gle bead in any one bracelet which would be
interchangeable with those in another bracelet. Each is of independent
design, fresh and free from all convention or copying.

The tomb of Zet consists of a large chamber twenty feet wide and thirty
feet long, with smaller chambers around it at its level, the whole
bounded by a thick brick wall, which rises seven and a half feet to the
roof, and then three and a half feet more to the top of the retaining
wall. Outside of this on the north is a line of small tombs about five
feet deep, and on the south a triple line of tombs of the same depth.
And apparently of the same system and same age is the mass of tombs
marked W, which are parallel to the tomb of Zet. Later there appears to
have been built the long line of tombs, placed askew, in order not to
interfere with those which have been mentioned, and then this skew line
gave the di-rection to the next tomb, that of Merneit, and later on to
that of Azab. The private graves around the royal tomb are all built of
mud brick, with a coat of mud plaster over it, and the floor is of sand,
usually also coated over with mud.

[Illustration: 372.jpg TOMB OF ZET, CIRCA 4700 B.C.]

The first question about these great tombs is how they were covered
over. Some have said that such spaces could not be roofed, and at first
sight it would seem almost impossible. But the actual beams found yet
remaining in the tombs are as long as the widths of the tombs, and
therefore timber of such sizes could be procured. In the tomb of Qa the
holes for the beams yet remain in the walls, and even the cast of the
end of a beam, and in the tombs of Merneit, Azab, and Mer-sekha are
posts and pilasters to help in supporting a roof. The clear span of
the chamber of Zet is 240 inches, or 220 if the beams were carried on
a wooden lining, as seems likely. It is quite practicable to roof
over these great chambers up to spans of twenty feet. The wood of such
lengths was actually used, and, if spaced out over only a quarter of the
area, the beams would carry their load with full safety. Any boarding,
mats, or straw laid over the beams would not increase the load. That
there was a mass of sand laid over the tomb is strongly shown by the
retaining wall around the top. This wall is roughly built, and not
intended to be a visible feature. The outside is daubed with mud
plaster, and has a considerable slope; the inside is left quite rough,
with bricks in and out.

Turnin