the company of the great Osiris,
and ghostly servants would be as necessary to their Majesties at Abydos
as elsewhere.

It must not be thought that this revised opinion of the Abydos tombs
detracts in the slightest degree from the importance of the discovery of
M. Amelineau and its subsequent and more detailed investigation by Prof.
Petrie. These monuments are as valuable for historical purposes as
the real tombs themselves. The actual bodies of these primeval kings
themselves we are never likely to find. The tomb of Aha at Nakada had
been completely rifled in ancient times.

The commemorative tombs of the kings of the Ist and IId Dynasties at
Abydos lie southwest of the great necropolis, far within the bay in the
hills. Their present aspect is that of a wilderness of sand hillocks,
covered with masses of fragments of red pottery, from which the site has
obtained the modern Arab name of _Umm el-Ga'ab_, "Mother of Pots." It
is impossible to move a step in any direction without crushing some
of these potsherds under the heel. They are chiefly the remains of the
countless little vases of rough red pottery, which were dedicated here
as _ex-votos_ by the pious, between the XIXth and XXVIth Dynasties, to
the memory of the ancient kings and of the great god Osiris, whose tomb,
as we shall see, was supposed to have been situated here also.

[Illustration: 065.jpg (right) THE TOMB OF KING DEN AT ABYDOS. About
4000 B.C.]

Intermingled with these later fragments are pieces of the original
Ist Dynasty vases, which were filled with wine and provisions and were
placed in the tombs, for the refreshment and delectation of the royal
ghosts when they should visit their houses at Abydos. These were thrown
out and broken when the tombs were violated. Here and there one sees a
dip in the sand, out of which rise four walls of great bricks, forming
a rectangular chamber, half-filled with sand. This is one of the royal
tomb-chambers of the Ist Dynasty. That of King Den is illustrated above.
A straight staircase descends into it from the ground-level above. In
several of the tombs the original flooring of wooden beams is still
preserved. Den's is the most magnificent of all, for it has a floor of
granite blocks; we know of no other instance of stone being used for
building in this early age. Almost every tomb has been burnt at some
period unknown. The brick walls are burnt red, and many of the alabaster
vases are almost calcined. This was p