It is chiefly with regard to the sepulchres of the kings that the most
momentous discoveries of recent years have been made at Thebes, and at
Sakkâra, Abusîr, Dashûr, and Lisht, as at Abydos. For this reason we
deal in succession with the finds in the nécropoles of Abydos, Memphis,
and Thebes respectively. And with the sepulchres of the "Old Kingdom,"
in the Memphite necropolis proper, we have naturally grouped those of
the "Middle Kingdom" at Dashûr, Lisht, Illahun, and Hawara.

Some of these modern discoveries have been commented on and illustrated
by Prof. Maspero in his great history. But the discoveries that have
been made since this publication have been very important,--those at
Abusîr, indeed, of first-rate importance, though not so momentous as
those of the tombs of the Ist and IId Dynasties at Abydos, already
described. At Abu Roash and at Gîza, at the northern end of the Memphite
necropolis, several expeditions have had considerable success, notably
those of the American Dr. Reisner, assisted by Mr. Mace, who excavated
the royal tombs at Umm el-Ga'ab for Prof. Petrie, those of the
German Drs. Steindorff and Borchardt,--the latter working for the
_Beutsch-Orient Gesellschaft_,--and those of other American excavators.
Until the full publication of the results of these excavations appears,
very little can be said about them. Many mastaba-tombs have, it is
understood, been found, with interesting remains. Nothing of great
historical importance seems to have been discovered, however. It is
otherwise when we come to the discoveries of Messrs. Borchardt and
Schâfer at Abusîr, south of Gîza and north of Sakkâra. At this place
results of first-rate historical importance have been attained.

The main group of pyramids at Abusir consists of the tombs of the kings
Sahurà, Neferarikarâ, and Ne-user-Râ, of the Vth Dynasty. The pyramids