The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1907-02-14
AMERICAN FINDS CROWN
OF QUEENS OF EGYPT.
Coffin A Superb Example of lew
eler's Work.

AA~ONOA% w. DdNlo, luO ulS(ON-
erer Of the tomb of the parents of
the Egyptian Queen Mele, has just
discovered the tomb and mummy
of Queen Mele herself. Mele was
the mother and inspirer of the fa-
nous Hereto King" of Egypt
ology.
The tomb is a plain, square sep
ulchre cut ont of the rock, and
adjoins the tomb of Rameses TX.
Unfortunately, the tomb lay in the
bed of watercourse, and owing to
the percolation of the water
through the rock, such perishable
/ objects as wood and the royal
mummy itself have suffered Sc
verely. Apart from this, the tomb,
when it was entered, was in the
same condition in which it had
been left by priests amid the throes
of religious revolution that had
spent its force before Moses was
born. The tomb of Mele bears
witness to the blind rage of the
victorious priesthood of Thebes
and the intensity of their hatred
toward the Hereto King, whose
name they carefully erased from
every article in the tomb on which
it had been inscribed.
The men, however, who thus
violated the tomb were no COM
mon thieves. The jewelry of the
Queen and the sheets of solid gold
with which the sepulchre was lit
orally filled were left untouched.
Wherever the excavators walked
they trod upon fragments of gold
plate and gold leaf. The coffin is
intact, and is superb example of
jewelers. work. The wood of
which it was composed is entirely
covered with frame of gold in
laid with lapis lazuli, comedian and
green glass.
The mummy itself was wrapped
from head to foot in sheets of gold.
The water which had been for so
many ages draining through it had
reduced it to little more than pulp,
and it fell to pieces when examin-
ed in the presence of several
Psychologists on January 20.
There were bracelets on the
arms and necklace of gold beads
and ornaments of gold inlaid with
precious stones around the Queen 5
neck, while her head was still en-
circled by an object priceless and
unique-the imperial crown of the
Queens of ancient Egypt.
1t is simple and exquisitely
fashioned, and represents a royal
vulture holding a signet ring in
each talon, while its wings sur
round the head and are fastened at
the TIPS behind by pin. The
whole is of solid gold, without or
nament.
1t was difficult to avoid feeling
Of awe when handling this symbol
of ancient sovereignty, thus risen
up from the depths of vanished
world.
When, two years ago, Theodore
NJ. Davis, of New York and New
port excavated in the famous Val
ley of the Kings at Thebes the
tomb of Queen Mele's parents, the
discovery was hailed by Professor
Maspero and others as the greatest
in the history of Egyptology. Mr..
Davis latest discovery is undoubt.
eddy even more important than
that of the unviolated tomb he
laid bare in 1905.
Queen Mele-sometimes spelled
Teye-was the wife Of Amen Hotep
III, one of the Pharaohs of the
Eighteenth Dynasty. He reigned
for SO years, from about I4o B. c.,
and he chose as his principal wife
a woman not of royal blood, but
the beautiful Mele. 1t had long
been believed that she was of Mes.
opotamian descent, and this theory
was corroborated by inscriptions
found by Mr.. Davis in the tomb
of Yua and Thua, her parents.
Mele's son, -Hotep ", is
sc I