The record-union., 1895-07-13
JEWELS And MUMMIES.
Priceless Ancient Treasures Found
in Egypt's Pyramids.
Bodies of a Princess and Queen-Rare
Gems, Ornaments Of Exquisite De-
sign, Gathered in the Royal House
of Death.

archaeological one-has entered Egypt
and conquered it. Where the famous
First Consul made history while destroy
ing. the present Frenchman is simply
patching history together by the dlscov-
cry of fresh links concerning the era OF
five thousand yearsRago, links forged
from mummies and treasures taken from
far beneath the sands of the desert ana
out of solid masonry. In the eyes OF Inc
world this recent discoverer of antiquity
may be more highly regarded than Napo-
leon himself, for, While the little emperor
in Egypt WAS only able to tell his soldiers
ut the base of the pyramids that forty
centuries were looking down upon them,
. the arch;eologist has gone further in that
he has burrowed far below the surface OF
the desert TO find out new things about
those forty centuries.
The explorers name Is De Morgan, and
his discoveries have been little sort OF re-
markable. The treasure he has un-
earthed is the most important Egyptian
find that has been made for the past nifty
years. Footed up in dollars and cents,
in pounds, shillings and In pence, or III
francs, the exact value OF the Jewelry
be has taken out of never-dreaned-c
tombs has not been estimated, but even
put upon a purely monetary basis, the
value of these findings is immense. Con-
sidereo from the light of the Egyptolo-
gist and explorer. the value is hundred
told, q thousandfold, moro than the act
ual market price that the gold ana gems
would bring.
For De Morgan has unearthed, after a
aleep of fifty centuries, a king, queen
consort and royal princess, and he mas
found a rich mine, as 1t were, or treasure
that the shrewd Pharaohs thought they
had hidden from the eyes OF men until
the days of the last trump. so perfectly
was the entrance to these tombs con-
ceaIed that all knowledge of their exist
ence escaped the eyes, not OF the sclen-
lists and explorers alone but also those
OF the crafty, quick wItted desert thieves
and vandals who pillaged and stole
through thousand OF years.
sUBTERRANEAN GALLERIES.
Summing it briefly up, De Morgan's
discovery has been this: He found. just
year ago, IN May, 1894, the tombs and
imperial treasures of Amenemhat Ill,
of the twelfth dynasty OF Egypt, together
with the tombs of several OF the prln-
cesses royal Of that day, and those of two
other Egyptian Kings, Ousertesen IL.
and Ousertesen Ill, in the galleries OF
one of the lesser pyramids that lie 10 the
southwest of the modern city OF Cairo.
two hours journey. Here IS the site OF
the antique metropolis, or City of the
Dead" CT Memphis, that famous ancient
town. De Morgan reasoned that, follow
ing out the traditions and customs of the
imperial houses of Egypt, the mighty
Amenemhat would not lie alone in death.
His surmise was that the pyramid must
be surrounded by glrdle of royal tomb bs
and an outer belt made up OF the sepul-
chers of those of noble but lesser blood.
The outcome proved his conclusions to
be entirely correct. All through the
- ell fl,a tnr nn II n
endeavoring to discover some mode OF
entrance into these subterranean CALLER
les, but the impenetrab bic problem eluded
hum until the middls of February. Sound
ing after sounding was made and hole
alter hole sunk into the desert sand. The
bulk of these excavations were made to
the depth of twelve meters or about thlr-
ty-nine feet. At last huge and massive
rock was found which showed that thou
sands OF years before 1t had been rolled
down a gently inclined plane or path
from the surface of the ground and had
sealed with its vast weight the tomb be-
low. With Infinite labor, aided by an
army of modern Egyptian gatfirs aud the
most approved tools and implements of
modern science. this rock was moved
away, and there was disclosed the gal
lery of Amenemhat l1l.'s royal house Of
death.
Not yet was the explorers difficulty
over. This gallery, it is true, showed no
signs of having been entered since its
formal closing fifty centuries before,
when the Princess Ita was gathered to
her fathers, whereas the other subterra-
mean rooms that had been unearthed by
the score proved conclusively by their
absence of every gewgaw that the desert
thieves in eras or the far past had rifled
them. \ OF here there was only mass of
solid masonry, and the bars and pickaXes
of the gaffirs had to be used for many
hours before they broke through and
reached the two sarcophaghl
A PRINCESS AND A QUEEN.
Therein, mnmmified, loaded with jew
els, the great stone collins filled with
scent boxes and all manner of dainty
things-things that were precious to royal
feminine hearts in the old days when the
lotos flower reigned supreme and these-
women were flesh and blood-lay the
bodies of Princess 1ta and khnoumit, the
Queen Consort of Amenem hat Ill.
Directly in front of the pyramid, at
distance from it of only a few rods,
stands what is now known in archao-
logical records as the house of Dashour.
1t is tiny building constructed OF bricks
which were nodded in the twelfth dynas-
ty of Egypt. 5000 years ago, and its light
colored mass makes ii stand out pictu
resquely against the dark, weather beaten
old pyramid. Here De Morgan has lived
while he has been prosecuting these re-
searches. 1t overlooks the valley of the
Nile and Is not far distant from it; back,
beyond the pyramid, stretches hundreds
OF miles to the westward the arid, sandy
DESERT over which sweep the SIMEON, the
terrible khamsiu.
But to the east is the gently uudulating
valley with lis green and fruitful past
ures, It's nelds OF growing maize, its tall
stalks OF sugar cane aud its forests of
dates. The house of Dashour is the
l,&, In,.
the living Egypt and the dead. Its name
has given the scientific title TO these mar
velously successful explorations, and
they Will henceforth be known as the dis
eoveries OF Dashour.
How exciting and impressive was the
scene at the moment of the discovery of
the sarcophagus of the Princess Ita, at the
instant when the last bit of masonry was
pried away, can be best imagined when
1t is:told that even the stolid. stupid ig-
norant modern Egyptian laborers raised
their voices in u shout OF "hurrahW The
spectacle was indeed a picturesque one.
In order to facilitate the working, q wide
and long cutting had been made in ths>
sands OF the desert in the shape of a huge
pit.
At its bottom, depth of over twenty
feet. were gathered varied assembly,
IN the background sheiks and wanderers
of the desert in Arab robes and turbans,
together with them the lahorers. gaffirs
by the score, clad in their simple single
garment, known as galabieh, either white
or blue, roped at the stomach, and with
caps of gray felt on their heads. They
carried great two-handled baskets, used
TO convey the dirt and sand to the surface
of the ground.
De Morgan stood in the sarcophagus
directly over the longburied mummy,
holding a magnificent coronet in his
hands. Near by was the famous Partisan