f Egypt at so late a date as the period immediately preceding
the XIIth Dynasty, a race which mixed in no way with the native
Egyptians themselves, and left no trace of their influence upon the
later Egyptians, was one which demanded greater faith than the simple
explanation of M. de Morgan.

The error of the British explorers was at once admitted by Mr. Quibell,
in his volume on the excavations of 1897 at el-Kab, published in 1898.*
Mr. Quibell at once found full and adequate confirmation of M. de
Morgan's discovery in his diggings at el-Kab. Prof. Petrie admitted
the correctness of M. de Morgan's views in the preface to his volume
Diospolis Parva, published three years later in 1901.** The preface to
the first volume of M. de Morgan's book contained a generous recognition
of the method and general accuracy of Prof. Petrie's excavations, which
contrasted favourably, according to M. de Morgan, with the excavations
of others, generally carried on without scientific control, and with
the sole aim of obtaining antiquities or literary texts.*** That M. de
Morgan's own work was carried out as scientifically and as carefully
is evident from the fact that his conclusions as to the chronological
position of the prehistoric antiquities have been shown to be correct.
To describe M. de Morgan's discovery as a "happy guess," as has been
done, is therefore beside the mark.

* El-Kab. Egyptian Research Account, 1897, p. 11.

** Diospolis Parva. Egypt Exploration Fund, 1901, p. 2.

*** Recherches: Age de la Pierre, p. xiii.

Another most important British excavation was that carried on by
Messrs. Randall-Maclver and Wilkin at el-'Amra. The imposing lion-headed
promontory of el-'Amra stands out into the plain on the west bank of the
Nile about five miles south of Abydos. At the foot of this hill M. de
Morgan found a very extensive prehistoric necropolis, which he examined,
but did not excavate to any great extent, and the work of thoroughly
excavating it was performed by Messrs. Randall-MacIver and Wilkin for
the Egypt Exploration Fund. The results have thrown very great light
upon the prehistoric culture of Egypt, and burials of all prehistoric
types, some of them previously unobserved, were found. Among the most
interesting are burials in pots, which have also been found by Mr.
Garstang in a predynastic necropolis at Ragagna, north of Abydos. One
of the more remarkable observations made at el-'Amra was the progress