LUXOR TOMB TREASURES.

Gisborne Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 9669, 16 April 1923, Page 3

LUXOR TOMB TREASURES.

MORE ABOUT TUTANKHAMEN. , LONDON, Feb. 8. L'iio contents of the outer chamber of Tutankhamen’s tomb at Luxor are so numerous, and require so much preparation and strengthening for removal to the outer air, that several days must elapse before the inner or actual apartment of burial can be opened (says t(ie London correspondent of the Argus). There will be still further delay "-in the opening of the burial tomb, if it be decided first to empty the annexe. This has sometimes been called the second chamber and we have not heard much about it. The three apartments are not quite in line; the annexe is by the side of the first chamber, and opens from it. Its contents have not been explored, and can only be dimly seen in crowded and jumbled confusion, through a hole cut by the tomb robbers when these vaults were plundered a few years after the great king’s death. There is not space in the annexe for large articles like couches and chariots, but the place is cnimmed full of objects. It is not yet decided whether their removal shall be undertaken immediately after the first chamber has been ..cleared, or whether that stage shall bo postponed till the wall of the actual burial vault has been broken down. The two large wooden figures of Tutankhamen are where they were originally placed to guard the scaled door of the chamber wherein the king is supposed to be laid. These have to be removed, and the dust and refuse of the outer chamber have to be carefully riddled. ’ Lord Carnarvon, with Mr Howard Carter, and their staff of assistants, are daily engaged in emptying the first or outer chamber of its jumble of treasures. Each article is carried to a large empty tomb of Seti IT., 300 yards away, and prepared for transit by steamer to the great Museum at Cairo, In many instances paraffin wax is coated over the more delicate portions of these treasures. Yards of bandages and many pounds of cotton-wool are also used for some of the pieces, for their decorations are so fragile, and at times are so much worn by time, that very little wind would destroy them. They have, therefore, to be most carefully protected when they are carried through the open air. One’s amazement at the beauty of many of these recovered objects is increased the more closely one examines them.

During the past week there has been brought to* light a specimen of ■‘ushabti,” ,'little dolls or servitors, usually placed in the winding sheets or collins of the dead, to help the depnrted spirit in whatever work it may be called upon to do by the god Osiris, in the underworld. In far-off times, and more recently in Dahomey, when a ruler died, his officers and some of his servants were required to accompany him into the spirit land, and assist him in a future state. This custom was widely prevalent in other countries than Egypt. There are traces of wholesale slaughter in some of the earliest burial places of the older Egyptian dynasties. The use of “ushabti” was really introducedto save the saci’ifice of human Jife. The “ushabti” may vary in length, from a couple of inches or less to more than a foot ; they are shaped after the fashion of a mummy. On them are inscribed some words from the Book of the Dead, the official ritual of burial. The extract in full from the 6th chapter of that book runs: “0 Ushabti, if the Osiris (meaning the deceased) is commanded to do any work whatsoever, let all obstruction be east down before him.” And the answer is: “Here am I when ye call. ’ The next phrase runs: “Be thou ready to plough and sow the fields, to fill the canals with water, and to carry sand from .the east to the west.” To which the answer is: “Again, here I am* when’ye call.” Scores of thousands of "ushabti” figures have been round in Egypt. There is half a truck of these “helpers” or “answerers” in the Egyptian rooms of the British Jiuseiim. Some of them are cf beautiful semi-prec-ious stones, handsomely carved. It is probably such a one, perhaps, of gold, may be found near Tutankhamen’s mummy. The particular “ushabti” brought to light the other day was of wood, which had been painted. There are traces of an inscription upon it, being part of the usual text, and the forehead is adorned with a small metal uraeus (sacred serpent), from which sign it is gathered that this was an “ushabti” of the king—a special attendant -lor the service of his majesty in the future state. Another interesting object brought to the surface is a war chariot, with hub and spoke casings, made of* one piece, and heavily gilded. Altogether, parts of two or three chariots have been found in this mausoleum.' They are of very light construction, the wheels of one show signs of wear; another has a raised bar for carrying the reins. In this case what is apparently an elaborately carved dashboard is sheathed in sheets of gold, chiselled in relief, and set with intricate designs of semi-precious stones. It is an exquisite piece of. artistry. One picture thereon represents the royal vulture. In order to work out the intricate designs upon the royal chariot, skilful use has been made of a large variety of stones. Among them are the cornelian, turquoise, medlachite, and lapis-lazuli. In a prominent 'position upon this chariot are two representations of the sacred eye. This form of adornment appears in many funerary representations. It is supposed to be the eye of the great god Ra —the sun. “The eye of heaven,’Lsay the poets. Where there are two eves, they are sometimes reckoned as the sun and the moon, or as the eyes of Homs, the left and the right. The fact that this chariot is decorated with the sacred eye suggests to some experts that the vehicle may have been Tutankhamen’s funeral chariot, used among the items of tlie funeral procession.