the Director-General of the Department of Antiquities, tells a story of how a native came to him asking permission to excavate at a certain spot where he believed treasure to be hidden.  Sir Gaston accompanied him to the place, and a tunnel was bored into what appeared to be virgin sand and rock.  At the end of the first day’s work the futility of his labours was pointed out to the man, but he was not to be daunted.  For two more days he stood watching the work from morn to nightfall with hope burning in his eyes, and on the following morning his reward came.  Suddenly the ground gave way before the picks of the workmen, and a hole was seen leading into a forgotten cave.  In this cave the implements of mediaeval coiners were discovered, and an amount of metal, false and true, was found which had been used by them in the process of their business.

A short time ago a man applied for permission to perform a similar kind of excavation at a place called Nag Hamadi, and in my absence permission was given him.  On my return the following report was submitted:  “...  Having reached the spot indicated the man started to blow the stones by means of the Denamits.  Also he slaught a lamb, thinking that there is a treasure, and that when the lamb being slaught he will discover it at once.”  In plainer English, the man had blown up the rocks with dynamite, and had attempted to further his efforts by sacrificing a lamb to the djin who guarded the treasure.  The djin, however, was not thus to be propitiated, and the gold of the Pharaohs was never found.  More recently the watchmen of the famous temple of Der el Bahri found themselves in trouble owing to the discovery that part of the ancient pavement showed signs of having been raised, stone by stone, in order that the ground below might be searched for the treasure which a tradition, such as those in the Book of the Pearl, had reported as lying hid there.

Almost as romantic as treasure hunting is robbery with violence.  We all remember our boyhood’s fascination for piracy, smuggling, and the profession of Dick Turpin; and to the Theban peasant, who is essentially youthful in his ideas, this form of fortune hunting has irresistible attractions.  When a new tomb is discovered by authorised archaeologists, especially when it is situated in some remote spot such as the Valley of the Kings, there is always some fear of an armed raid; and police guard the spot night and day until the antiquities have been removed to Cairo.  The workmen who have been employed in the excavation return to their homes with wonderful tales of the wealth which the tomb contains, and in the evening the discovery is discussed by the women at the well where the water is drawn for the village, with the result that it very soon assumes prodigious proportions, inflaming the minds of all men with the greed of gold.  Visitors often ask why it is that the mummies of the Pharaohs are not left to lie each in its own tomb;