The Savannah morning news., 1901-04-01
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
Discoveries IN THE TOMBs OF
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN KINGS
At ABYDOS.

II. c. shown in the Utensils and
Ornaments Found in the Royal
Graves - The oldest Kings of
Whom We Have Any knowledge
Played Games of Chance. Collected
Works of Art, Imported Rare
Woods, and Kept Accoun ts--Thcir
Women Used Ivory Hairpins and
Fancy Toilet Artlcles-some Inter
esting InscriptiOns-FIinde Pet
rie's Splendid Work in a Field Al
ready Gone over by a French Elk
pIorer.
Copyright, 1901, by C. II. Levy
Washington, March EFF ancient mon
archs made history, modern explorers are
creating it anew by their discoveries; and
the most notable triumph in this direction
is one just achieved by Prof. H. M. Film
ders-Petrie, the explorer of the Egypt
Exploration Fund at Abydos in Egypt, ia
nous in the inscriptions as one of the
most ancient settlements in that land of
remote dates Abydos has been visited
before, and so late as 1895 by NJ. e.
Amelineau, French explorer, who claim
ed to have swept the ground clean and
found whatever was worth finding. Mr..
Petrie was struck by the Importance of
the Frenchmans discoveries, but did not
believe that the ground has been exhaust
ed, and his work on the same site has
fah ka,I r. ~
ion. Amelineau did find the tombs, but he
worked in so unscientlfic a way, that al
though he astonished the learned world,
he did not add as much positive knowl-
edge regarding the ancient kings, whose
tombs were found, as has since been
brought TO light by the careful work of
the greatest archaeologlsts now living.
The work which Mr. Petrie did at Ably
dos has been limited at In the public or
gans from time TO time since its announce
ment but the first authoritative account
of this work from him is just appearing in
England. Not only does 1t fill in the
spaces in the history OF Egypt with names
of authentic kings, but 1t tells the twen-
tieth century how mankind lived one hum
dred centuries ago. Fortunately 1t was
the custom of the ancient Egyptians to
reproduce the life of the people in thier
tombs, burying with their kings many of
the jewels and utensils by which they
were surrounded in life. One Of the most
and important Of the tombs
Identified by Mr.. Petre is the tomb of
Menes, the first king OF united Egypt,
who is now by this discovery reclaimed
from the limbo of myths to which modern
had consigned him. The date
of his reign is not determinable, for
differ widely in the chronol-
ogy of the Kings, but II is certain that
he lived not later than 5000 b. c. and per-
haps as early as 600 b. c. At this remote
period one might suppose that civiliza-
ton was in it's infancy, but the finds
in this and other tombs give evidence
of an art that must have taken many
centuries for it's development up to that
point. Menes' tomb and those of his
successors, constituting the eight kings
Of the first dynasty and two of the sec
ond, let in a flood Of light upon the life
Of that very ancient day OF course the
hieroglyphs of that period are very prim-
tive and may be read variously, but It
will be generally taken for granted that
Mr.. Petrie is right in Identifying Menes,
Athothis, Kenkenes, Uenefes, Usafais,
Miebis. Semenpses and Bienekhes of the
list given by Manetho. the ancient Egyp-
tan historian. with the persons buried
nj Abydos. the great royal cemetery.
Manetho says of the place that the site
selected for the royal tombs was on
low spur from the hills, slightly raised
above the plain with a deep ravine on
the west of It, so that II could never be
flooded. This accounts for the perfect
OF the tombs with their
priceless contents.
Each royal tomb is large square pit,
lined with brickwork. Close around II,
On its own level or higher. are small
chambers in rows, IN which we're buried
the domestics OF the kings. The tombs
as they were left by the kings seem TO
have been slightly heaped up. The roofs
,f the great tombs were discovered about
six or eight feet below the surface. The
massive beams easily supported the
weight Of the drifted sand. on the nat
DR. almost fiat ground OF the cemetery
The graves were marked by stone steles
set upright In the open air. Each royal
grave seems to have had two great steles. !
TWO OF Merneit were found by Petrie.
Amellneau found one STEELE in the tomb
" GA and Petrie found a second. The
loyal cemetery seems TO have gradually
ALLEN into decay; the steles were blown
over, and the whole site was neglected
n the later ages II was not until the
ylories Of the xVfIIth dynasty about
400 y. CO that interest was revived In
his cemetery connected by tradition with
he early kinds. Offerings OF pottery
we're made at the tombs until now the |
place II piled high with thousands Of |
regiments and n called by the natives,
)m n Ghabu Mother % Pots.
The articles found by Mr. Petrie are IN
Unite in number and variety. Between
900 ana 2J00 pieces ~ vases we're
ound, ranging IN date from the earliest
. We Atest times. Some Two hundred