In starting an excavation one of the first considerations is the supply of labourers, and the selection of them. In some places it is difficult to persuade any one to work at first; either from distrust, or from being unaccustomed to regular employment. At Naukratis only a few men could be persuaded to try the work in the first week or two; but so soon as the villagers found that genuine gold coin was to be had, they swarmed up, and some five hundred demanded to be taken. The Egyptian is good at steady work, but the Syrian is very different, and it took some weeks at Tell Hesy to educate men into continuous regular digging. They would jump out of their holes every few minutes, and squat on the edge for a talk with the next man; and only a steady weeding out of about a third of them every week, gradually brought up the best of them into tolerable efficiency. In Greece such difficulties are even greater, and rational regular hard work cannot be reckoned upon, as in Egypt.

The best age for diggers is about 15 to 20 years. After that many turn stupid, and only a small proportion are worth having between 20 and 40. After 40 very few are of any use, though some robust men will continue to about 50. The Egyptian ages early; and men of 45 would be supposed to be 65 in England. The boys are of use for carrying from about 10 years old; and they generally look mere boys till over 20. The ornamental man with a good beard is quite useless and lazy; and the best workers are the scraggy under-sized youths, with wizened wiry faces, though sometimes a well-favoured lad with pleasing face will turn out very good (Fig.13). In choosing boys the broad face and square chin are necessary tokens of stamina; and the narrow feminine faces are seldom worth much.

Beside the mere physical strength of the fellow, the face has to be studied for the character. The only safe guide in selecting workers is the expression; and no influence of recommendations or connections should weigh in the least against the judgment of the appearance. The qualities to be considered are, first, the honesty, shown mostly by the eyes, and by a frank and open bearing; next, the sense and ability; and lastly, the sturdiness, and freedom from nervous weakness and hysterical tendency to squabble.

When once selected, the education of the workers begins. Often some oafs who will not understand any directions, and have no sense to work unless encouraged by watching, may yet be brought up in a few months to be good workers if associated with a skilful man. And almost every boy and man will greatly improve by steady work and control. The effect of selection and training is astonishingly seen on comparing some old hands, who have had five or ten years at the business, side by side with new lads. There is as much difference between their capacities as there is between the fellah and an educated Englishman. A gang of well-trained men need hardly any direction, especially in cemetery work; and their observations and knowledge should always be listened to, and will often determine matters. The freshman from England is their inferior in everything except in recording; and at least a season’s experience is needed before any one can afford to disregard the judgment of a well-trained digger. The better class of these workers are one’s personal friends, and are regarded much as old servants are in a good household. Their feelings and self-respect must be thought of, as among our own equals, and they will not put up with any rudeness or contempt. A man with landed property and cattle, and an ancestry of a couple of centuries, can afford to look down on most Englishmen who would bully him. Such workers are of course entirely above going into the usual Government or French work, where the lash is used; and their good service and skill is only given for friendly treatment.

Yet there is a danger in letting control slip away. It is always needful to be firm, and to insist on obedience to orders; and constant keeping in hand is required, not only for the rank and file but even for the best men. An Egyptian cannot withstand temptations if often repeated; and the fault of a collapse of character, which befalls even the best, is mainly due to not keeping sufficient hold and influence, and not taking sufficient trouble to ensure control. The first rule in managing the better class of men is not to let any man get a habit or prerogative of doing any kind of work for oneself: never let the same man repeatedly go for purchases, or for money, or carry things, or walk with the master, or explain phrases, or boss anybody or anything. All such services should be carefully spread over several men; and if there be two parties—as from opposite sides of the Nile—always keep them well balanced in your consideration. Each will then keep a sharp lookout on the opposition.

Beside men and boys, girls (Fig.15) will work very well in the Delta and in Syria, though not in Upper Egypt. They do well at carrying; and as they never ask for pick work they are, when well grown, worth more than the boys. Not only will they come from the village day by day, but they will also camp out with their fathers and brothers in camps at a distance from home. No difficulty or unpleasantness has arisen in such mixed camps in my work.

A frequent trouble is from substitution of workers. The fact of being chosen is worth something; and the worker will try to sell his place to a substitute, and then get in again soon after on the plea of being an old hand. So long as a substitute comes only for a day or so, he may be tolerated. But if there arises a frequent plea of “So-and-So is ill to-day, and wants me to work for him,” it is needful to stamp on it by refusing all substitutes, and replying, “If he is ill, I will take him back when he is better.” One common cause is that they wish to push in younger and younger boys (Fig.16), so that the fellow who was 14 or 16 at first, dwindles imperceptibly until he can hardly carry a basket. An opposite cause is that only boys are taken on in some places because the men cannot be trusted; and then the supreme object of the villains of the place is to get in as substitutes for boys, so that they may learn what is found and where to plunder at night. Most usually when a substitute is refused the original boy turns up as well as ever. I have known the village guards come and call a lad out on a trumped-up charge, with a friend of the guard following close by, quite ready just to work for the accused.

