Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-30
Has Riddle Of the Sphinx
Been Solved at Last?

and pans. the weapons. adornments ana
garments that the deceased needed in
life. Above ground was a mound Of brick
or masonry, where the living might visit
the dead with offerings and prayers.
Thus IL happened that the pyramids
contained not only the burial place OF a
king. but also had on the side nearest
the valley a chapel for offerings and
rites. Now. the pyramids with their
temples. are high up on rock plateaus. so
1t may have been for convenience that
still second temple was built down be-
low. on the edge OF the valley. and con-
nected with the upper temple by a cause
way.
Sixty years ago the existence Of val
ley temples was unknown. In 1853 MARI
cite found wonderful granite temple
close beside the Sphinx He christened
| 1t the Temple OF the Sphinx took from 1t
nine statues Of Chephren, including the
famous diorite statue in the Cairo mu-
scum ana the work stopped there. For
nfty years the pyramid field lay un-
touched.
Then. In 1901. the director OF the
Egyptian department Of antiquities un-
tS granted to private individuals
the right to explore at Gizeh. and in 1902.
when these concessions expired. he acted
favorably on the applications of Prof
Steindorff OF Leipzig Prof. Schiaparelli OF
Turin and myself The Italians took the
| first pyramid. the Germans the second.
and | was satisfied with the third.
Il turned my attention first. however.
70 the great cemetery west of the first
pyramid. This had been divided into
three strips. and we had drawn the north
ern one. IT proved the most important.
We found the tombs OF many royal sons
and daughters Of Cheops. and unearthed
the wonderful funeral STEELE Of wep-em-
nofrit. We also found the burial places
of the priests Of The City of Pyra-
mid to whom we're intrusted the rites
ana offerings Later We easily identified
the great royal cemetery OF Chephren.
near the second pyramid.
I'VE were able to show also that both
these cemeteries had fallen into decay
ana had been covered with sand by the
end OF the sixth dynasty. That Is, the
first lines for the royal cemetery were
laid out about 200 B. c.. and by 2lD
b. Goo years later-the last offering
had been made. the last priest had gone
away and the great cemetery lay a
waste. much as 1t was the day We gave
the word to our gangs to dig
I'm 19f6-07 We turned our attention to
excavating the upper or Pyramid Temple
Of Mycerinus. In this temple We found,
among other things. the lovely alabaster
statue of Mycerinus. The head was out
side the temple. but a few inches under
the surface, near a path over which many
travellers have trod. stick or a para
sol might have revealed it-and yet there
1t lay unknown through the centuries"
Prof. Refsner paused, as though to
picture some bespectacled and breathless
tourist uncovering with a middle west
umbrella his most precious treasure and
then continued:
"In the meantime the Germans had
come upon the valley temple Of later
pyramid, and it was obvious that the
famous Sphinx Temple was the valley
| temple Of the Second Pyramid, built by
chephren.
temple of the third pyramid in the sum-
mer of 1903. Inside of a week we uncov-
| cred the ruins of a mud-brick building.
Four exquisite slate triads were dis
closed, and as We investigated room after
room priceless treasures were revealed.
THE bases Of alabaster statues and
the ruins of others scattered on the floor
by vandals dead these many centuries
, were found. In other rooms were unfin-
ished statuettes. copper weapons. and
many vessels of alabaster. crystal. slate
and other stones.
by April. 1910. we had finished our ex-
cavations OF the valley temple and come
upon the edge Of a town in front Of II.
There We came upon the beautiful pair
statue of Mycerinus and his queen. in
hard. dark slate. This was almost mirac-
ulously preserved. as a glance at II
proves and II had lain waiting through
the years until one OF our men lifted q
stone and in doing so revealed the pro
file OF a queen.
IL am often asked. How came It that
such beautiful objects were found in a
poor mud-brick temple?' AS matter
of fact. these great masterpieces were not
made for a mud brick temple, but for a
] costly granite temple which would have
outdone that of the Sphinx II 1t had been
finished.
Our work had disclosed three temples.
one Of magnificent granite begun h
MycerinuS and intended to hold the treas
ures we discovered. But he did not fin
ish it. nor was his son Shepses-kaf able
to do SO, and the latter placed them in the
second-the poor little temple Of mud
brick-where found them. The third
temple was built by Pepy II Of the sixth
dynasty
The professor showed an alabaster head
of little Shepses-kaf. whose pyramid
building was so soon interrupted by death
Probably from the first he YVES ha
raised by solutions and revolts. He
couldn't finish his fathers tomb. but
fastened on with his own-the pyramid
only begun. the foundation of which still
needed 1T long before it was done. Prob
ably he died violent death by the hand
of his successor on the throne
THE care with which the temples OF
Mycerinus were eXcavated enabled US to
unravel the history of the construction
and the decay of different buildings
the site. The positive proof was given
that out statues were of the fourth dynas-
ty and that in the fourth dynasty pyra-
mds had valley temples. Thus the final
proof was delivered that the granite or
Sphinx Temple was the valley temple of
the second pyramid, the tomb Of Chop
rem.
AT the same time the dispute about
the date of the great diorite statue OF
Chephren and of the Sphinx itself was
finally laid to rest. Exactly those char
acteristics of the Chephren statue and OF
the Sphinx which We're supposed to be OF
later date were found in our statues, and
these arguments fell to the ground. 1t was.
therefore, Necessity TO return to the
priori probable view that these monu-
nents are of the time Of Chephren HIM
self.
Science of City Building.
From Harper's Weekly.
There are certain cities. big and small,
that are deserving the Topsy method NJ