissons for the Ghezireh bridge was concluded in August, and the superstructure will probably be completed by tlie end of July.

20. T The Technical Service paid 2,713 visits of inspection to steam engines of various kinds, and 737 new permits were issued for installations under suitable conditions. It is satisfactory to report that no explosion or serious accident occurred during the year to any machinery under the control of the Service.

21. A M. Maspero, the distinguished archaeologist in charge of this service, reports that the work of demolishing and reconstructing the two skylights of the grand gallery in the Cairo Museum, mentioned in last year’s report as amongst the more important repairs in hand, has now been executed. The binal classification of the smaller objects has been begun, and several galleries have in consequence been rearranged. Further, the museum has been enriched by a colossal group, nearly 23 feet in height, and a large quantity of Coptic monuments.

Five important sections of the large catalogue were published in 1909. As, however, there are no fewer than ten manuscript volumes ready for the press, it is proposed to concentrate upon their publication the resources available for the catalogue, and to suspend for the next twelve months the preparation of the remaining sections.

Work in the provinces has made good progress. At Thebes, the Bamesseum enclosure has been cleared, and the restoration of Deir el Medina put in hand. Under the direction of M. Legrain, the columns of the great temple of Karnak, overthrown in 1899, have been all replaced, and the pylon of Rameses is now being reconstructed. The condition of the foundations of the temple must continue to be a source of increasing anxiety owing to the gradual rise in the level of the subsoil water, but all possible precautions are taken to minimize the danger. At Esneh, the surroundings of the temple have been cleared, and next year the pronaos will have been laid bare.

In Nubia, the operations to enable the monuments to resist the increased water level due to the heightening of the dam are making rapid progress, and the temples of Kalabsha, Dakka, Maharrak and El Sabawa have been thoroughly repaired and consolidated. The copying of the inscriptions and bas-reliefs is being carried on by the small international commission appointed for the purpose. Phihn is still standing, in spite of the prophecies to the contrary. A few small repairs have been necessary on the western quay, but the buildings as a whole are in excellent condition.

The .sehond session of the International Congress of Classical Archocology held sittings last spring at Alexandria, Cairo and Thebes. Seven hundred European and American savants took part, and about two hundred Eg}’ptians. The meetings proved a complete .success in every way, and may be said to have had the result of enabling Egypt to take her place in the archceological world.

22. Preservati A sum of i>E. 16,000 was allotted in 1909 for the restoration and repair of mosques and other Arab and Coptic monuments. Of this about £E. 8,500 was expended on the mosques of Aksonkor, Sha’aban, Almas, Khoshkadam, Abdul Ba.sset, and Ibn Tuloun, House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.