Turning now to the organization, there are two great choices to be made, with or without Overseers, and by Day pay or Piecework. Each system may be best under particular conditions, and the suitability of each we will note first, before entering on detail.

Overseers are almost always employed. They remove much of the friction; they profess to drive the men on, and be responsible for their regular working; and they seem indispensable parts of the business. The less a master knows of the men and of their language the more essential an overseer seems to be.

Yet all this usefulness is the best reason for avoiding them. The more friction they save, the less the master knows of his men, and the less influence he has. The more they profess to drive the men, the more hollow the fraud is, until the overseer merely serves to give notice when the master is coming. The more indispensable they seem, the less desirable is it to have so to trust a native. And the less a master knows of the men and the language, the more dangerous it is to have some one always acting in everything that goes on. Moreover, there is nothing so demoralising to a native as wandering about, without hard work, stick in hand, to bully men who are quite as good as himself. Even good men soon lose their character in such conditions, and it is needful to have some definite allotted manual work for even a leading man.

The results of having overseers, or reises, are instructive. In one case the reis took a third of all the money given as rewards for things, threatening to get any man dismissed who would not give this up to him. In another case the overseers levied a sixth of all the wages from the men, making ten times their own pay by this extortion. Mariette’s overseers used to go to a village with a Government order for so many men, and demand the best men they could venture on claiming. These bought themselves off, each at a few shillings a month, and lower men were taken, until most of the villagers were paying heavy tribute. Reises will also bargain with a shopkeeper to put on a third on the price of all goods supplied, and compel any messenger sent shopping to go to that shop. In another case a museum reis was seen bowing down to the ground and kissing the hand of the principal antika-dealer of the place; doubtless for good consideration received. In short, the dangers, losses, and troubles that come from reises are so great that it is far better to do without them.

The system which works best is to have a careful distribution of the best men; and, in fact, work with two or three dozen reises, all of whom do pick-work themselves. Each well-trained man can have half-a-dozen new hands placed near him, and he can be ordered to see that they follow instructions. By such a wide distribution of the authority it does not deteriorate the men, as there are too many rivals; and being each paid for actual digging, they do not spoil with idleness. Thus every man is directly under the master, all instructions are given at first hand, and every one is in close touch, and not fenced off by intermediate intriguers. Doubtless, two or three men will come to the front by their ability and character; but though full use should be made of them, yet they should always be kept nominally on the same terms and work as every one else. Their reward consists in being given all the more promising places, where things are likely to be found, so that they may reap much more profit than others.

In some different conditions of work overseers may be a necessary evil. In Greece the large distances of sites from each other in the Aegean and political conditions are a bar to employing a regular gang of men, although the Egyptian will readily travel three or four hundred miles to his season’s work, as far as Constantinople from Athens, and is quite ready to do his work in spite of the scowls of a bad neighbourhood. Fresh workers are engaged at each place in Greece, and for their needful training overseers are considered necessary. Also at present, owing to the continual shifting of European superintendence by changes of students, and less frequent changes of Directors, permanent overseers who will carry on the traditions of the modes of working are requisite. But it is questionable whether these needs would not be more safely met by carrying about ten or a dozen picked workmen, who would train local hands, and at the same time work themselves. The Greek does not seem nearly as capable of continuous hard work as is the Egyptian, and moves much less earth in the day, and that at about double the wages, while he is said to entirely refuse piecework. But this difficulty would be reduced if a small picked body of hard workers, stimulated by good piece pay, were used as a nucleus to set the tone of steady work at each place. The Greek needs educating to regular work, which is foreign to his nature.

In England about as much work may be done per man as in Egypt, but at about five or six times the cost. Hence the number employed is not so large, twenty or thirty being a large gang, instead of 150 or 200 as in Egypt. As they can follow directions tolerably, an overseer or foreman is not needed, the best of the workers usually taking the lead.

The question between Day pay and Piece pay is an open one. In cases where minute valuables may be scattered anywhere in the soil, day pay is needful to prevent undue hurry. Or where the work is very irregular, and time needs to be spent on moving stones, or heavy extras, day pay must be given. But where the work is uniform, and the objects expected are large or in known positions, then piecework is far more suitable. Though measuring up the cubic metres of work done may take perhaps a quarter of the master’s time, yet that is better than having to give the whole time to spurring on the dawdling pace of day workers.

