Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-07
MARVELLOUS DISCOVERY
MADE BY PROFESSOR
VASE VAS PROPERTY OF QUEEN
CLEOPATRA
Has Picture of Julius Caesar, Dressed
as Greek God, on lt-Found
in Tomb by Randall
Maclver

PHILADELPHIA. March 6.-Marvel-
Gus discoveries in the field of Egyptian
archaeology, including a beautiful vase
of wonderful workmanship, with in
scriptions which tend to show 1t to
have been the property of Cleopatra,
and upon which is painted a portrait of
Julius Caesar, in the costume of a
Greek god. have been made by the
Randall MacIver expedition of the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, which has
been at work at Anibeh, a famous re-
ligious shrine of the ancient Egyp-
tians, the middle of last November.
News of the wonderful discoveries
made by DIR. MacIver reached this city
a few days ago in letter from DIR.
MacIver, who is curator of the Egyp-
tian section of the museum of science
and art at the university. to Eckley B.
Coke, chairman of the Egyptian section
of the museum. The announcement of
the results attained up to this time by
the expedition, which are said to eclipse
any finds ever made by expeditions
sent out from this country, were made
yesterday by Mr.. Coke at the museum.
Found in Ancient Tomb
The precious Ceesarian vase, which
it is expected will take rank with the
Venus de Milo, the Hermes of Praxi-
teles and a few other art treasures. as
one of the few immortal art legacies
left by antiquity to modern civilization.
was found in an ancient tomb about
mile north of the city of Anibeh prop
er. where the tombs Of many of the
highest nobility of Egypt at the time of
the Ptolemies have been unearthed.
Because of the late hour the find was
not investigated until next morning,
when DR.. MacIver with four compan-
ions entered the passage. AS usual.
the passage ended in blind alley, but
half a days careful searching re-
vealed a hollow place in the wall A
hole was opened in the wall by picks,
and the funeral chamber of a high
court official of the Ptolemaic period
discovered.
Cleopatra Vase Unearthed
Dr. MacIver, who is as familiar with
the hieroglyphics of the ancient Egypt
ians as he is with English, soon dis
covered from the inscriptions that he
had made a most important find. Many
of the art treasures of the deceased
had been buried with him, and in the
burial chamber were several articles of
the period which would have been
ranked as the most important discov-
cries of the expedition but for the Gle
opatra vase.
The vase itself. just twenty-six
inches high. was standing on a niche
cut into the solid rock wall of the tomb
behind the head of the sarcophagus, as
though 1t we're the intention of the
mourners to permit the gaze of the
mummy to rest throughout eternity on
what was doubtless his dearest possess
sion while on earth.
Carefully removing the precious vase,
DR.. MacIver and his men then pro-
ceeded to Investigate the other contents
of the tomb. which they found to be
very unusual. A toilet box of ivory,
wonderfully carved with representa-
ton of the loves of the Olympian gods,
was discovered. This box, which con-
tanned toilet articles which would not
be spurned by any society beauty of
the present day, was evidently not of
Egyptian workmanship, and DIR. Mac
Iver believes it to be Roman In origin,
and probably presented to the official
in whose tomb it was found by a Rom
an officer or merchant contempora-
neous with Caesar
Just how the vase of Cleopatra,
which it is thought may have been a