Phoebe Hearst gave funds to sponsor archaeological expeditions in 1899, the best known of which was to Egypt.

The dedication reads: "To Mrs. Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who, in the interest of the University of California, has borne for five years the entire financial burden of scientific expeditions in Peru, North America and Egypt, the series of publications on Egyptian archaeology of which this is the third volume, is hereby gratefully dedicated."