When working by the day it is needful to give the signals for beginning and stopping work, and to insist on regular and continuous digging. It is impossible to be known to be away, as then no work will go on effectively. An air of vigilant surprises has to be kept up. A sunk approach to the work behind higher ground is essential; and, if possible, an access to a commanding view without being seen going to and fro. A telescope is very useful to watch if distant work is regular. At Tanis the girls in a big pit were kept by the men walking up and tipping baskets at the top; but the telescope showed that the baskets were all the time empty. The immediate dismissal of fourteen people was the result. A telescope will also show if a boy is put up to watch for the master’s coming. Various approaches should be arranged from different directions, and the course of work so planned that no men can give notice to others. In this way a pleasing group of musicians and dancers may be found in the excavations, where picks and baskets are lying idle; and the arrangement is closed by requesting the boys to dance on their own resources, and the transfer of your pay to other pockets. The need of thus acting as mainspring, without which the work goes on at an official pace, is wearing and time-wasting; and it leaves no chance of doing writing, drawing, etc., during work hours.

Working by the piece saves all this trouble, and if the men are well trained, and the work is simple, it goes on automatically and takes the smallest possible amount of attention. In detached small sites men may even be left unvisited for two or three days, merely reporting each evening how far they have worked. In one case some lads were left to work at a great sarcophagus for weeks unwatched, and came some miles to report progress, and say when further attention was wanted. The pay for that was given by contract, to cut and lift a stone lid under water, for so many pounds.

In piecework it is always best to keep a record of how long each piece has taken, as the time is one element in pricing the work done.1 The ground varies in hardness, the depth of throwing up continually changes, or the presence of large stones hinders the work; therefore any exact value by a hard and fast rule is impossible. Each piece of work done has to be judged, taking the most likely scale of payment, and then tempering the result by the amount of time occupied. The general rate of pay in Egypt is ½ piastre a cubic metre for loose surface sand, ? for shallow work in harder earth, ¾ for work as deep as a man, and 1 piastre for deep pits. At this scale a poor worker will barely earn day pay and a fine worker will make from 1½ to 2 times day pay. The day pay in Upper Egypt is 2½ to 3 piastres (6d. to 7d.) a man, and 1½ to 2 (3½d. to 5d.) for a boy, of fit and proper quality.

To take a practical case. A hole is, say, 2½ metres wide, 3½ long and 2 deep, say 18 cubic metres. The rate will be at ¾, making 13½ piastres or 2s. 9d. Large stones met with, or pillars or buttresses of earth left to support objects in situ, are counted as work done, as the trouble and inconvenience of leaving them in the hole is quite equal to the removal of so much earth. If the pit above-named had taken a four-gang (two men and two boys) less than a day, it might be cut to 12 piastres or 2s. 6d.; or if much over a day, it might be raised to 16 or 3s. 3d.; reckoning that a rate much quicker or slower than the regular rate, shows that the ground or conditions were better or worse than usual. It is needful to measure with distinct and visible care, as the men are very watchful to see that they get fair measurement; and their confidence should be gained by taking trouble to be fair and punctilious in every detail, though never taking notice of any wheedling or attempt to influence the account.

Where the earth has to be moved to any distance beyond a few yards, then more carriers are needed than one to each digger. The happiest combination then is to go on paying exactly the same rate by the metre, as if the men were working a plain pit, but to supply them with as many boys paid by the day as may be needful to shift the earth away (Fig.17). Sometimes two men and two boys will have six more boys to run off the earth to fifty yards away. Any common village boys will do for this gang, and they may be enlisted by the hundred, and distributed over the work. But it is needful to allot these “locals” (as they are called) specifically to known men, so that each pick-man can answer for the time and the doings of each of his own boys. Thus there is no smudge of irresponsibility; but each boy belongs to a man, who has for his own interest to get the work out of him.

