The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-07-09

| deciphae II. 1fArsstse, the Eeyptian scho,
Ar. had also found what was suppose
70 have been . Nst Of kings, end whic
has snce then been named the 'srabl
OF Abydos."
It was to more closely study thes
hncs, and to investigate over again thi
remarkable ground. that NJ de Morgal
began his search He went over n
ground in all directions making sound
ings here and there. in<the hope Of 10
eating some buried ruin But the spo
did not look inviting Whist cavatie
might have once sexised to indicate evel
the faintest trace Of Q hidden tomb i1a<
hundreds OF years before been obliter
ated by the sand q the desert. whics
the winds, blowing ACROSS the arid re
gion. had picked up and for ages beer
I scattering over the spot. .
| Working steadily by means Of trenche.
and soundings the first notable discovery
| was made in the shape Of an ancien'
flint arrow heads These were of th<
most remarkable kind. and evidently be
longec to period considerably antedat-
| ing the time Of the fourth dynasty
which up to this time had been the mos
remote age Of which science had any
record Other implements were found in
| the shape OF indented Mint blades, which
had probably been used as saws and
| sickleA This was determined from the
| fact that wheat is believed by historians
to nave grown wild in Egypt at the time
of the first dynasty, and the shape OF the
implements found indicates clearly that
they were used for harvesting this wild
cereaa. A complete specimen OF one OF
these sickles. In IT'S wooden setting, was
found deeply buried in the sand. This
sickle indicates that the people OF the
dynasty were advanced in the art of
agriculture, as well as accustomed 70
the use Of flint tools.
NJ. de Morgan also found evidences
that these ancient people had a religion
OF their own. in the shape Of slate figures
Of fishes, birds and turtles. which he
dug up. He believes the religion to have
been q sort Of fetichism. as he can in no
other way explain the curious images.
Regarding this point he says: These
figurines must have belonged to either
the first dynasty or to race and period
preceding 1t, as have found them only
in these atltochtcn places. OF this fact
there Is no doubt, as the figurines were
unearthed, under my own eyes. and
must add that not in any Of the other
old tombs OF the ancient empire that
have been discovered have I ever found
the slightest fragment"
Continuing his soundings and study of
-14 IL
his way along the valley until he reach
ed a point near Negada, where an extra
ordinary mound attracted his attention.
So out Of the usual nature of the ground
was 1t that ne determined upon investi-
CATION Soundings were made at all
points in the vicinity. but without de-
cisive result, and excavations were re-
sorted to. These were begun at the base
Of the north side Of the mound and re-
veaied the, existence Of huge quad
rangular shaped tomb. As soon as this
discovery was made a camp was estab-
lished and work commenced in earnest
Numerous attempts were made to pierce
the solid sides Of the tomb, which, from
the nature Of surroundings. the explor-
ers believed to be intact. Finally. on one
side an opening was made. which was
gradually enlarged to the size OF a large
doorway.
De Morgan. followed by Professor
Weidemann and the rest Of the party,
then entered. 1t was dark, and emitted
the foul odors of centuries of sealed up
air. Long. gloomy passageways de-
scended down into ethe subterranean
depths. Galleries extended at various
angles, and on the floors were the &C.
crumblings Of thousands of |
years Of decay. The dim light that pen !
,trated through the doorway revealed
weird characters cut upon the walls, and |
n the distance could be seen the faint |
outline Of q standing colossus Strange
ind awful was the silence Of this an
;ient tomb. broken only by the FOOTBALLS
" the explorers and their whispered in
;tructions to those following.
Slowly they passed through the rows
Il The wonderfully carved columns,
Iown the hollow passageway, to the cav
rms below. From top to bottom the
walls were covered with hieroglyphic in
criptions. and cut deeply into the sur
aces were outlined the figures Of men
.;id animals that have lived and died
I've thousand years before the Saviour
walked the earth. Strange characters
Z warriors, different from anything
cen in other tonbs, stood out m bas-re-
ief. and the images Of children. kneel-
ng as II in fear. appeared here and
here or the sides Of the passageways.
Taking the main aisle they followed it
y torch light, and found that il led 10
wenty-one Of these rooms, each contain
1g many objects. In the center Of each
5ere placed sarcophagi containing the
lummified remains Of the dead, and
round them were scattered many OBJ
>cts OF the utmost antiquity. There
iere a number of pieces OF what had
nee been furniture. in several differ
Mt designs. and here and there frag-
tents OF bronze statues lay in the dust
In almost every one Of the rooms a
uantity of broken vases was found.
hese bore evidences OF having been
'ade OF alabaster or some peculiar stone
nd were Of the most peculiar and won
erful designs. In some cases two Of
lem would be connected together at the :
: carried by two persons at the same
me. Still other vessels were found /
II out of the hardest materials, such c
rock crystal and quartz. How these q
markable people managed TO cut such @
ard substances, or the methods and {
ol they had for doing Il, Is a mystery &