KING ZOSER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 80, 14 January 1928, Page 7

KING ZOSER.

SECRET OF AN EGYPTIAN TOMB. Last spring Mr Firth (Chief Inspector of Antiquities to the Egyptian Government) discovered at Sakkara a most interesting tomb of the Third Dynasty, dating from the Thirtieth Century B.C. The tomb is situated south of the Step Pyramid, and is actually built in the great boundary wall surrounding it. The entrance is most skilfully concealed, and leads to a series of underground rooms, of_ which five were formerly decorated with blue faience tiles on the walls (states the Cairo correspondent of the "Morning Post"). The tiles are cleverly arranged in alternate bands' of blue, with white or yellowish bindings, to imitate the reed matting which was doubtless the primitive lining of the early Egyptian house walls. One room has niches like false doors decorated with portraits of King Zoser, the work being in very low relief and showing the finest artistic technique of the period. There were also discovered herein twenty of the largest alabaster jars ever found in Egypt; they probably contained wine. At the time work closed for the summer it was thought that the tomb possibly belonged to Imhotep. the famous Vizier and architect who built the Step Pyramid for Zoser, and whose name appears on the base of Zoser's statue discovered last year. Recently, however, Mr Firth opened the great central tomb shaft, at the' bottom of which it is thought would perhaps be found the funerary chamber of King Zoser himself. Hitherto two tombs have been attributed to Zoser—firstly, the Step Pryamid at Sakkara, of which two- doors were found, and of which one now at Berlin bears his name and titles; secondly, the vast brick mastaba atßeit Khailaf, near Abydos, excavated by Garstang. The identification, however, of the latter tomb with Zoeer is based only on his name occurring on the jar sealings. , The work in this newly opened tomb is much more elaborate and of higher quality than that inside the Step Pyramid. Moreover, the storeroom thereto annexed contains a large deposit of funerary furniture. The_excavation of the tomb shaft is now temporarily suspended because the walls have begun to bulge dangerousty, threatening; to bury anyone attempting to dig further toward the fa-mb chamber below. 1 Northwards of the Step Pyramid I workmen have been very busy clearing j a series of storerooms, together with an immense altar some fifteen yards square, doubtless supplied with offerings from the. said storerooms.