The local boys should all give the names of their villages on enlistment, and be kept in lists according to villages, so as to group them for payment in gold. In case of any serious theft or trouble due to boys from one village, all the rest from that village can be dismissed as a warning. To keep them up to time in arriving, it is best to dismiss for the day the two or three who come latest, if they are not well up to time. This soon enforces regularity. Any attempt to leave before the sunset signal, is met by dismissing altogether any boy who leaves too soon. It is best not to allow any substitution on the plea of illness, as if that is once allowed, it soon becomes a loophole for all the selected boys to gradually sell their places to less desirable fellows. A favourite plan of the piecework men is to turn all their own basket-boys into pick-boys, and then want more locals to carry the stuff. Of course this has to be met by deducting from the rate of pay, as the regular rates are for cutting and throwing, and not for cutting alone. The proportion of pay if the boys are set to do pick-work, on a gang of two men and two boys, goes as follows:—

Then if in a normal four-gang, A, one boy takes a pick they become as in B, and only have 11/15 of the piece pay, as the master has to supply the other two baskets for the normal gang of equal numbers of picks and baskets. Similarly if both boys take picks, as in C, the pay is of course ? of what it would normally be; the other ? being spent in supplying locals. The one absolute rule, however, is that if there are enough old trained hands to do the cutting, no local shall be allowed to do pick-work, as his intelligence, knowledge, and honesty are not to be trusted without training. The combination of piece pay for cutting and day pay for carrying is a happy one; as the piecework keeps the men moving, and they stir up the boys on day pay (Fig.19).

In European countries this use of boys is scarcely possible owing to the national education. In Greece as in England the boys are required to go to school, and their holidays there are not at a time suitable for excavating, while in England the holidays are occupied by the harvest. Hence all work has to be done by men, at a higher rate of pay; and so mechanical aids to moving earth would be more profitable than they are in Egypt.

It may be mentioned that the workers are always expected to provide their own picks and baskets in Egypt; while ropes, crowbars, and other tools only occasionally wanted are found by the master. If the daily tools were also provided, they would soon be spoiled, and need constant attention; it is bad enough to have to check and take care of ropes and special tools. The baskets brought up need to be looked at for size, especially those of local boys. When choosing boys, a fair size of basket should be insisted on as a condition of employment; and if small or broken baskets are brought up afterwards, the boy should be turned off, in order to bring a proper basket next day.

The two objects of excavations are (1) to obtain plans and topographical information, and (2) to obtain portable antiquities. For the purpose of securing antiquities it is necessary to guard against the ignorance, the carelessness, and the dishonesty of the men employed. The best way to protect the interests of the work is to give rewards for all the things that are found, commonly called “the bakhshish system.” If only half-a-dozen men are employed, and the master will take care to see that they never touch the work except while he is watching them, it may be practicable to do without bakhshish. But in the ordinary course of having one or two hundred men and boys at work over a large area, it is essential to pay partly by results, at least in the East; in Greece, owing to the large claims of the Government, this is scarcely practicable.

The actual amount given should be as much as a travelling dealer would pay to the peasant, were he buying the object. For small and very saleable things a high rate should be given; for larger blocks, difficult to move, a lesser rate; and for larger things of some hundredweights a nominal present may be given without any relation to the market value. On the whole the bakhshish is usually 5 to 10 per cent of the wages; and as it is only about 1s. in the pound on the European values it is well worth while to secure better work by giving it. Moreover, it is not by any means overlooked in the estimate of the worth of the work, but—like the prizes of gold digging—it is more than discounted in the prospects which induce desirable men to come. The tenth of a chance of getting ten pounds is more attractive than the certainty of getting one pound in wages; so the extra payments secure willing workers, even better than the same amount spread in regular pay.

It is by no means only as a safeguard to honesty. The observation of things, and the care required to avoid breakages, are two very necessary habits for good workmen. Many a small thing would be overlooked and lost if it were no benefit to the finder. And digging carefully so as to avoid breakages, makes a great difference to the returns obtained. When giving bakhshish on a broken thing, it is well to say how much more would have been given had it been perfect. And if fragments are missing, a large deduction should be made, and the balance promised if the pieces can be found. A fine flint knife, anciently broken, was produced with several chips missing; I gave 4s. for it, but offered 16s. more for the chips, which induced the men to sit down and turn over twenty tons of earth by hand, fingering every grain; nearly every scrap was found, the men got the whole 20s., and I got the whole of the largest flint knife known. In another case I kept a lad sifting earth for three weeks, to find a minute head which he had lost. Nothing can ensure care better than paying for it; while any bad carelessness or disobedience to orders is met by degrading a man to unprofitable work or dismissing him. The principle that the holder gets the bakhshish must even be extended to cases where one man has taken things from another man’s hole; the man who has lost the things is merely told that he should have taken better care of his work.

The account keeping is a serious matter, especially when the men are working far from home, as then they wish to be paid irregularly. There is first the account of earnings, by day or by piecework; second, the account of bakhshish; third, the banking account of how much each man has due to him, or, if he has just drawn gold, perhaps a small balance against him; and fourth, the advances for market and for drawing to send home. The simplest way of paying is Schliemann’s, giving a day’s pay to every man every night; but it requires great quantities of change and a long time of delay to the workers and the master. Weekly payments are better, on the night before market day or on market morning. The account is read through to a man, his assent obtained to it; he is asked if he wants to draw gold, and if not, the total is booked to him, added to his previous balance. Then for marketing, it is best to join the men in groups of six or eight together, and give the chief man of each group a sovereign to divide as they want it. After market he states how much each has had, and it is deducted from the balance of each man, while any unspent cash is returned.

