Evening star., 1907-08-24
Copyright. 1907. by Frank @. carpenter)

CAIRO, Egypt
Il HE most important archaeological
~ work now going on in Egypt is in
- the hands OF the Americans. Our
L - scientists are n-':g explora-
tions in Nubia, away up the ME-
and they are opening UP temples and tonibs
IN the desert near Luxor. There is rich
Yankee named Davis, who is carrying on
a series of independent Investigations not
far from old Thebes. He has spent large
sums and has discovered the tomos OF
several kings who reigned over 1000 years
ago He recently unearthed the mummy
of Queen Hatshepeset, which is now on
view In the museum at Cairo and he has
made many other finds this past year
Right here, under the shadow Of the
pyramids, two American institutions have
a large force Of natives at work and have
uncovered a cemetery of the time when
the greatest of the Pyramids was built
This cemetery includes the tonbs not only
Of the rich. but also OF the poor anu the
relics. statues and other things found IN II
enable one to reconstruct the lives OF those
who were buried here Low more than 4ooo
years ago.
When / last visited Egypt Just after the
assassination of President Garfield. the
sands about the Pyramids were almost as
smooth as those OF the saashore. l gal
loped on my donkey over them and had no
idea that / was tramping down lnnumsr-
able graves.
walked over the same ground yester-
day, picking my way in and out through a
vast network of half-broken-down tomos.
from which the sands had been shoyelsE:
and climbed across piles Of sun-dried brick
which were made by the Egyptians at the
time old King Cheops lived and reigned
In one place 1 saw gang OF half-naKeo,
brown-skinned fellahs shoyeling the eartn
into the cars in which It Is carried far
out In the desert, in order to unearth the
tombs below. When the work Is In lull
play an endless chain Of cars OF sand moves
track with turntables at each end. and the
arrangements are such that the sand can be
taken out at the rate OF half ton per
minute. For a long time seventy-tWo me men
were employed and the result is that
some most interesting historical materia!
has been collected. About one-half OF
this is now here In the museum at CAIRO
ana the other half has gone to the Univer-
stiles OF California and Harvard
Harvard College and Boston Museum.
The excavations which are now being made
near the Great Pyramid are in the interest
of Harvard College and the Boston Museum.
They furnish the money and DR.. George
Reisner. one of the most efficient archaeoio-
sists of the day has charge of the work.
DR.. Reisner came to Egypt about six years
ago as the head OF the Hearst expedition.
He worked for II several years and made
valuable explorations far up the Nile He
discovered there the fint-working camps or
the people Of the prehistoric period. and he
explored quarries which date back to the
times Of the Ptolemies. He also unearthed
the site Of a large town which was In ex-
istence fifteen hundred years before Christ
and excavated a mass Of valuable material
therefrom He then came nearer Cairo ana
there uncovered cemeteries of ancient times
which give US q new view Of Egyptian CIV
ilization.
II was In connection with the Boston Mu-
scum that he began his work at the Pyra-
mids. and as II is now carried on, the me-
Harvard receives everything found bearing
upon history and ethnology. 1t should be
said that one-half of all that Is unearthed
goes to the Egyptian government ana the
other half to the United States.
The story Of the allotment OF the arch
aeological territory about the Pyramids Is
interesting The government was anxious
10 have the country excavated, ana there
were three nations ready to do the work
The three were Germany, Italy and the
United States. Archaeologists representing
each Of these countries came here as Its rep
resentatiyes and the whole OF the Gizeh
pyramid field was turned over to them with
the understanding that Egypt was to have
half OF the discoveries.
Then the question came up as to now the
aeld should be divided. AS 1t was then, IT
banks Of the Nile with the big Pyramid OF
Cheops and the smaller ones Of Khefren
and Mycerinus rising out of 1t. each being
quite a distance apart from the others.
Each nation wished to do independent work,
and the archaeologists finally agreed TO d.
vide the tract into three sections and cast
lots for them. am told that Mrs. Dr.