The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-01-06
UNEARTHING A MIGHTY KING.
Egyptian Monarch Who Died A.
o Years AEo-The Temple in His
Honor Buried Beneath the Sands
for Ages-The Oldest Greek Poem
Hcs Also Been Found.

such intensely human story has been
dug out of the forgotten past as mas
been brought to the light of day by the
recent work Of the German Orient So
ciety OF Berlin at the pyramid Of Abu-
sir.
The report of almost a year OF eX-
]plOration has just 0eal made. II is
couched in scientific, matter-of-fact
language. But it is the whole drama
of lite-a tremendous sermon preached
by fallen stones and royal corpses and
the sands of the desert, with mighty
all-conquering death for their text.
The German professors found a great
king. So great was he that the great
goQs are shown bowling before him,
bis, the Jac~kal-headed, and the Nile
gods are shown bowling before Him.
Upper and Lower Egypt were his.
When he died men began to build l.
vast temple of the dead for him..
Four thousand five hundred years ago
they buried Ne-woser-re, the king.
And the centuries passed, and his tenn
pie, unfinished, disappeared below the
drifting sands. He and his family y:
royal favorite and his high priests be-
came hidden below the dwellings of sue
ceeding kings and priests n their
tombs were piled over all. Then th7V
lCOf SollA v" oAN
Others built and died-Egyptian, GreaE
Christian in their turns. The great
clock of history still wanted a thousand
years to the time of the coming OF
Christ, and Ne-woser-re, the king, was
so utterly lost and forgotten that the
poorest of the poor were buried on 100
of the mounds thai hid his imperial
tomb-the tomb which had been set nv
its mighty builders to defy eternity
itself.
And the German professors DIV Ut a
song, too. 1t was deemed to be immor-
tai when written. SO grand did it senn?
2,400 years ago that a singer in Egypt
had it put into his tomb with him.. i
is a great roll of papyrus-a poem by
Timotheos clarifying the victorious
fight of Marathon and almos certainly
the very Oldest Greek book ever found.
The poem that made such a vast stir
once has lain under the Egyptian sands
for more than 1000 years, and songs Of
Marathon have piled on sOngs and been
forgotten as the dead piled on the dead
over the tomb of the Egyptian singer
Professors Borchardt, VoelZ and
Decker conducted the work of eXcava-
ton. Their first discovery was the foo
co Irt of the Temple of the Dead. II
had been left unfinished and most OF
the beautiful columns that had been
completed had fallen. But two magni~
lCeIl pllidIS "Sle L II bh0l SoH''
vard was found the partly broken fig
ure of a lion, grandly proportional and
far beyond life size. It's sculpture is so
fine that the scientific agree that it was
tho work of a sculptor Of extraordinary
talent. The head was perfectly pre-
served.
The next discovery WIS tr~. oe r.
liefs dericting some Of the most famous
Egyptians Of that time whose names
and deeds are mentioned in many in
scriptionS found in various parts Of
Egv~t. There are also deplctions OF
sacrifice One wall painting shows the
slaughterne of annals before the
of the great dead. Another ~portrays
tall, beautiful peasant women who bear
offerings.
The greatest temple relief of all was
found between the hall of columns and
the holv of holes. 1t shows the king
himself with apron and lions tail ."
insignia of his high rank. He wears q
head dress of feathers and horns, the
mark of a god. The jackal-headed god
Anubis steps toward him, bringing him
the signs of life.
In a smaller relief Ne-woser-re is
pictured with raised club Staying q
group of men whom he holds by the
hair.
In digging out the chamber of statues
the explorers unexpectedly came upon
q SbltlIuiu pdlillihS. IL d ~
show q door set into the solid wall. The
colors, laid on by hands n brushes of
which there has been no veStige left on
earth for 1000 years, were brigh-
glowing. shining out of their long-kept
darkness int the light of today as II
they were still wet. But scarcely had
the sun streamed in before they began
TO pale. Fortunately, the expedition
numbered q skilful painter among it's
members, and he succeeded in making
? true copy in full size of the INC
work Of art.
Then the diggers reached the tomb Of
the high priest Jen-em-Jachwet. After
breaking out the first stone the Euro
peans peered in n for the first time
In forty-five centuries human eyes
looked pom the collins Of the priests =
Ne-wOser-re. The tomb had been too
small for the last collins and the
handle had been sawed from the ends
before the stone were set In place and
sealed. The cuts of the saw were clear
and sharp. just as they had been left
or that day of burial.
Here great finds were made. Large
ships of the dead were On the collins.
that they might be used for the voyage
into the under world. There were the
great stone jugs that had contai~-7
water to refresh the shades on their
journey. The last gifts OF frien' and
"a III "oodCti VI l1lS Oll4ND
tics and slaves were scattered through
the tomb.
Now came the question as to whether
or not the mummies in the steno cof-
fins would be found in any sort of pre-
~servation. If they were they would be
the first mummies of that period that
had ever been found in condition to
bear removal to Europe. The whole
party gathered around eagerly while
the wOoden nails were drawn carefully
from the coffin of the high priest 4
he was found in it just as he had bean
put to rest when Egypt was yOun
Jeu-em Jachwet was wrapped in 4
long brown linen shroud. A colorai
mask of linen and gypsum lay on his
face. The mask had a narrow side
beard and a long chin beard and the
Y had been made larger by streaks OF
vermilion. A big wig, parted in the
middle, was colored bright blue to imi-
- u 80 --,,II 4ha+ 49, 49,