Thus the amounts which should balance in weekly accounts are, for instance:—

This, of course, being the paymaster account, as apart from the accounts in chief, and from which the accounts in chief are made up by the head of a party.

It is necessary to take trouble to gain the confidence of the men; they must be convinced of the master’s good faith and precision. Whenever there is reasonable doubt on a point, they must always be given the benefit of it; and plenty of patience is needed to hear their complaints, and to understand what is the real state of an objection. Some men are so puzzle-headed that they cannot remember their account clearly; and if so, it is best to make them name some friend with whom all their accounts are settled. If any man wants to go far back in accounts—and sometimes they will raise a question of four or five weeks before—then it is well to have a friend as witness, who will see that it is right, and close the matter, silencing any puzzled grumbling. Egyptians will often dispute accounts against their own interest, and remind the payer of amounts which they have received that may have been overlooked. But it is needful to show care and interest about the smallest amounts, so as to maintain a sense of exactness and precision with the men.

Some masters avoid going over accounts by giving each man a card, and entering his account on it in figures; but as the man cannot check it without asking a reader, this hardly meets the case. Another form of accounts is, however, understood and desired by the men, in the form of a tally which every one can check, and from which they can automatically balance accounts at once. A piece of sheet zinc is ruled in columns (Fig.21), each of 20 squares for the 20 piastres in each dollar; and every fifth column is lined heavier, as marking a pound. All amounts earned are marked by spots in the columns, and amounts paid are scored through. Thus in this example the earnings were 12, 2, 5, 9, 30, and 15 piastres; the drawings were 17, 14, 11, 4, 2, 1½, 6½ piastres; and the balance still due between the last score and the last spot is 17 piastres, which any man can count for himself. Such a tally will hold five pounds of accounts, or ten if ruled on both sides.

It hardly needs saying that a small amount of doctoring is continually wanted. Damages to hands and limbs in moving heavy stones, bruises and strains, sore eyes, malarial fever, rheumatic headaches, indigestion, swellings and gatherings, old sores, and many other small ailments are of daily occurrence. A stock of medicines, and some care in applying them, are necessary in any excavations. But it is necessary to refuse to give medicine to any one outside of the workmen: first, because a gratis doctor would never have time to do other work; second, on account of infection; and third, because patients are an excuse for spies.

Having now noticed the men who are required, something may be said of those who are not required. The dealer and the spy are a constant plague. No man must be allowed to loaf about the work, or to lie watching it from a look-out point. And any troublesome men are best dealt with by taking shoes or head-shawl from them, and offering to send the clothes to the man’s sheikh to be returned to him. To get them he must give his name, and the name of his sheikh; and that no man will do, as he can then be dropped on by the police in future. Not a single loafer will ever give his name and sheikh, and so they are well kept at bay by confiscating clothing or tools. Once I took the donkey of a troublesome man, who had fled from me; and gave it up to his sheikh, who came to intercede next day. Doubtless it had to be redeemed by some blackmail to the sheikh, and the needful lesson was taught. Dealers are incessantly trying to get at the men, daily at wells or as tobacco-sellers, and weekly in the market; and so any unexplained persons who are seen about should be moved on and kept at a distance.

It is supposed by some that there is a solidarity in the family of an Egyptian, which ensures that a man’s relatives know about his actions, and are aware if he goes wrong. But various events have shown that a man’s own relatives may be quite in the dark about his doings, and that a chance outsider may see, know, and tell things about a man which are secret from his relatives living with him. Hence the guarantee of a relative is worth practically nothing, and every man must be taken on his own merits. It must always be remembered that excavation is for the sake of archaeology, and is not undertaken in the interest of the workman. Hence any doubt about a man’s character is sufficient reason for not employing him. There is neither reason nor use in making accusations, which after all it might be impossible to prove. But an unostentatious weeding out of men during the fluctuations of the work is the best means of avoiding those who seem less likely to be trustworthy.

A reason for not taking any man’s recommendations is that the introduction to the work is sure to be paid for; and if Ibrahim begs you to employ Aly, and succeeds, Aly will have to give him a lump sum or a share of the wages. Advice for a man should therefore never be taken; though advice against a man may be disinterested and useful.