Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1913-11-14
MONG the many benefactions
to art of the late Mr.. Pierpont
Morgan one of the less known
was his support of Egyption


was his support Of Egyption
archaeology. The house shown
In the accompanying illustration was
built at his expense near Luxor, Up
per Egypt, as the headquarters Of the
Egyptian expedition Of the Metropol-
itan museum Of New York. The ex-
pedition secured concession from
the Egyptian department Of antiQui-
ties to excavate part Of an ancient
cemetery in the northern part Of
Thebes, about three miles from the
Nile. The work undertaken will take
many years to complete. and not only
was permanent home necessary for
the archaeologists engaged on 1t, but
also store-rooms and work-rooms. The
designing of the house involved some
thing Of responsibility, because the
house had to be built so that 1t
should not interfere with the view Of
the Great Temple, or bring any note
of triviality to scene made so mag
nificent by the backing Of towering
cliffs. The probable presence Of
buried tombs over most of the area
dictated that the house should be
built on the side OF low hill to the
south. Even so, the whole site when
excavated was found to be honey
combed with tombs which had been
rified in ancient times. The ground
was leveled into terraces, and founda-
tions of rubble masonry were carried
down to the living rock. Provision
had to be made. not only for one or
two married couples, and two bache-
lors, but also for the accommodation
Of several guests. AS the work Of
the expedition is carried on from
November to July, the building had to
be suited both to hot and cold wealth
er. The excessive heat from April
onwards, when the shade temperature
often reaches 118 degrees, called for
plentiful provision Of verandahs.
which run along almost the whole Of
the north side, and the domed hall,
which serves as the chief living
room, Is surrounded on three sides
by corridors The breadth of the
verandahs ensures that the glare of
the desert shall be shut out, and that
the maximum of coolness shall be
achieved. The bedrooms are provid-
ed with a double roof. giving an air
space Of eighteen inches. In the low
er roof. self-shutting trap-door ven
tilators are fixed over the beds, and
they let out the hot air and so created
a draught.
Natives Did Work.
AS the work was done wholly by
natives. there were entertaining mo-
ments during its progress. and the
architect was called upon to do a
good deal more than falls to the lot
Of the profession in this country. The
contractor was a native from Luxor,
Awadalahh Ahmed Omar. by name,
and the organization Of the work was
purely patriarchal in character. II
the woodwork be excepted the whole
Of the work was carried out by six
men, all members Of the contractors
family. and three generations were
represented. The chief bricklayer, a
youth Of seventy. was Awadallah's
father-in-law, and faithful Moham-
medsn, who had made his pilgrimage
to Mecca. He ruled, not only the
other workmen, but his chief. with a
rod Of iron. Practically the whole of
the three domes he built with his
own hands. In order that no one
should interfere with his special
work, and partly to emphasize his alb.
solute control Of everybody concerned,
he made for himself on the roof, and
against the large dome. little hut of
mats. The whole Of the walls above
the masonry foundations were built
Of sun-dried bricks made of Nile mud
and chopped straw-a specification
which recalls the difficulties of Isreal
in Egypt. They were made by hand
in mold. and carried to the site on
camels' backs Only the piers Of the
main dome were Of local burnt bricks,
laid In mud mortar, and the four
main arches were faced with red
handmade bricks from Cairo. The