PYRAMIDS OF GEBEL BARKAL boat of the sun-god. The greater part of both chapel and pylon was standing when Hoskins was at Gebel Barkal, but in 1897 every trace of them had disappeared, and in addition the great holes which had been made in the lower layers of the pyramid showed that attempts had recently been made to find the passage into it. Destruction of this kind was the work of natives, not of the Sudan, but of Egypt; for several men from the neighbourhood of Thebes succeeded in entering the Sudan after its re-conquest by Lord Kitchener, and they did much injury to the pyramids, both at Gebel Barkal, and on the Island of Meroe.

The THIRD pyramid of the group, N, is about 35 ft. square at the base, and its height is between 48 and 49 ft. ; it is the most complete of all this group, and still possesses a pleasing and stately appearance. The faces of the stones of the twelve topmost layers have been rubbed smooth on all four sides of the pyramid, and form a curious contrast to those of the other layers. The chapel possessed an arched roof, and the little court before it was surrounded by a wall ; the walls of the chapel were ornamented with very rough reliefs, which appeared to Cailliaud to have been left in an unfinished state.

The FOURTH pyramid of the group, O, is about 53 ft. square at the base, and its height is between 58 and 59 ft. Its form is exactly the same as that of pyramid N, but it is now in an almost ruined state. When Cailliaud saw the pyramid its chapel, which had a vaulted roof, was still standing, but its pylon was a mere heap of stones. The reliefs represented a king and a queen seated on thrones, with priests making offerings of incense to them. The king wore the double crown of the South and North Vv , and 159 ;iS;!$$§i!;:;ji j\;s!>;\ o 2 4 6 8 Metres PLAN OF PYRAMID N AT GEBEL BARKAL.

[From Cailliaud, Voyage, Plate LVI.

VAULTED ARCH OF THE CHAPEL OF PYRAMID N AT GEBEL BARKAL.