Dec.3] SOCIETYOF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [18S9.
preservationthrough thousandsof years. In one case,No.28, the
ancient quarrymenhave bodily removedthe walls, possibly under
orders.
It is surprising thaton a site fromwhichthe Pharaohs of the
XVIIIthdynastyderivedthe bulk of their buildingmaterialsfor
UpperEgypt,the tombs belongingto that periodshouldnot contain
a single referenceto the quarries. If one may hazardan explanation,
I should be inclined to suggest that thesesmallbut well-decorated
sepulchres,belongingto persons of high rankbut apparently of no
localstatusin either the civil or religious administration of Silsileh
or of the neighbouring cities,wereconstructedby third-rate courtiers.
Thesepeople,havingno interest outsidethe court and Thebes, may
havebeen struckby the fact that a neat littletombin the western
rockof Silsileh wouldsuit their tastebetterthanthattheirmummies
shouldbe lost amongst a crowd of superior magnates in the necro
polisof Uas. Thepositionis a remarkable one,the ground was
probablyfree to all comers, andthe conveniently situatedquarry,full
of constant activity and excitement,may have become to some
extenta fashionable resortfor the living, although therewasnever
any town of importance at Silsileh.
Another pointworth notingis the absence of royal namesafter
AmenhotepII. Thelastkingsof the XVIIIth dynasty,like those
of the Xllth, seemwithall their magnificence to have exerteda
repressiveinfluenceon the nobility. Especiallyin this respectdoes
the active builder Amenhotep III offer a striking analogy to his
greatancestorAmenemhat III. In the cemeteries of the capitals
this influenceis less evident. It is the natural outcome of the
centralisationwhicha succession of powerful kingsgraduallyeffects.
As far as our notes permittedI have triedto indicate seriatim
the monuments thatexistbetween the Grotto of Horemheb andthe
naos-stela of Seti I, proceeding fromnorth to south ; but in this
thereis a good dealof patch-work andguessing. No Nile traveller
whois bound for Aswan can avoid passingwithina few yards of the
rocks,and I hope thatsomepersonmaybe tempted to make the
necessarycorrectionsto the list this season. In editing the inscrip
tionsI have improveda very few signs for the sake of the printer,
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