Regarding the Hebrews, it must be remembered that before the Nineteenth dynasty, they prospered in the land of Egypt. A new king who "knew not Joseph" looked with disfavor upon these foreign people waxing strong within his borders. Feeling that they might become a menace to the country, he determined to exterminate them by dint of excessive work. One of the "store-cities" built by them under these circumstances has been unearthed. It was surrounded by a wall thirty feet thick, which enclosed about twelve acres. Besides a temple, the enclosure contained subterranean cellars built of sun-dried brick. The bricks themselves confirm the biblical version of the story. While some are mixed with straw, as was customary, others were mixed with leaves and reeds--indicating that straw was no longer supplied. Still others were made simply of sun-dried mud. Ramses II. so covered the land with his works and monuments of his greatness, that his personality has stamped itself everywhere. It caught the attention of early writers and has ever since impressed itself upon the traveller, so that this king has been exalted to a prominent place in Egyptian history. Best known of Egypt's kings, for that reason, possibly, he has been most popular. At length Merneptah ruled in his father's stead. Few qualities did he possess to awaken admiration. When his armies were forced to face an invasion of African tribes, reinforced by mercenary troops, he remained in camp while his soldiers won victory for him. The god Ptah, so he explained, had commanded him to stay inside. This did not deter him from taking full credit for the successes. Upon his monuments were inscribed records similar to this: "These people were meditating to do evil to Egypt. They were as grasshoppers. Lo, I vanquished them; I slaughtered them, making a spoil of their country."