shown by the sharp edge of
the strew of potsherds on the surface.
Look for any slag-heaps; these are the remains of lime burning, and
show where stone buildings existed; sometimes foundations still
remain. Look for any recent pits or trenches; these show where stone
or burnt brick has been dug out in modern times, and may give the
position and plan of a temple or church.
See if any rubbish mounds can be traced outside of the town site;
usually marked by a gentle walk-up slope, and a steep thrown-down
slope, and mainly consisting of pottery, e.g. Monte Testaccio at
Rome, and mounds east of Cairo.
Town sites rise in Egypt about forty inches a century, by the dust,
rubbish, and decay of mud-brick buildings. In Palestine the rise is
five feet a century, owing to the rains.
Cemeteries.
These have generally been more or less plundered; if recently, the
pits show; if anciently, there are scraps of pottery lying about. If
there are pebbles or marl thrown up from deep levels, there is
evidence of tombs, and they may be unplundered. Blown sand or grass
may hide all trace of tombs. Sometimes the whole masonry of a tomb
may have been removed, and the gravel filling-in have spread so
uniformly that there is no sign of building, although a course or two
of stone may yet remain under the surface. The surface of ground
should be closely looked over at sunrise or sunset to show up the
slight hollows or ridges by the shadows. After rain differences will
often appear in the drying of the ground. Ask any one near a site if
he knows of any one getting stones, or bronze, or plunder from tombs.
Anything found will probably be greatly exaggerated, and no clear
idea of the time of finding can be reached; yet any such detail may
be useful.
Any large town site must have a cemetery, which is near it in most
cases. In Egypt the towns being in the inundated land, the cemeteries
are at some miles distant on the desert. The prehistoric cemeteries
may be anywhere; the historic cemeteries are usually round the ends
of the dyke roads, which were thrown up in the early dynasties as
irrigation dams, and still serve as the roads of the country. In
Greek lands cemeteries are always outside a town, usually by the side
of the roads.
Caves should always be carefully explored; the roof and sides
searched for inscriptions or carvings; rock pockets in the sides
examined; and the floor dug over for potsherds and any small objects.
If there are diff
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