it is to be feared that many invaluable relics of antiquity may have been destroyed through the carelessness of the workmen.  This is to be accounted for from the fact that Mariette was not always able to be present, and the workmen naturally had no personal interest in preserving every relic and fragment from the past.  It is also to be regretted that he left no full account of the work which he undertook, and for this reason much of it had to be gone over again by more modern explorers.

In the Delta excavations were made at Sais, Bubastis, and elsewhere.  Mariette also discovered the temple of Tanis, and many curious human-headed sphinxes, which probably belong to the twelfth dynasty, and represent its kings.  He further continued the labours of Lepsius about the necropolis of Memphis and Saqqara.  Here several hundred tombs were discovered with the many inscriptions and figures which these contained.  One of the most important of these findings—­a superb example of Egyptian art—­is the statue called by the Arabs “The Village Chief,” which is now in the museum at Bulak.  Mariette followed out his researches on the site of the sacred city of Abydos.  Here he discovered the temple of Seti I. of the nineteenth dynasty.

[Illustration:  324.jpg TYPES OF EGYPTIAN COLUMNS:  1, 2, 3, GEOMETRIC ’, 6-11, BOTANICAL; 4, 5, 12, HATHORIC.]

On the walls are beautiful sculptures which are exquisite examples of Egyptian art, and a chronological table of the Kings of Abydos.  Here Seti I. and Ramses IL, his son, are represented as offering homage to their many ancestors seated upon thrones inscribed with their names and dates.

Mariette discovered eight hundred tombs belonging for the most part to the Middle Kingdom.  At Denderah he discovered the famous Ptolemaic temple of Hathor, the goddess of love, and his accounts of these discoveries make up a large volume.  Continuing his labours, he excavated much of the site of ancient Thebes and the temple of Karnak, and, south of Thebes, the temple of Medinet-Habu.  At Edfu Mariette found the temple of Horus, built during the time of the Ptolemies, whose roof formed the foundation of an Arab village.  After persevering excavations the whole magnificent plan of the temple stood uncovered, with all its columns, inscriptions, and carvings nearly intact.*

* In connection with the architecture of the ancient Egyptian tombs, it is interesting to note that there was a development of architectural style in the formation of Egyptian columns not dissimilar in its evolution to that which is visible in the case of the Greek and Roman columns.

The earliest Egyptian column appears to have been of a strictly geometrical character.  This developed into a column resembling the Doric order.  A second class of Egyptian column was based upon plant forms, probably derived from the practice of using reeds in the construction of mud huts.  The chief botanical form which