THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN right track. The diggers then turned inwards, towards the middle of the pyramid, and out of the passage which they made several other bits of pottery were taken. Up to this point, we had been working with some risk to everyone concerned, for, though we had made every possible use we could of the railway sleepers, and all shoring up had been most carefully done under the personal supervision of Captains Lewin and Drake, it was found that the best of our available material was not strong enough to take the weight of the side of the pyramid which now began to press upon it.

This being so, we decided to cover over the shaft, and to put in more sleepers at the entrance of the passage which leads in under the pyramid, so that no part of the casing might fall. As we had found the passage to the shaft, there was no reason for doubting that the direction of the way into the sepulchral chamber had been discovered, and we therefore made no attempt to demolish any part of the pyramid itself. Three or four layers of stones from the top of the pyramid were thrown down some years before we began to work there, presumably by seekers after treasure, who expected to find a chamber there ; but being satisfied that no such thing existed, they disturbed the pyramid no further. Whilst we were at work here, it was suggested by a visitor that the sepulchral chamber might be easily reached by sinking a shaft on the west side of the pyramid, because, as we had already seen in the case of the small pyramids down the hill, the sepulchral chamber sometimes extended beyond the limits of the pyramid. We therefore sank a shaft to a depth of 12 or 15 feet, but no trace of the chamber was visible, and the stone through which the men had to cut was so hard that the work was abandoned.

It is unnecessary to describe here in detail the work done at all the pyramids which we attacked, for it will be summarized in the brief account of each pyramid at Meroe which immediately follows these remarks. It is, however, important to state that in no pyramid did we find any evidence which would justify us in assuming that it either had contained, or did still contain, a sepulchral chamber, but that everywhere we saw proofs that the sepulchral chambers were under the pyramids, and that they were approached by means of passages which passed under the chapels, and continued beyond them into the chambers. Speaking 354 I