Norwich bulletin., 1920-09-13
IN THE DAYS NEWS
Egypt

6gypt annually supplies the world with precious product an increasing know ledge of the early life story of the human race, says National Geographic society
 bulletin concerning the land to which Great Britain has made liberal conces- sions in respect to self government II In the wonderful record of exploration Fl Which has restored to us the civilization II of the great pre-cfassfcal nations, there | IS no more remarkable chapter than that | which tells Of the resurrection of ancient | Egypt, continues the bulletin, which is based on communication to the society | by James Baikie. | The science of Egyptology, which is | slowly and patiertly reeoHseructihg for | ! us the ordered history of the 5000 years | | oefore Christ, enabling us to see the tyses l Of men, the manner of lffe the forms Of | government, the religious customs and |
 beliefs of period after period. from the very dawn of Egyptian nationality, is specincally growth of our own time We owe the framework into which we l try to fit the facts of Egyptian history to | the ancient historian, Manetho, scattered | fragments of whose history of Egypt dat ing from the reign of Ptolniey Philadel-
 phus, in the third century B. C.. have
 come down to us in the works of various
 ancient authors. He recognized thirty
 dynasties of Egyptian n1onarchs and he klnEE
 Tn each of these dynasties, together with occasional notes upon matters of histori-
 cal interest in particular reisns.
 Il The kings of the earlier dynasties.
 Menes and the rest of them were shad owy, unreal figures, who perhaps never ] existed save in the ina gination of the ] nlstorlan-nlere creatures of legend, such as we md at the beginning of all na- ] tional histories But if there has been one thing which modern investigation has : taught us clearly, 1t is that the legends 2 which describe the beginnings of national ! history are never mere fgments of the s imagination
 50 it has proved to be with these q shadowy kings of the earliest Egyptian y dynasties. Maretho's fables about one or them being slain by a hippopotamiIs | while in the reign of another the Nile nowed with honey, may be mere fables i: [, but the men were there, and their royalty n was very real and tangible thing. The kings of the earliest dynasties Y reared mo pyramids Their tonfbs were great structures, mainly underground.
 These huge homes of the dead were filled lt with all sorts of objects thought neces- 4 sary or useful for the deceased king in q the underworld
 Around a monarch were buried his slaves, who were doubtless slain at his
 grave that they might accompany and
 serve him in the afterlife. The chambers
 Of his tomb were stored with stacks of 1t great vases of wine and corn. with nnf- 'r tery dishes, splendid copper bowls. carved IS ivory boxes, golden buttons, palettes for fe grinding face paints, chairs and couches le Of elaborate design and decoration. ivory el and pottery figurines, and plaques bear. S. ing records of the kings vaior in war or 1e his piety in the founding of temples.
 Here and there in this wrecE5aoa oi a. imn1en1orial splendors a little touct "a helps us 10 realize that these dim his. sp toric figures were real rden who lovef Id and sorrowed as men do still Close tc h- Mena's second torn6 at Abydos lies tha, ne of his daugflter-Bener-ab, Sweetheart 'e as he called her-to suggest how love ant . death went side By side tien as now. t- "The furniture of the tonbs reveal on an amazing proficiency in the arts an, ce crafts Ebony chests inlaid with ivory 1T stools with ivory feet carved into tn
 shape of bulls legs, vessels cut an,
 ground to translucent thinness. not oni
 out of soft alabaster, but out of an iron as hard stone line diorite, finely wroueh
 copper ewers, all tell US that the Eevr nd tian of the earliest dynastic period wa lis no rude barbarian, but highly civileze
 craftsman. Perhaps the daintiest an is most convincing evidence of his skill .tt given by the bracelets which were foun Ter encircling tNe skeleton arm of the daee
 of King Ger, of the first dynasty
 = "But these tombs have not only yieide s evidence of the skill of the Egyptia iaa workman they have taught us that eve - -, at this incredibly early date che natio as had complete method of expressing fl O'' thought and had reached a tforoughnes
 of organization which we should not ha1
 imagined possible.
 ;. "The inscriptions tell us of a cou le, fully organized, with a complete bures- 'lA cracy. Mena has his chamberlain. IT ato successor. Fer. tells us of command
 of the inundation,' a proof of the ear
 date at which the Nile flood was utilfz,
 and regulated for the benefit of the Ian ing In subsequent reigns of the same dynas lar ,,-o ,,,oot 1ri+, . .cornvosnasr If tho older lne Keeper of the wine (the earliest ancs et- tor of the Pharaoh's chief butler wi
 whom we have so long been famil:ar).
 Header Of the peers head of the mo
 ancient of earthly aristocracies, and her | master of ceremonies, while the titles su- royal seal bearer, scribe of accounts 'ee- provisions Keeper of the kings viz ca yards and royal architect show us wi one what naiHuteness the business affairs sfft the court were regulated.
 ing "In sense these revelations of t or earliest Egyptian dynastic civilizsti veil have done much to simplify the enisI CTS. presented by Egyptian history. The c su- Iilization of the Nile valley no longer ch st,. l,1&.oA Sns Vvife tts f5%a4f 11re r.;A as