THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN immense masses of stones, sand, &c., which have poured down upon them from the pyramids. In 1903, and again in 1905, we discussed the possibiHty of clearing out the chapels ; in 1903 we had made some attempts, but it was found that the work required a greater number of men than we had with us, and to have removed the debris in a satisfactory manner would have necessitated the construction of a light railway from the top of the hill down to the level of the plain. These pyramids are in a very dangerous condition, for the eastern faces are cracked in all directions, and the greatest care will have to be taken in working at them lest they collapse suddenly. At some risk we removed some of the larger stones from the chapel of No. 12, and we found that its walls are. ornamented with sculptures similar to those which are found in No. 11, only the relief is flatter. The stone is of a reddish tint, and is softer than the sandstone ordinarily employed in the pyramids.

The drawings which Lepsius's artist was able to make of the reliefs in the chapel of No. 12 are reproduced in the Denkmdler (V. 26 and 27), and may be thus described :—On the west wall, in the centre, standing beneath a canopy, is a prince of Meroe, making an offering to Osiris of a seated figure of this god, which has the feather of Maat, [), on its knees, with his right hand ; in his left is a palm branch. Round the prince's neck is a double necklace, with ram-headed pendants, and figures of the ram-headed god Amen-Ra and Osiris. Isis stands behind him ; her right hand rests on his right shoulder, and with her left she is pouring out a libation. Before him stands the goddess Maat who is also pouring out a libation. In the panels beside the centre relief we see :— i. Osiris, wearing the atef crown, and holding the sceptre 1 and ¥•• 2. Two gods holding knives : one has a lotus (?)

in the place of a head, and the other a serpent, with a head at each end of his body. 3. The deceased adoring an ancestor (or I-em-lietep ?). 4. Figures of Seker-Asar, Amentet, and Taurt.

5. The deceased adoring the sacred bull, Hapi, which has between its horns a disk and plumes. 6. Two gods with knives—Horus and Anubis. The ornamentation of the west wall of the chapel of this pyramid is unusual. On the south wall, at the west end of 400