ABSTRACT
The chapter focuses on story of excavation, even in the most meagre outline, and Der el-Bahri must suffice as a typical example of the kind of work which has been done all up and down the land of Egypt. Egypt, almost equally with Greece, may claim to be the Land of Temples; and certainly no other land of the ancient East can rival in the number, the scale, and the magnificence of the shrines which reared to innumerable gods. One of the curious facts about Egyptian building is that, for a race of master-builders such as they showed themselves to be, they were strangely, even culpably careless about their foundations. In the great days of Egypt glory under the New Empire, Thebes have been one of the wonder-cities of the world, and one of the fairest sights on which the sun ever shone. The Festal Hall presents a feature unique in Egyptian Architecture.
