ROYAL BURIALS IN EGYPT.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 57, 8 March 1923, Page 12

ROYAL BURIALS IN EGYPT.

TUT-ANKH-AMEN. ■■n.OWN Vi MKAVKX.' , ,r... ~ n - s i-i r-.,rr..«i..inannl - I.iiNi.iiV. liiiniiiry il. ■i. piit'ii J tli.in ih.-.i J-:n« '■■•fi.rr of lh-> .'.!." ".""'.Oiil-h ,, :- 1 !" , ! , !- '.•'•■■ pprmiU^lV.V, , iruV.'illilkJTl" lo.■',„•,'!'„,' l' 'v'-l I..iriHl- -,., |. ..,,; |,v I- ■■.- - n-'ii-U-w IViri->.,--.it."|:i\ r.t L . :ii :i::r:i"li-.n I !„, |,n,|i --■ r i- i.i r.'Kfii i"i.v almost nil -1;,. i, oil liir..>.* in K-v;.t li:iil n Ppoli,ii.-! in f- ; -I-'. N.i , ii -inL'lc royitl Lin ~,i hii.l i.c.oi f.iniil i unplei.- in mm!.Tii n'-i'ii]•■■''. '■'.'.■rii in ilm creat t• mii> iiiuv di-i «v« i-o-1 -' nic objects had ].eri«hwi v : ,.. : , ■■ iji,- :li-|iu-!il iii i hr relics fi,.i.i 1n:."., Mi... <-n\ tnliil.. I'rofess. r T, : ,-i,. -~-ii.l In- ||..|.i>.| ii v. (.iilil !..• [...ssililo t.. ,ri>M>rvi' th.-se very frail tin■ 1 beaut ifu! :li,r_- in tin- dry air nf Thebes in n proper Muisfiini -|n-t-isi 11 v prepared Fc>r thr-in. This wniilil ■..' fiiv V'tti-r than t> ink.- them iinii iln- fogs and damp i>f ( air... I!,, slmwed i\ '/.<■ .graph of what lie culled "tlip olde-i jiici-o nf jewellery, in tlin world." a <|ii..-n's hraceh't fniind by him in ii very early tomb year-* agn. piv-encd owing i" i In , in el thai the toiio,.rol.bpT pnslu-il it in-.. :i hole in tli" wnll ivliile !n> tried 1u seciir" more gold arti Ibh. Ii was forgotten until Pro-fpss-ir I'elrii-'* ■.viirkiiifii found it. Discus-iii- Hi.- tiv,-- tvliirh lrd to Ilie elaborate Inirhil ciHtmii* of tlip Kjryptians. Professor IVtrii- said there was miieli in pnninioM hetwpen t!ic ancicn , Egyptian ideas and. those wliirli still persisted in West Africa. such as tin , worship nf the spirit of the ancestor kins, the prip<l of the il'.-td king who could give nMciihir orders, etc. Fg.vipi in the*.- wa.\- w.i- truly African, lle-'traced the growth in the frrandeiiv and ehihoratir.ii of tin- rii.vnl tombs throujili tlie dynasties and gave nn interesting account of tli" a.-tiviiics of the rnblii<rr>, showing pictures which illustrated the dinary extc-ut of the damage dune by the thieves. So thorough were they that there was only one body known'ln-fore th» eighteenth dynasty ' which niav be] that of n kin-. ' ' I Every pyramid wliieli 'had been ex- , amiu.-il had been found plundered— i empty and desolate. From one pyramid ! the only relic of .-■ king was an' inlaid ■ gold serpent which I'rnfessur I'etrie discovered. Tn the four centuries of the Thebiui ago there were 2!) sovereigns, of whom 2(1 'tombs were known, and 21 ! bodies of kings had been preserved as mummies. Professor Petrie showed the death | mask of Akhenaten. who moved the capital to Tel-el-Amarna. The religions revolution of this king, who worshipped Aten, the disc of the sun, was the greatest step ever made by the human mind in contrast with its surroundings. He had the ipu,relv scientific conception of the sun rs bhc source of human energy. It was not until almost living memory that such a stage of thought was readied ajrain—the thought that the radiant energy of the sun is the eource of all action. Egypt afterwards fell back on the old worships. The high priests dominated the country, and Tut-nnk'.i-aten became Tut-ankli-amen —•'Amen" being the I name af the ancient god of Thebes. Ttit-ankh-amen was the last king of his I line. There was no direct heir, and this accounted for the extraordinary profusion of fine -furniture found Sy Mr. Carter. It was no simple huri.il, and the furniture was not the funeral equip- |. nge of the king. Tt was a coliec'lion of all the fine things from the palace which there was no heir to inherit. Bather than allow the priest or general who succeeded Tut-ankh-amen to inherit the pride I of life of the king, all his possessions j were buried with him. For this reason Professor Petrie thought it would lie found that some of the furniture was of much earlier periods than that of Tut-ankh-amen. The excavation of th?se long passages through the solid rock to the tombs was a remarkable matter. A thousand cubic yards of rock had to be removed to make the tomb of £>eti 1., and the walls "smoothed and prepared for sculpture. The tomb of Seti I. contained 2000 square yards of carving and painting. Discussing the theological ideas illus- i trated in the tombs. Professor Petrie showed that the arrangements were de- ! signed to give the king security'in his i future life. When the king died the | palace was closed, parties of men and ; ■women roamed in the streets singing I dirges while the mighty king lay help" I less in the hands of the embalmer. It j was said, "The falcon has flown to heaven." An account was given of the elalwrate ritual of the funeral, one pointbeing that, as the tomb pictures show, a ! group of wailing women circled slowly I round the mummy—just as the Egyptian ! women do to this day at a funeral." I