POTTERY THREE THOUSAND YEARS OLD.
In digging out the colossal statue of Rameses II., nine feet and four inches of Nile mud had to be removed before the platform was reached. It is known that this platform was laid in the year 1361 B.C., when Rameses was still living. Therefore three and one-half inches of accumulated Nile mud represents the lapse of a century, it being known that 3,200 years have passed since the platform was put down. Under the platform was found 30 feet more of Nile mud before the original sandy soil was reached; hence many years must have elapsed from the time of the Nile's first overflow down to the time of Rameses II. Pottery and fragments of the same were found on the original sandy soil, 30 feet under the base of the statue, which would seem to indicate that the Egyptians understood the potter's art at a very early date.—Information.