FOUR THOUSAND YEARS OLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17027, 28 April 1923, Page 13

FOUR THOUSAND YEARS OLD.

STORY Or EGYPT'S SLEEPING Interest in the tomb of King Tutankhamen has been temporarily diverted by the discovery bv the American archaeologists who are working at Luxor of a tattooed Egyptian princess 4000 years old, says a Renter’s message to the li Daily Telegraph.” in January. This Royal lady was apparently one »f the beauties ol' the first Theban dynasty, which flourished 21-50 years hel'oie Christ. Her bosom and neck are delicately tattooed with small bluish symbols and traoeries emblematic of her caste and nobility. Egyptologists be Jieve she was one of the favourite Court ladies of the Mentlmhotep king*. The body is marvellously preserved, the hair and teeth being intact. Slight indent ations on the neck, wrists, fingers, and ankles indicate that Ihe princess wor? necklaces, bracelets, and rings in her death sleep, which wore subsequently stolen when vandals desecrated. he r tomb. The girth of her waist suggest* that a narrow waistline and slender hips were as much sought after by the ladies of the Pharaonic period, as by the modern woman. The body i® slender and statuesque in appearance. The leading archaeologists believe that the early Egyptians were unsurpassed in beauty of figure and contour of body, even by the classical Greeks of the Inter cycle. The immature and delicate appearance of the body suggests that the princess* died at an early age. A long, thin brand extending across the abdomen and evidently inflicted by a hot iron, inclines the medical experts. v» ho viewed the bodv recently, to the | opinion that the Royal lady succumbed to serious organic disease, which ir. | ancient times was treated by violent fomentations. The body will l>e sent to the Cairo Medical Laboratory for pathological examination.