l
effort to see the drawings and photographs of these objects as
contained in Frobenius's _Der Afrika Sprach_, or its English
translation, _The Voice of Africa_. Accompanying these illustrations
there are a few brief descriptions of the more important objects.
There is, for instance, "a specimen which seems to be the mouth or
collar of an urn. On its inner edge there is a mouth below, an ear on
either side, and a pair of eyes.... It looks as if this might have
been a portion of a tube which might have been put over a grave,
through which offerings might have been made to the dead beneath."[36]
This explanation for the original purpose of this object is very
plausible, as a study of the burial customs of various parts of Africa
will show.

Frobenius is of the opinion that the dress of these ancient peoples
"must have been very rich and handsome." A terra cotta truss brought
to light by these excavations is described as showing a "noteworthy
completeness. In the holes scattered on the breast plate and shoulder
piece there were formerly inserted metal or iron pegs as ornaments.
The end of the garment which is thrown over the shoulder is patterned
like the old textures,"[37] which Frobenius believed had reached a
very high degree of development. "Among our terra cottas," continues
Frobenius, "some may have served as pedestals for the heads or busts."
He describes a peculiar "fragment belonging possibly to some sort of
vessel; on one side is seen an owl, whose hooked beak is badly
damaged; on the other a complete figure holding a weapon." Like the
beautifully carved stone handle mentioned above, Frobenius testifies
that this object also resembles the ancient Sudanese and Ethiopian god
Bes,[37a] and hints of an ancient connection between these two
countries.

Another object, not dug up in the cemetery, but in the town of Ilife
proper, is a "fired," square thin plaque showing a crocodile in the
shape of the letter S, so shaped that it seems to finish in a tightly
bound head. The details are not easily seen, but the position of the
legs seems to indicate that the beast is bound there with cords and is
meant to seem fastened to the surface, with a sort of hood over the
eyes ending in a string work and tassels as if in a cunningly made
basket. Frobenius and his associates were of the opinion that this
object is that of a tile which in ages past formed part of the
decorative design of one of the ancient buildings.[38]

Passin