KING ZOSER

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 5, 7 January 1928, Page 22

KING ZOSER

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 bluo faience tiles on the walls (states tho Cairo correspondent of the "Morning Post")- The tiles are cleverly arranged in afterniito bands of blue, with white or yellowish bindings, to imitate tho 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, tho 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 over found in Egypt; they probably contained wine. At the time work closed for tho summer it was thought that tho tomb possibly belonged to Imhotep, tho famous Vizier and architect who built the Stop Pyramid for Zoser, and whose name appears on.the base of Zoser's statue discovered last year. Bccently, howover, 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 Pyramid 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 at Beit Khallaf,' near Abydos, excavated by Garstang. The identification, however, of the latter tomb with Zoser is based only on his namo occurring on tho jar sea I ings. Tho work in this newly opened tomb is much more elaborate and of higher quality than that inside the Step Pyramid. Moreover, tho storeroom thereto annexed contains- a largo deposit of funerary furniture. The excavation of the tomb shaft is now temporarily suspended because tho walls have begun to bulge dangerously, threatening to bury anyone attempting to dig further towards the tomb chamber below. Northwards of the Step Pyramid workmen have been very busy clearing a series of storerooms, together with an immense altar some fit'lcon yards square, doubtless supplied with offerings from the said storerooms.

SECRET OF AN EGYPTIAN TOMB