in the case of the tomb of Amenhotep II. at Thebes, the mummy being
laid in its original sarcophagus; and a model boat, used in one of the
funeral ceremonies, was left in the tomb. One night the six watchmen who
were in charge of the royal tombs stated that they had been attacked by
an armed force; the tomb in question was seen to have been entered, the
iron doors having been forced. The mummy of the Pharaoh was found lying
upon the floor of the burial-hall, its chest smashed in; and the boat
had disappeared, nor has it since been recovered. The watchmen showed
signs of having put up something of a fight, their clothes being riddled
with bullet-holes; but here and there the cloth looked much as though it
had been singed, which suggested, as did other evidence, that they
themselves had fired the guns and had acted the struggle. The truth of
the matter will never be known, but its lesson is obvious. The mummy was
put back into its sarcophagus, and there it has remained secure ever
since; but one never knows how soon it will be dragged forth once more
to be searched for the gold with which every native thinks it is
stuffed.

Some years ago an armed gang walked off with a complete series of
mortuary reliefs belonging to a tomb at Sakkarah. They came by night,
overpowered the watchmen, loaded the blocks of stone on to camels, and
disappeared into the darkness. Sometimes it is an entire cemetery that
is attacked; and, if it happens to be situated some miles from the
nearest police-station, a good deal of work can be done before the
authorities get wind of the affair. Last winter six hundred men set to
work upon a patch of desert ground where a tomb had been accidently
found, and, ere I received the news, they had robbed a score of little
graves, many of which must have contained objects purchasable by the
dealers in antiquities for quite large sums of money. At Abydos a tomb
which we had just discovered was raided by the villagers, and we only
regained possession of it after a rapid exchange of shots, one of which
came near ending a career whose continuance had been, since birth, a
matter of great importance to myself. But how amusing the adventure must
have been for the raiders!

The appropriation of treasure-trove come upon by chance, or the digging
out of graves accidentally discovered, is a very natural form of robbery
for the natives to indulge in, and one which commends itself to the
sympathies of all those not active