The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-11-12
NAN LIVED SIX THOSUAND
YEARS BEFORE CHRIST

there were discovered pieces of wood
wonderfully inlaid with pieces of col
ored glass, showing that the secret of
manufacturing glass was known even
then. This seems to indicate a long
period OF preparation or development
for men did not invent glass when
they were crude or uncivilized- In fact
the discoveries at Abydos open so wide
a vista of possibilities that we are
scarcely surprised to hear that the
toFnbs of the gods of Egypt have been
actually found. But before this start
ling discovery was made, NJ. Amelin-
eau stirred up the worlds Egyptolo-
gists by the announcement that he had
found the names of sixteen royal per-
sonagee hitherto unknown. He knew
that they were royal. for their names
were written in a peculiar device tech
nically known as the house" and it
was just as if the sculptor had en-
graved King So-and-So. 1t is from
this house" design that the word
Pharaoh is derived. or. rather, the
device signifies pharaoh. from the
Egyptian Per-aa. great house., thar
is. the palace or the court.
When NJ. Amelineau opened some Of
these graves he found them to be the
tombs of these great unknown kings
already acknowledged as kings of up
per and lower Egypt" but not yet
known as sons of the sun" the title
OF later Egyptian monarchs. Among
these was one whose name he reads
Den. another called Ga, and fourteen
besides. some of whose titles could not
be read. as they were entirely new.
For instance, one was indicated by the
sculpture of a serpent, but how this IS
to be pronounced or what il means no
Psychologist has yet found out. On
comparing the names just found with
all the long list of Egyptian pharaohs.
not one like any of them could be
found. and il was very logically con-
cluded that these antedate MeneS. and
that only now are we reaching the ear.
lest history of Egypt
Names No Man Can Read.
The tonbs are primitively construct
ed. some of the walls being so irregular
that il is TO be doubted whether the
plumbline was then known. But never
theless the interiors of the tombs were
most interesting. Some of them were
SO short that it was evident that no
human body could have been laid here
at full length, and the explanation was
forthcoming when at last in a tomb
which no vandal Arab had reached. q
body was found all curled UP and sur
rounded with earthenware pots con-
tanning food. ointments. etc. OF
course. there was no thought then OF
embalming. and it was entirely due to
the dryness of the soil that the body
had been preserved at all. In the
tomb of the pharaoh whose name was
indicated by a serpent it was found
that there were a number of adjoin-
ing chambers. probably intended for
the bodies OF his wives or of his promi-
nent court officials. The tomb of one
of these, by name Nebnofer. good mas
teT." a royal scribe, was among those
found The floor of this tomb was
made of heavy sycamore planks. which
may we'll stand as the oldest planks in
the world. being some 5000 and odd
years old. as well as can be estimated.
Instead CT having been nailed down to
cross pieces. they were simply tied to-
gether by bands of brass, which were
still found in place. The mortar, too.
was found TO have been mixed with
fibreS of palm leaves. much as hair is
now used TO mix with plaster, proving
that this secret was known few years
ago.
Professor Maspero agrees with NJ.
Ameeineau that the Inscriptions on the
royal steleS are very rude and primt-
tive in character. and when such a
combination of authority agrees that
these men antedate all known history,
we can only believe. We can hardly
grasp the whole significance of these
discoveries, for in altering our ideas OF
chronology many other ideas must be
similarly modified Our conception OF
the history of mankind is broadened
almost indefinitely and we would not
be surprised to hear tomorrow that Still
later discoveries had established tha
fact of mans existence in Egypt over
10000 years ago. No wonder, then,
that the Egypr of the earlier dynasties
was capable of building such remark
able structures as the pyramids. The
development of science and art which
must have preceded the bare concep-
ton of such buildings is now made evil
dent, and knowing that in time man
may do all things, we need no longer
be astonished that such achievements
were his; we are only aStonished at our
own folly in not being sure that there
must be some such explanation Of the
wisdom of Egypt. All conjecture and
guessing ceases now in the face of the
tombs and articles discovered in them
by NJ Ameineau-
CLIFTON H. LEVY.