Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1910-02-25
OBJECTS FROM TOMBS.
Egypt'S Dead AGES Battles Men

EyyptS Dead ages bdIIleS men.
Digging up old palaces and tombs of
Egypt's dead ages has brought to light
objects which are mute witnesses of q
high state of civilization and luxury.
When the tombs are opened, the ex-
plorers of the Goth century are aston
ished to behold the fine jewelry that
was made so many thousand years ago.
Here is the very bracelet that Pharoah
presented to his Queen, still upon her
shriveled arm, after all these centuries
and it is triumph Of the goldsmith's s
art, as handsome as any that could be
made today. These old Egyptians knew
all about alloying metals, and made
their tools of tempered copper, an art
notyet rediscovered. They had spades,
ploughs. rakes and chisels, just as good
as any made now.
The furniture that was used in the
palace of the King and in the homes of
his officers was a marvel of hand carving
The legs of the couches were of ivory,
carved to initiate the legs of oxen, and
the wood itself was the finest ebony,
worked out in many ornate designs.
The ornaments were carved with skill
as great as that of the Swiss carvers of
our day and their wonderful results were
achieved by the useof the simplest tools.
The textiles of those bygone centuries
still hold their color, and the weaving is
often as fine as that done on the best of
modern looms. The princess of old
Egypt was clothed in gay colors, beau
tifully dyed garments, and she awed her
admirers as much as does the belle of
1909.
These tombs tell us that in nothing
has the human race shown less advance
ment than in its toys. In the graves at
Abydos, buried with the children, that
they might enjoy life in the future
world, are dolls just like those that our
own children play with, toy wagons and
little animals that might have walked
out Of your little boys Noah's Ark.
just as good in execution and as inter-
esting to the little Egyptian as any
manufactured in our time.
Their musical instruments consisted
of harps of several kinds and cymbals.
1t was poor feast indeed that did not
have its musicians in attendance, and
their songs touched on that eternal
theme the love of man for woman.
Some Of these songs may be read today,
engraven upon everlasting stone. while
the painted pictures which decorate the
tombs show many singers, musicians
and dancers performing at feasts and
ceremonies.
There were markets in old Egypt, as
may been seen from the pictures on the
| tombs, where the tradesmen are shown
bargaining with their customers for
pottery. bread, fruit and fowls. In
fact, as potters the ancient Egyptians
were experts, turning out not only
| masterpieces in the way of clay bowls
and jars, but alabaster jars that are
ornaments in any modern home fortu-
nate enough to hold them.
In sculpture the Egyptians had made
great progress. They had schools in
which the art was taught and many
masters who pointed the way to the
making of enormous statues and won
derful little figurines. Every tomb is
crowded with the statuettes that came
from their skilled fingers.
1t is a fact, though not generally
known, that in the time of Menes, $500
years ago, the Egyptians were not only
in possession of a system of hieroglyphic
signs, or picture writing, but that the
scribee and priests already used cur
sive script, as easy as our own, and
that besides syllable system of writing,
they had an alphabetic system. using
"a letters, many of which are strikingly
like our own. Somehow the alphabetic
system did not take hold with the peo.
pie, and the hieroglyphic and hieratic
(priestly cursive) alone survived, and
was in general use by the mobiles and
educated classes.
The general public were probably un.
able to write, for they had no public
schools such as we have, and it is likely
that the hieroglyphics prevailed over the
alphabet because they, as pictures, were
easily understood by the uneducateC
masses.