two and a half to three inches. The whole, therefore, represented a couch whereon the dead Osiris lay figured in greensward. Verily, a striking poetical idea, the resurrection of the dead symbolized by the picture of the barley springing up. The whole tomb, with its numerous equipments, furnishes a very important contribution to the history of the methods of burial among the ancient Egyptians." _Sunday School Times, July 8, 1899._ ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: Egypt: Fall of eleven columns of the great temple at Karnak. "From Professor Georg Steindorff, of the University of Leipsic, comes the following: 'In the covered colonnade of the great temple at Karnak extensive restorations have lately been undertaken, rendered necessary by a most deplorable accident, which, about a year ago, befell this grandest of all Egyptian edifices. It occurred on the morning of October 3, 1899, in the colonnade which was built by Ramses I, Sethos I, and Ramses II, and which is doubtless familiar to all in engravings and photographs. In the northeastern part of this structure as many as eleven immense columns fell, and were totally wrecked, while several others are leaning over so that they might fall at any time. By this event the magnificent structure has been utterly ruined, and it now presents a dreary aspect. The cause of this catastrophe has not been definitely ascertained. The first thought was of an earthquake, but nothing of the sort was experienced elsewhere in Egypt on the morning of the day above mentioned. It is more likely that during the thirty-two hundred years of the building's existence, the material used in its construction had greatly deteriorated, and that this fact increased the possibility of a collapse. Then, also, in the main hall during recent years, the work of excavation and restoration was carried on with little regard for the dilapidated condition of the temple, which was weakened rather than strengthened by this work. But especially for the last four years, during the inundation of the Nile, the hall, by artificial means, has been flooded in order to extract and remove the salt which had formed. By this periodical flooding and drying of the ground the foundations have been very badly damaged. This, according to Dr. Borchardt, is the prime cause of the ruin. First the ground gave way under a column, which then toppled, and, in falling, brought down the others with it.