There is fairly good proof that blocks and statues were lowered on to their beds by emptying sand-bags which supported them. Choisy, in his _L’Art de bâtir chez les Égyptiens_, takes it for granted that this method must have been used for obelisks as well. His suggestion—or rather description, for he might well have been there—of how the Egyptians erected their obelisks, on page 124, is not to be taken seriously, except perhaps for the smallest obelisks (see section 50). If the method I suggest, or a modification of it, was that used for the erection of the largest obelisks, sand-bags are not necessary at all. As to the flow of fine blown sand, I can speak from personal experience on the matter, as I have several times approached a big tomb-shaft filled with blown sand from below, having entered by another tomb breaking into it. The sand always lay sloping from the roof of the chamber joining the shaft to the floor, at an angle of about 20 degrees. It can be easily and safely removed from below without bringing down an avalanche. I am very sure that, at the end of the tunnel, no constant flow will occur, even when the sand is being pressed down by a 1168‐ton obelisk; it is more likely that men would have to remove the sand from half-way along the tunnel. The bottom of the funnel would have to be slightly larger than the base of the obelisk, so as to be able to remove the sand, stones and brick fragments which might have come down with it. If all went well, the obelisk, when it touched the pedestal, would lie against the near wall of the funnel with its base engaging in the notch. Men would then enter through the tunnel, and clear out all particles of sand from the surface of the pedestal and, if necessary, from around the base of the obelisk. {40} Before passing the proofs of the volume, but after plate VIII was printed, I made a wooden model of a funnel of almost exactly the same proportions as that shewn on the plate. The height of the end of the embankment was 30 centimetres. This I tried with a 1/100 scale model of the obelisk in limestone, using finely sifted Aswân sand. The result was interesting, since it shews the great importance of unsuspected details in this kind of undertaking. In the model, I did not use a tunnel, but allowed the sand to escape at any desired rate through an aperture in the stand on which the model was placed. Since the model was not fixed to the stand, the position of the aperture with regard to the bottom of the funnel could be varied.