Among the =imports= may be mentioned =copper= and =tin= from Cyprus and Northern Syria, =cedar= wood from the Lebanon Mountains, =lapis-lazuli paste= from Babylonia, =myrrh= and =spices= for embalming, =skins=, =cattle=, =ebony=, =ostrich feathers=, =bows=, =pillows=, =chairs=, =couches=, =fans=, =mats=, =shields=, etc., from the Sûdân; and a number of the products of India and Arabia must have found their way into Egypt by means of the caravans which crossed the desert to some place near the modern Suez or Ḳanṭarah, and some sea-borne goods entered Egypt by the route from the Red Sea to the Nile, _viâ_ Ḳuṣêr and Ḳena. The importance of Egypt as a trading centre, and as the natural market half-way between the East and the West, was not fully recognized until the Ptolemaïc Period, about B.C. 250. Business was carried on chiefly by =barter=, so much wheat, barley, or millet being the value of a sheep, bull, cow, or goat, linen, etc. The Egyptians used =weights= and =measures=, _e.g._, the =royal cubit= of 7 palms or 28 fingers, the =little cubit= of 6 palms or 24 fingers, the =palm= of 4 fingers, the =hand= of 5 fingers, the =fist= of 6 fingers, and the =finger=; of =dry measure=, the =hen=, the =ṭenȧt=, the =ȧpt=, etc.; of =weight=, the =ṭeben= (= 3⅕ ounces), the =ḳeṭ= = ⅟₁₀th of a ṭeben, etc. The use of the =scales= was well known, but there is no evidence that the steelyard was employed before the Roman Period. =Stamped money= was unknown among the Egyptians, but they appear to have used a =currency= which consisted of pieces of wire made of copper, iron, or gold, and gold-dust. =Ring-money=, made of gold, is represented in the painting on the south wall of the Fourth Egyptian Room; and also the little bags containing gold dust. Ring-money in gold is in use at the present day along the east coast of Africa, and in certain parts of the Sûdân copper wire still possesses great purchasing powers. [Illustration: Jewellers drilling and polishing beads, etc. XVIIIth dynasty. [Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 12, No. 518.]]