Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

DURING I'jrn CENTURY : EGYPT 643
number of smaller sanctuaries and chapels, as well as the
remains of Christian churches were brought to light.
In recent times Germany, which had not undertaken any
excavation since the expedition of Lepsius, has come again
to the front. By order of the Berlin Museum, the Berlin
Egyptologist H. Schafer has excavated a pyramidal ruin
near Abusir, and found in it a sanctuary dedicated by King
N-user-Re of the Fifth Dynasty to the Sun-god. At the
same time Spiegelberg of Strassburg, in conjunction with
the English Egyptologist Newberry, has been working with
good result at Drah Abu'l-Nagga on the west bank of
the river near Thebes, and has discovered besides important
tombs and temples also the ruins of a palace of Queen
Hatshepsowet. So we see that nearlv all nations have
taken part in recovering the remains of Egyptian antiquity.
When I now in the following make an attempt to give a
brief account of the results which these excavations have
had for Egyptian history as well as for archaeology in general,
I must say at the outset that I cannot go into all particulars
of the greater discoveries. I will therefore restrict
myself to those excavations which either have tended to
solve old and oft discussed problems or which are of paramount
importance in certain branches of Egyptian, Biblical,
or classical
archaeology.
THE RESULTS
OF THE EXCAVATIONS
I
THE
DELTA
Of the flourishing cities, temple gardens, and extensive
cemeteries which once in antiquity existed in Lower Egypt,
comparatively few remain, fewer than in the Nile valley
itself. In the Delta, the dry, almost rainless climate