EGYPTIAN TOMBS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1005, 23 June 1930, Page 9

EGYPTIAN TOMBS

EVIDENCE OF CHESS IN 5,000 B.C. Selim Hassan, the Egyptian excavator who has been digging on behalf of the Egyptian University near the Cairo Pyramids, made a new discovery recently, namely, that of the tomb of Tarso Ankh, which is the fifth tomb of a priest to be discovered in the great tomb of Ra Wer, a prince and high priest of the Third Dynasty (about 5,000 8.C.). Three statues of Tarso Ankh, who was a tutor or priest, have been found representing three stages of his life—as a child, an adult, and an aged man. Another statue represents his two daughters, with their arms linked in the affectionate manner of girls, and wearing dScolletfee evening dresses similar to those worn in the present day. There are two other statues of Tarso Ankh’s first wife wearing a sky-blue dress with a necklace in relief round her neck. A further statue of Ra Wer has been found. All the statues are complete and in varied and brilliant colours. The tomb was found at a depth of sixty feet. A notable design on the sarcophagus is that of a piece uqed for the playing of chess. The Invention of chess has hitherto been acclaimed by two nations, Persia and China. The question is now being asked whether this design does not indicate that the game originated in Egypt.