called Nag Hamadi, and in my absence
permission was given him. On my return the following report was
submitted: "... Having reached the spot indicated the man started to
blow the stones by means of the Denamits. Also he slaught a lamb,
thinking that there is a treasure, and that when the lamb being slaught
he will discover it at once." In plainer English, the man had blown up
the rocks with dynamite, and had attempted to further his efforts by
sacrificing a lamb to the _djin_ who guarded the treasure. The _djin_,
however, was not thus to be propitiated, and the gold of the Pharaohs
was never found. More recently the watchmen of the famous temple of Der
el Bahri found themselves in trouble owing to the discovery that part of
the ancient pavement showed signs of having been raised, stone by stone,
in order that the ground below might be searched for the treasure which
a tradition, such as those in the Book of the Pearl, had reported as
lying hid there.

Almost as romantic as treasure hunting is robbery with violence. We all
remember our boyhood's fascination for piracy, smuggling, and the
profession of Dick Turpin; and to the Theban peasant, who is essentially
youthful in his ideas, this form of fortune hunting has irresistible
attractions. When a new tomb is discovered by authorised archaeologists,
especially when it is situated in some remote spot such as the Valley of
the Kings, there is always some fear of an armed raid; and police guard
the spot night and day until the antiquities have been removed to Cairo.
The workmen who have been employed in the excavation return to their
homes with wonderful tales of the wealth which the tomb contains, and in
the evening the discovery is discussed by the women at the well where
the water is drawn for the village, with the result that it very soon
assumes prodigious proportions, inflaming the minds of all men with the
greed of gold. Visitors often ask why it is that the mummies of the
Pharaohs are not left to lie each in its own tomb; and it is argued that
they look neither congruous nor dignified in the glass cases of the
museum. The answer is obvious to all who know the country: put them back
in their tombs, and, without continuous police protection, they will be
broken into fragments by robbers, bolts and bars notwithstanding. The
experiment of leaving the mummy and some of the antiquities _in situ_
has only once been tried, and it has not been a complete success. It was
done