are found
together, the date of one being known and that of the other unknown, the
archaeological value of the find lies in the fact that the former will
place the latter in its correct chronological position. But if these two
objects are sold separately, the find may perhaps lose its entire
significance. The trained archaeologist records every atom of information
with which he meets; the native records nothing. And hence, if there is
any value at all in the study of the history of mankind, illegal
excavation must be stopped.

CHAPTER XI.

THE FLOODING OF LOWER NUBIA.

The country of Lower Nubia lies between the First and Second Cataracts
of the Nile. The town of Aswan, once famous as the frontier outpost of
Egypt and now renowned as a winter resort for Europeans and Americans,
stands some two or three miles below the First Cataract; and two hundred
miles southwards, at the foot of the Second Cataract, stands Wady Halfa.
About half-way between these two points the little town of Derr nestles
amidst its palms; and here the single police-station of the province is
situated. Agriculturally the land is extremely barren, for the merest
strip of cultivation borders the river, and in many reaches the desert
comes down to the water's edge. The scenery is rugged and often
magnificent. As one sails up the Nile the rocky hills on either side
group themselves into bold compositions, rising darkly above the palms
and acacias reflected in the water. The villages, clustered on the
hillsides as though grown like mushrooms in the night, are not
different in colour to the ground upon which they are built; but here
and there neatly whitewashed houses of considerable size are to be
observed. Now we come upon a tract of desert sand which rolls down to
the river in a golden slope; now the hills recede, leaving an open bay
wherein there are patches of cultivated ground reclaimed from the
wilderness; and now a dense but narrow palm-grove follows the line of
the bank for a mile or more, backed by the villages at the foot of the
hills.

The inhabitants are few in number. Most of the males have taken service
as cooks, butlers, waiters, and bottle-washers in European houses or
hotels throughout Egypt; and consequently one sees more women than men
pottering about the villages or working in the fields. They are a fine
race, clean in their habits and cheery in character. They can be
disti