Historical studies
Historical studies Historical studies
It is clear therefore that cither of the readings of Manctho are within the limit of quarry dating. But if the longer reading be accepted the levy of men need not have taken place till April, which is the more likely course. The proposal of Meyer to cut this interval down to 300-400 years {iVacItlriii^cs. Acg. Cliron. 1908, p. 20) would throw the quarrying across the agricultural season, and cease it before the inundation rose and transport was most easy. This would entirely reverse the natural order of Egyptian work, and leave the stones for six months waiting for the next inundation ; fore impossible. such a shortening of the history is there- It is now evident that if we accept the Mesore year or the Thoth year for either event, or for both, or for neither, the only choice affected by that question is that between the higher and lower readings of Manetho. It seems that the only logical course (after Meyer's paper on the Mesore year named above) is to accept Mesore as the first month in both the xiith and the iiird dynasties ; and following the shorter readings of Manetho we should accept the date for the xiith dynasty 3579 to 3366 THE LENGTH OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY (or 2 119 to 1906) and for the end of the iiird dynasty 4777 (or 3317)- The quarrying then began on the 15th of March ; or, if later, then some of the longer readings of Manetho can be accepted. The Frequency of Monuments. 28. As the number of monuments in a given period has been often taken as an indication of the time involved, it is well to see what is the frequency of monuments in various periods, in relation to the conditions of the civili.sation. We will first take the best ascertained periods, about the length of which there is no considerable question. The number of monuments is fairly ascer- tained by counting them in the Student's History; only as it would be impossible to include every ring and scarab with a king's name, the count is best restricted to buildings, statues, and stones with cartouches. To express the relative frequency the number of monuments per century is the clearest statement. It is not to be expected that a remote and a recent period should be comparable, as many conditions are adverse to the earlier age ; but periods within the same thousand years may be fairly contrasted, so as to see the extent of variation in different conditions of the country. As there is no considerable question about the lengths of the dynasties from the xviiith dynasty onward, we state here the number of monuments per century in each dynasty from that point. xviii 144 per century xix
We saw above that the monumental frequency shortly before and after the Semitic invasion was about a fiftieth of what it had been in a flourishing age before that. So here it is quite natural that it should drop in the Hyksos period (as stated by Manetho) to a fortieth of what it had been in the xiith dynasty. In any case we must remember that in all countries and ages monumental frequency may vary as 5 or 10 to I, without any great catastrophe ; and a difference of 50 to i may be expected at an overthrow of the civilisation. 29. We now turn to another kind of monumental frequency, which is often appealed to in historical questions. The dated monuments of a king are so generally taken as indicating the extent of his reign, that there is a great tendency to reject any historical statement of the length of reign if it be not supported by some dated monument. Let us test how far the dated monuments fill up those lengths of reigns which are absolutely certain historically. THE FREQUENCY OF MONUMENTS 13
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We saw above that the monumental frequency<br />
shortly before and after the Semitic invasion was<br />
about a fiftieth of what it had been in a flourishing<br />
age before that. So here it is quite natural that it<br />
should drop in the Hyksos period (as stated by<br />
Manetho) to a fortieth of what it had been in the<br />
xiith dynasty.<br />
In any case we must remember that in all<br />
countries and ages monumental frequency may vary<br />
as 5 or 10 to I, without any great catastrophe ; and a<br />
difference of 50 to i may be expected at an overthrow<br />
of the civilisation.<br />
29. We now turn to another kind of monumental<br />
frequency, which is often appealed to in historical<br />
questions. The dated monuments of a king are so<br />
generally taken as indicating the extent of his reign,<br />
that there is a great tendency to reject any historical<br />
statement of the length of reign if it be not supported<br />
by some dated monument. Let us test how far the<br />
dated monuments fill up those lengths of reigns which<br />
are absolutely certain historically.<br />
THE FREQUENCY OF MONUMENTS 13
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