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 progressive
development of the tombs from the simplest pot-burial to a small brick
chamber, the embryo of the brick tombs of the Ist Dynasty. Among the
objects recovered from this site may be mentioned a pottery model of
oxen, a box in the shape of a model hut, and a slate "palette" with what
is perhaps the oldest Egyptian hieroglyph known, a representation of the
fetish-sign of the god Min, in relief. All these are preserved in the
British Museum. The skulls of the bodies found were carefully preserved
for craniometric examination.
In 1901 an extensive prehistoric cemetery was being excavated by Messrs.
Reisner and Lythgoe at Nag'ed-Der, opposite Girga, and at el-Ahaiwa,
further north, another prehistoric necropolis has been excavated by
these gentlemen, working for the University of California.
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