The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-04-05
RARE FIND OF GEMS
JEWELS FOUR THOUSAND YEARS
OLD UNEARTHED IN EGYPT.
They Were Worn by Famous Dusly
Beauties Who Lived $500 Years
Before Christ.

! New York Morning Journal.
A scene depicted in the Sunday Journal
shows nothing less than the bringing TO the
| light OF to-day of the bodies of two royal
women, who lived at least 1886 years ago.
| They wear jewels OF a magnifcence which
| proves alone that they were great and fash
| ionable.
These women fiourished at a period when
| all Europe was plunged in the darkest saw
agery, before even Greece had begun TO
emerge from ii, at time when even the
ancient Jewish race was in its earliest in
fancy. They had been dead 5000 years be-
fore the Anglo-Saxon barbarians oolonized
England. Compared to the civilization which
these remains represent all existing civiliza-
ton is ludicrously new.
In that immensely long ago they lived and
| loved, and were the heart of a cultivated
society, for We know that in ancient Egypt
women were free and powerful, and not as
in modern Oriental countries. Intrigues OF
all kinds were part OF that society, as they
have been Of every similar society, and We
can be sure that stories are woven into the
lives Of those women, stories Of those early
days OF the human race, which, If we knew
them, would yet move our hearts. From the
form of their heads We may judge that they
were beautiful, assuming, of course, that
they also had that beauty which is skin
deep. BY them doubtless princes and states
men and great soldiers were made happy,
or suffered death, and for them the mysteries
of magic which the modern world. with all
its science. has barely been able to guess at,
were put in working.
The women were a queen and princess
Of
which began about $500 B. C. Their bodies
and jewels have been discovered by NJ. de
Morgan, young French Psychologist. who
has made some wonderful discoveries within
few years. Inscriptions show that they
We're Queen Khnemit and Princess Ha.
NJ. de Morgan is director general of the
Service Of Egyptian Antiquities During The
winter of 1S93-94 he first visited stony
plateau on the left bank of the Nile, few
hours 10 the southwest of Cairo. There are
situated the famous pyramids Of Dahshur;
little to the north are the pyramids OF the
kings of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties; the
tant monuments. The whole district is full
Of tombs, and all scholars have admitted this
fact yet. strangely enough, no systematic
excavations have hitherto been made
throughout II.
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND.
Rightly conjecturing that his predecessors
had discovered the most important remains
that were to be found at the north OF the
plateau, NJ de Morgan turned his attention
to the southern end, and the results of his
labors have fully justified his decision. Hav-
ing arranged to live on the spot, so that the
greatest advantage might result to archaeol-
oey from his labors, NJ de Morgan began
work with large gang OF laborers. He
found It necessary to make first a general
clearance OF the sand, stones and rubbish
which had accumulated, partly through the
decay of the buildings and partly through
the excavations of other investigators, so
that plan of the walls which surrounded
the pyramids might be made out, and any
traces or tombs cut in the solid rock might
be noticed.
1t was customary among the Egyptians for
omcials high in the service of their kings to
be buried in rock-hewn tombs in the neigh
borhood Of their pyramids. Such tombs have
not the Importance of pyramids, but they are,
ically To these tombs the name of masta5a
has been given by the natives, and in the
great pyramid field which extends from
have been found. Mastaba tombs consist of
three partisan upper chamber above ground,
a shaft and subterranean chamber, in
which the sarcophagus is placed. The en-
trance to the shaft is always carefully con-
cealed. and only long practice will enable
the excavator to hit upon the spot where an
opening is to be made.
Soon after work was begun at Dahshur
fragments OF inscriptions of kings of the
Twelfth Dynasty, about $500 B. c.. were
found, and these served to indicate the age
of the monuments found thereabouts. Fur
ther excavations resulted in the discovery OF
pit and gallery, in which were number
of tombs that showed plainly the marks of
the professional robber. From the remains
found there it was clear that they had been
tenanted by the bodies of princesses Of the
Twelfth Dynasty.
Close by a box filled with handsome gold
and silver jewelry was found, and it was
thought that the box had escaped the hands
of the robbers by accident. II is more prob
able, however, that these gold and silver
ornaments were removed from the mummies
by the hands of priests or others who had
ad TO tban A ena h they Woad n se
the professional thief, expecting to find MOTH
ing, would not search.
WORK AT THE PYRAMIDS.
The work at the northern brick pyramid at
Dahshur having come to end, NJ. de Nor
gan next attacked the southern pyramid, the
upper part of which had, however, been re-
moved by the natives, who built the bricks
into their houses. A wall ran round the
pyramid, and between il and the pyramid
were buried the royal children. At the
northeast corner tomb Of very considerable
Importance was found, for it proved to be
that Of royal parsonage called Au-ab-Ra,
whose existence had been hitherto unsuspect-
ed. OF the circumstan les under which he
lived and died nothing is known. but Ii is
assumed that he was a contemporary of
Amenemhat HI, and that he either reigned
with him or after him. but before Amenem-
hat " assembled the throne For a man who
was at one time king of Upper and Lower
Egypt" his tomb was unusually mean.
Having cleared out all the mastaba tombs
on the north and northeast sides of the pyra-
mid OF Amenemhat III, NJ. de Morgan began
work on the west side, and here as else
where. success crowned his labors. All the
ground was carefully examined, and at
length the entrances to number of shafts
leading TO subterranean sarcophagi chambers
were discovered.
Recently NJ. de Morgan came upon an
opening which led by an inclined plane to a
gallery, and believing, for several reasons
that the tomb had not been rifled, he removed
the covering and laid bare the gallery to the
light OF day. On the following day, when
room had been made to open the sarcophagi
which had been placed there, the cover OF
one was lifted, and, to the great Joy OF all
concerned, 1t was found to be tenanted by
the mummy of the Princess Ha, which was
ornamental with most beautiful golden jew
elry inlaid with carnelian, turquoise and
lapis-lazuli. The fastenings of the collar and
some of the smaller portions of the orna-
ments had Become loose, and had dropped
by the side of the mummy into the coffin,
but they had been wonderfully preserved by