Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-07-01
BY Edgar
E.. Folk,
d. d.
XIL.--ThebeS on
the Western Bank

1
! companions in an excited voice to haul
him to the surface. He then told them
! that he had seen an evil spirit in the
| pit. The Arabs are wonderfully afraid
/ Of the "evil spirit" They talk a good
deal about the evil eye" This evil spir-
it is supposed to manifest his presence
by an intolerable stencil. To accentu-
ate his story. Ahmed at night threw a
donkey down the pit. The odor from the
dead donkey left no room for doubt in
| the minds of the superstitious Arabs that
there was an evil spirit in the pit. so
they avoided it. and Ahmed had the
rich treasures all TO himself. He did not
care to take ell away at once, as that
would arouse too much suspicion. So he
would make frequent incursions into the
pit, take out the sold and other things
of value in the collins of the royal mum
mics, and sell them a little at a time
to foreign visitors. This continued until
the suspicious of the Psychologists,
Brugsch Rey and NJ. de Maspero, were
aroused. Ahmeds brother finally told on
him in response to their questions. They
made a trip to Luxor in the heat of sum-
mer and were conducted to the place.
| Brugsch Bey descended the shaft. He
says of his discovery: MY astonish-
ment was so overpowering that l scarDs-
1 ly knew whether l was awake or was
only in a mocking dream. Resting on a
coffin to recover from my intense excite
ment, l mechanically cast my eyes over
the coffin lid, and distinctly saw the
name OF Seti I. the father Of Ramses
H. both belonging to the 10Th dynasty.
4 few steps on. in a simple wooden cof-
fin, with his hands crossed upon his
breast, lay Ramses II. The farther l adj
vanced the greater the wealth displayed;
Sc coffins, all belonging to kings or
queens, princes or princesses."
Sed 1, you remember, was the Pharaoh
whose daughter discovered Moses. Ram
SEES ii. his son, was the Pharaoh Of the
Oppression. How did Brugsch Bey know
that these were their mummies? The
names on the collins said so. Suppose.
1850 years from now, Mt. Vernon should
be buried by repeated overfiows of the
Potomac, suppose 1t should then be exca-
waited, suppose some scholar should dis
cover the marble tomb and should see OH
1t the name George Washington" would
he not know who 1t was? And so as to
the Hermitage and Andrew Jackson.
There can be no doubt as to the genuine
ness of these mummies. Ahmed, the orig
inal discoverer of the mummies is still
known In Luxor as the tomb robber."
had read the story before going 20
Luxor, and 1t was quite interesting to
me to know that the name of our guide
on both days was Ahmed. 1 noticed that
he took rather a peculiar pleasure in
pointing out the place where the num-
mics were discovered, but that he did
so at the same time with a certain shy
ness OF manner. I asked one OF the ma
tives who speaks a little English If this
Ahmed is called the tomb robber. He
replied, Yes" 1 should say that DIR.
Willard does not think that this is the
same Ahmed. as the name is rather
common one, but taking everything to-
gether-the name, the date of the dis
covery, the age of Ahmed, his peculiar
look as he pointed out to US the place
where the mummies were discovered-I
am very strongly inclined to the opinion
that our guide Ahmed was the very one
who threw the donkey down the shaft,
and who is known as the tomb robber."
But how did the mummies get there?
This was not their tomb. The tombs of
the kings are on the other side of the
mountain. We shall go there directly.
How came these mummies here? So many
Of them, out of their tombs and over on
this side of the mountain? This would
have been a great mystery, but was cas-
fly explained by priest in an inscrip-
ton found in connection with the num-
mics to the effect that fearing that the
tombs of the kings would be robbed, the
ed, he had them removed here for safe
keeping. This was somewhere about 1000
years B. c. And here they had reposed
gracefully for 5000 years until brought to
light by Brugsch Bey-and Ahmed.
THE TOMBs OF THE KINGS.
AS 1 stated, the tombs OF the kings arc
on the other side of the mountain from
Thebes-that is on the west side, while
the temple of Deir-el-Bahri is on the east
side. To get around on the other side
IL is necessary either to climb the noun
tain, which is only a short distance, or
to make a long detour and go around a
point, and then along a narrow defile
between two spurs of the mountain. Our
donkey boys went the former route. We
went the latter on our donkeys. The
ride between the mountains was intense
ly hot. Here, at the end of the valley,
where the two spurs of the mountain d.
vide, on the opposite side OF the noun
tain from Thebes, the ancient Egyptian
kings chose the place for the location
Of their tombs. Just why they should
have chosen it there. I do not know.
presume, though, that their idea was to
locate them In as retired a place as pos
sfble. hoping that their royal bodies might
be left undisturbed until the ka, or
double, might find them resting In pace
when he got ready to eater them These
tonbs were constructed by the kings of
the 18th to the Goth dynasties. They are
In contrast with the pyramids of an
earlier period, of which I have spoken.
But the general idea is the same, the
preservation of the body until the time
for the ka to enter IT. There are As of
these tombs. Each king constructed a
separate tomb for himself The struct-
ure IL practically the same in all. Three
corridors, one beyond the other. led into
the innermost recesses, small side cham
beers sometimes opened off the first corri-
dor; oblong recesses were made at the
top of the sides Of the second and small
recesses for the reception of the furni-
turs Of the dead were provided at the end
of the third. A door led from the third
corridor into an ante-room, beyond which
lay the main hall, where, in a hollow In
the floor, the heavy granite sarcophagus
was essential for the deceased king, alb
OF which was frequently supported by
pillars, was often adjoined or preceded by
other chambers. The walls of the tombs,
all the way from the entrance to the
final chamber were covered with sacred
pictures and texts, a knowledge of which
was essential for the deceased king, alb
sorbed in the sun god sailed through the
under world at night in a boat. The texts
were taken from several books, known as
THE book of him who is in the under
world" THE book Of the portals" and