Xapata,  which  they  sacked  and  burned  ;  and  Candace  was
forced  to  submit.  From  that  time  onward  little  is  heard  of
the  Kingdom  of  Meroi- ;  but  the  pyramids  which  still  stand
near  Meroe  prove  that  the  Nubians  observed  the  old  Egyptian
customs  in  connexion  with  the  burial  of  their  dead  in  chambers
under  the  ground.  The}'  offered  sacrifices  to  Osiris,  Isis,
Nephthys,  Anubis,  and  other  gods  of  the  cycle  of  Osiris,  and
recited  the  ancient  formulas,  which  are  also  written  in  hiero-
glyphics on  the  walls  of  the  funerary  chapels  ;  and  in  some
instances  they  reproduced  on  the  walls  whole  scenes,  eg:,  the
Weighing  of  the  Heart,  and  the  P}'lons  of  the  Other  World,


The  buildint;  at  I'hilac  cnninionly  known  as  '•  J'haraoh's  Bed."

Roman  Period.
from  Ptolemaic  copies  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  as  for  example,
on  the  sandstone  relief  from  a  pyramid  chapel  at  Meroe
w^hich  is  exhibited  in  l^a\-  31,  No.  IO49.  On  the  right  Queen
Candace  is  seated,  her  consort  by  her  side,  holding  symbols
of  sovereignty,  her  feet  resting  on  representatives  of  conquered
tribes.  Immediately  in  front  of  the  large  figure  of  the  queen
we  see  her  pouring  out  libations  to  Osiris,  and  round  about  her
are  vases  of  wine,  beer,  unguents,  bulls  for  sacrifice,  etc.,  for
the  funerary  feast.  In  her  company  are  priests,  officials,
relatives,  and  others,  who  bear  ofierings,  palm  branches,  etc.
This  relief  was  originall)-  coloured  red.    Also  may  be  mentioned


f:ii


!l


Plate  LI.
[See  page  277.)


K    **■•**'  f  ■"■  J  rf" '


?p||K^Mi


\  \


^^PXWfB'i- , ,_, ,  . -i ..  ,:T' j"''f ' ■


Tablet  recording  the  restoration  of  the  temple  of  Mut  by  the  Emperor  Tiberius
Caesar,  about  a.  d.  20.
[Southern  Egyptian  Gallery, 'Bay  27,  No.  1052,]


Plate  LII.
