EXCAVATIONS AT MERGE I some chamber containing dead bodies. It seemed that the whole of this portion of the site was honeycombed with common tombs of the kind, and several were joined by means of narrow passages ; nothing whatever was found with the dead in them. From what has been said above, it is clear that the people of Meroe sometimes burned their dead, and sometimes buried them without mummification. This being the case, it followed of necessity that it was useless to expect to find under the pyramids large quanti-14 15 PYRAMIDS XOS. I4 AM) I5 AT MEROE.

14—Pyramid through which a passe was driven from side to side.

15—Remains of a pyramid selected for removal.

ties of miscellaneous funerary objects and furniture such as are found in the tombs of royal folk, nobles, and high officials in Egj'pt, and the experience which was subsequently acquired during the excavations at the pyramids proved that very few things were ever buried with the dead on the Island of Meroe.

By the time the excavation of the eight small pyramids was finished the soldiers had removed from the larger pyramids the masses of stone which threatened to fall so soon as work on the 347