The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1892-11-24
NEW SERIES. VOL. II, NO. ~

monuments relative to the eighteenth
and nineteenth dynasties. This was a
period of great events in Egyptian his
tory. The triumphal stella of Thothmcs
III, of black granite, shows the King
worshipping the god Ammon. The hymn
records the victory of Sell and the King
From Abydos is the stella of Nebua,
/ prophet of Osiris, under Thethmes III
From Karnak is the statue of the Lion
headed Goddess Socket The temple of
Nut at Thebes was consecrated to her,
| and from Abydos is the stella of Ramses
EN- pa-na. The fine head of a queen
from Karnak is thought to be Taia, wife
of Amenhoten Ill, of the eighteenth
dynasty A number of other statues
and stel9 record events or religious
hymns.
There are many statuettes of the gods,
amulets and symbols in these depart
ments As it was thought that the soul
would return to the body, they buried
everything with the mummy, so that
the soul at its return might find the
things that had belonged to it in this
life. All kinds of articles are on the
mummy in the coffin or in the tomb
The jewelry of Queen Aah-hotep, moth
er of Aahmes, eighteenth dynasty, is ex-
quisitely made and shows the perfection
skill of the goldsmith's art over three
thousand years ago.
THE ROYAL MUMNIEs.
The hall of the royal mummies is I'M
questionably the point of greatest inter
est to the general visitor. The student
that can decipher the hieroglyphics and
thus read the history written on the
walls and monuments may linger long
on the ground floor. In this most re-
inarkable of all mausoleums in the world
lie the withered remains of the mighty
and powerful monarchs OF the past
Under the castle dome the open collins,
in glass cases, are arranged in a circle
on the floor. First is Thothmes III.
1925 B. c., perhaps the most famous of
Egyptian kings. On the walls of the
temple of Karnak is recorded the history
OF his career and glorious reign. A few
steps further and the visitor stands be-
fore Rameses H. Sesostries of the Greeks
the Pharaoh of the oppression Many
monuments still remain. erected by him
during his long reign. Next is his faiths
er, Seti |, and Rameses III. Nearby is
Aahmes, (Amosis,) the conqueror of the
shepherd Kings and founder of the IA
nous eighteenth dynasty, and his wife,
ia no L
queens, princes and princesses come the
high priests.
The mummes are SO perfectly pre-
served that even the characteristic
traits of the features are visible. They
are for the most part entirely unrolled,
the bodies are slightly draped, but the
heads, shoulders, hands and feet are left
uncovered. The lids of the collins,
which are deliberately decorated in gold
and high colors, are laid on one side.
There are mummies in every state, from
those that are entirely unroled to those
that have all the covering on, Just as
they were arrayed ages ago. Some are
in better state OF preservation than 9th
ers, but all prove how vain are mans
endeavors to preserve the final resting
place of the earthly form. What would
these kings have thought if they could
have known that the hidden chambers
in the depths of what they believed i'm
penetrable pyramids would be opened
and their bodies placed on public view
and subjected to the gaze Of The curious
throngs.
LATEST DISCOVERIES.
Mr.. Flinders Petrie, the well-known
Psychologist, lately sent to England a
series of twelve mummified skeletons
diSao1rornd I,,r hin, IL, llcrsr,.A rll,acc.