In the same case is a good general collection of =reels=, =spindles= and spindle whorls, and carding instruments, etc., used by workers in linen. In Table-case J is a fine collection of pieces of linen ornamented with patterns and designs woven in coloured threads, or worked in wools, from the tombs of Egyptian Christians, dating from A.D. 300 to 900. Of special interest are the squares with figures of Adam and Eve (No. 4), St. George slaying the Dragon (No. 18), and God the Father among the Seraphim (Nos. 21-24). The fine pieces of yellow silk, one with arabesque designs and an Arabic inscription in the Kûfî character, are remarkable (Nos. 25-27). Of =bier-cloths=, the finest example in Europe is probably that seen in Wall-cases 70 and 71, in the Second Egyptian Room. This cloth is embroidered in coloured wools, with a frieze of cherubs holding necklaces, baskets of fruit, flowers, etc. In the centre two cherubs are supporting a crown, within which is worked a cross, and the rest of the cloth is ornamented with doves, vases of fruit and flowers, rosettes, etc. It belongs to the period after A.D. 350. The =Egyptian Tomb=.—The care taken by the Egyptians to preserve the bodies of their dead would have been in vain if they had not provided secure hiding places for their mummies. The mummy had to be guarded against the attacks of thieves and of wild animals, and placed beyond the reach of the waters of the Inundation. In primitive times the dead of all classes were buried in graves which were dug on the skirts of the desert, in the sandy or rocky soil; this custom was dictated by economical considerations, for the mud soil of the country, every yard of which was cultivated, was too valuable to the living to be devoted to the dead. The graves were usually oval in shape, and comparatively shallow, and they were covered over with slabs and layers of sand (see Case A, First Egyptian Room); it is probable that they were marked by some kind of stone or stake driven into the ground near the head of the grave. The graves, in which bodies were buried in a sitting position, were, of course, deeper than those in which they were laid on their sides. Over the graves of chiefs, huts made of reeds and grass were built, and offerings of food and drink were probably placed in them, as well as in the graves. At a later period mud houses took the place of the reed huts, and, still later, such houses were built of stone. In the Archaïc Period the buildings over the graves of the kings were rectangular in form, and they contained many chambers, wherein, no doubt, the ceremonies connected with the burial of kings were performed, and stores of provisions of all kinds for the use of the deceased were placed. At this time men and women of lower rank were buried in shallow graves, the sides of which were protected with crude bricks, and the poorest folk of all were buried together in pits, which belonged to the community. [Illustration: The Step Pyramid at Ṣaḳḳârah.]