The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-03
The MIGHTY Secrets That Lie Buried in the Earth

erians, and somewhere about 1000 B.
! c. these Sumerians were overrun and
conquered by a Semitic tribe. The
! Semites of that era were the ances-
/ tors of the Hebrews. The first Semi
| tic King in Babylonia of whom there
, is recorded knowledge was Sargon
who ruled about $500 B. c. The great
| Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, Moses,
| did not come on the stage until about
| $500 years later, so that he was COM
| paratively a modern.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH.
Formerly archaeological research in
the buried cities of Babylonia, Assyria
and Egypt was carried on chiefly by
Europeans. OF recent years much has
been done in this direction by expedf-
/ tons under the auspices of American
universities, museums and scientific
societies. In Egypt as well as in
Babylonia some facts have been re-
vealed by these expeditions which are
very significant as to the age of the
race. 1t was through explorations
conducted in the region of the upper
Nile by the Egyptian expedition of
the University of Chicago that Egyptian
date about corresponding to that
when Bismaya fiourished, prior to the
Semitic invasion. Professor James H
Breasted was at the head of this expe-
dition. He has made researches which
lead him to the conclusion that the
Egyptians invented a calendar in 4241
B. c.
THE TEMPLE OF ABU SIMBEL.
Professor Breasted and his as
sistants did much valuable work in
deciphering inscriptions in the temple
of Abu Simbel. on the Nubian Nile,
between the first and second catar-
acts. This is one of the finest of the
early Egyptian edifices and is carved
out of a mountain side, and it is filled
with inscriptions and works of early
Egyptian art. In front of lit are four
statues of Rameses II. measuring each |
seventy-two feet in height, hewn out |
of the solid rock, which rises pre- |
cipitously from the river, and they |
form an imposing sight. Rameses
sits in the ceremonious posture de- i
manded of the divine ruler of the two
Egypts, with hands reposing on his !
knees. He wears the. tall double crown
SyIHDOlfC OIL MS uOuUie E6dlIl Oh uppSR
and lower Egypt. The crown rests
upon a head dress of plated linen.
His beard is artificial and was SYM
bolic. Osiris was believed to have worn
such a beard when he ruled among
men. The expression of the face is
one of kindness and benevolenee, COM
bined with that impressive calm,
mingled with imperturbab ility, associ-
h IT,
ses II. has sometimes been supposed
to have been the Pharaoh who op,
pressed the Israelites. 1t was in con-
nection with archaeological research
es in Egypt that the important dis
covery was recently made of an an
cient account of a seven years famine
in which the people under stress Of
want sold to Pharaoh their lands, their
cattle and even themselves in return
for the food the monarch had stored
up This afforded new confirmation OF
the Biblical narrative of Joseph
corner in wheat"
INTERESTING REVELATIONS.
1t was found in a papyrus document
whose authorship was evidently about
with the events describ-
ed. 1t told how there was a reorgani-
zation of the financial system or
Egypt incident to a prolonged famine,
during which the government sold it's
stored grain to the people in return for
their cattle and their lands, the gov
eminent afterward increasing greatly
in wealth because of the rent it OBJ
tanned from the lands turned over
to Pharaoh in return for food. The
document throws much light upon the
Biblical narrative.
CURIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE PEo-
PIE.
One of the most interesting of the
recent discoveries of the archaeolo-
gists pertains to certain curious Gus