from that site in Bay 23 (Nos. =166= and =167=) on which is cut the royal prenomen. No. 167 is of interest, for here we see part of the prenomen of Rameses II cut over that of Usertsen III. Of the prominent officials who flourished in this reign we have the stele of =Ȧn-ḥer-nekht=, the =overseer of the granaries=, dated in the 7th year (Bay 1, No. =168=); the stele of =Ȧmeni=, who carried out certain works at Elephantine in connexion with the king’s expedition into Nubia, dated in the 8th year (Bay 3, No. =169=); and the stele of =Sebek-ḥetep=, a warder of a temple, dated in the 13th year (Bay 5, No. =170=). [Illustration: PLATE XXV. Granite statue of Usertsen III, B.C. 2330. XIIth dynasty. [Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 1, No. 159.]] [Sidenote: B.C. 2300.] =Ȧmenemḥāt III= reigned about fifty years, and devoted all his energies to improving the prosperity of his kingdom. Art, sculpture, architecture, and trade of all kinds flourished under his fostering care; and the remains of his buildings and inscribed monuments bear witness to the activity which must have prevailed among all classes of handicraftsmen during his reign. The mines of Sinai, the Wâdî Ḥammâmât, Ṭura, and elsewhere were diligently worked, and the king carried out large irrigation works in connexion with the great =natural reservoir= in the Fayyûm, which is commonly known by the name of =Lake Moeris= (from the Egyptian Mu-ur, or Ma-ur) 𓈗𓅨𓐰𓂋, 𓈘𓅨𓐰𓂋𓈗. The circumference of this reservoir was 150 miles, and its area 750 square miles; its average level was 80 feet above the Mediterranean. In Nubia also he appears to have undertaken irrigation works, for several “levels” are cut on the rocks near the Forts of Usertsen III at Semnah and Kummah, with the years of the king’s reign in which they were cut. They show that the level of the river during the inundation was about 26 feet higher than it is at the present time. Ȧmenemḥāt III is also thought to have built the =Labyrinth=, which Herodotus says (ii, 148) contained twelve courts, and 3,000 chambers, 1,500 above ground and 1,500 under ground, and covered an area about 1,000 feet long and 800 feet broad. It was dedicated to the crocodile-god Sebek; and many sacred crocodiles were buried in a place specially set apart for them. Ȧmenemḥāt III built a pyramid at Ḥawârah, and he and his daughter Ptaḥ-Nefert were buried in it. From the ruins of the chapel at the entrance to this pyramid came the limestone slab inscribed with the king’s names and titles exhibited in Bay 5 (No. =171=).