The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-02-27


TEN of tunneling. Once in, the secret
of the true entrance-passage was dis
closed, and the explorer was free to
track the path by which he might have
made his way into the central chamber,
had he but succeeded in finding the
point from which it started. That point
proves TO be outside the pyramid, and
apparently at some distance from it; 50
that the tomb of the founder may have
been entered from the adjoining laby-
rinth, the site of which was identified
last year by Mr.. Petrie. Entry from a
distance, by means of a subterranean
passage, is novelty in construction,
and has no precedent in any of the
Ghizeh pyramids Fourth dynasty), nor
yet in those of the sixth dynasty, of
which so many were recently opened at
Sakkarah. This, indeed, is the first
time that the plan of royal tomb of
the twelfth dynasty has been laid open,
and it differs very considerably from
the plan observed by the architects of
the ancient empire. The Great Pyra-
mid and all the other pyramids of the
Ghizeh group, the Pyramid of Meydum
and the Sakkarah pyramids have the
entrance passage in the inter- of the
north face of the structure, and at some
height from the level of the desert, but
the Pyramid of Amenemhat III. is en-
tered from the south side and by an
opening, not in the middle of the side,
but at about one-fourth of the distance
from the southwest corner. 1t is
here that the subterranean passage,
from whatsoever point conducted,
strikes the south face of the struc-
ture. The ups and downs of the
passages in the earlier pyramids are not
many and the obstacles placed in the
way of possible intruders consist chiefly
of a series of massive granite portcui-
Uses, let down from above after the
mummy had been deposited in its last
resting-place: but the defences of the
Pyramid of Amenemhat III. are of
different kind, and more nearly re-
semble the battling turns and windings
and wells of the rock-cut sepulcher of
Seti |. at Thebes. 1t marks, in fact
the transition from the Memphite to
the Theban style of sculpture. THE
PASSAGE" says Mr.. Petrie, "does not
run straight into the chamber, but
slopes down northwards for some dis
lance. Then branch passage leads
eastwards, the main line continuing on,
as a blind. The branch passage (still
going eastward) ends blank, but the
issue from it. is by large trap-door in
the roof. This trap-doOr opens into an
upper passage leading north, which
presently turns off to the west Here
it again ends blank, and another roof
trap gives access to another upper pas
sage running further west. This pas
sage ends in a well leading to short
passage southwark, which ends in
another well now full of water. This
well, imagine, must lead to another
short passage going eastward, whence
a last well would ascend into the cham
ber." The pyramid, as Mr.. Petrie
feared and expected, has been broken
into and plundered long ago; probably
in the time of the Persian rule in
Egypt. A forced entrance has been
made from the second roOf-trap into the
sepulchral chamber, and anything of
portable value which that chamber con-
tanned has of course disappeared The
chamber, Itself, which is three feet
deep in water, is all but monolithic,
the floor and the four sides, up to
a height of six feet Gnside measure
menD being followed out of single
block of sandstone. The dimensions
of the chamber are twenty two feet long
by eight feet wide inside, and Mr.
Petrie estimates the weight of the block
as from one to two hundred tons. One
course of stone all round supports the
roofing slabs, of which there are but
three. This chamber contains one
large and one smaller sarcophagus of
polished sandstone, both perfectly
plain and without inscriptions. A
projecting plinth decorated with
paneled ornaments runs round the base
of the large sarcophagus. The second
sarcophagus has been contrived by the
insertion of head and foot slab be-
tween the large one and the wall, and
this has been closed over by a narrow
lid. There were also two boxes o.
polished limestone in the chamber,
decorated round the base with the
same paneling as the large sarcopha-
gus. One of these is broken up. A
similar kind of stone box, it may be re-
membered, was found in the Pyramid
of Pepi- Merira (sixth dynasty which
was opened some eight or nine years
ago. Some fragments of alabaster YES
]
water in the chamber; but these, like
the sarcophagi and the boxes, are unin-
scribed, with the exception of one
fragment of an alabaster vase which
bears the name of Amenemhat III.
The walls also, as far as Mr.. Petrie has
been able to examine them, are quite
plain, thus differing from the pyra-
mids of Unas, Pepi and Teta of the
fifth and sixth dynasties, which are
lined with religious texts of great
value and interest. That the great
sarcophagus is the sarcophagus of
Amenemhat I'LL, and that the pyramid
is his pyramid, admits, however, of no
shadow of doubt. But for whom was
the second and smaller sarcophagus
constructed? Mr.. Petrie suggests that
it may have been for Amenemhat w.,
who was for several years associated
/ 10 60 hn W fnr