Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-03-17
EGYPTIAN EXPLORATION.

Editor Every EverIng News from
Egypt received today ut headquarters
fremont Temple. Roaton. The Egypt
Exploration Society now In it, 29.h
wear, ia cNcayatinE tho most important
site in Upper Middle Egypt. Professor
r Eric lcet of liverpool Uuivereitv.
the Director with hia stan arrived in
January and commenced training tho
II horcra who need a good deal of inatrut
ing TO bring them M to fun working
strength Professor Thomas White
moro tho American Director has now
Joined tho Expedition
ll-Amarna is 100 miles south of Cairo.
on the eastern bank of the Nile. Tho
area Of the city Is four and one half
mlcs 10y two miles. in the midst OF a
broad plain enCirCled hy cliffs which de-
sccnd on either side almost 20 the river
1t was built on q regular plan with
straight streets and upcn spaces and
divided into two separate quarters in
toraperscd with orchards and shady
trelises. The house ruins appear ms
fa, desert hills. where still remaining
rows Of masonry may he brought 10
light with a few strokes of the pick
The cross streets in the Wadi dividing
the town arc filed with sand and gravel
10 the depth of four feet and excavation
is slow on account Of solid debris be
tween the wallis The long main street
hv the river connected the great temple
and kings palace. both cleared by Petrie
leaving uncleared three miles of houses
Hero tho work Of the Egypt Exploration
Society begins.
This corner of the earth has known
strange fortunes. From mere de-
pendenCy of Harmopolis with no life Of
it's own II became the scat of imperial
administration. Fer Akhnaton, Pharaoh
from 1875 10 1853 Il. g.. repudIated the
Amen Priesthood. aba sndoned Thebes.
and founded here his glorious new
Capital Like Atom in heaven forever
and ever. Yet within 20 years reaction
So In The King died the religious
revolution ended. the court returned 10
Thebes and the wonder city Of a
Pharaoh = dream was once more desc
late place.
Suddenly in IsS7 the attention Of
! scientists was directed 10 the forgotten
! capital Natives pulling down a por-
| ton OF the palace wall for building
material came upon store-room filled
| with bricks of very fine grain each
1 covered with CuneifOrm writing.
/ Every peasant in Egypt knows the
I hOli contains lfEhS0ItSs 1iG LA04SN9
were hastily heaped in baskets. fasten-
/ ed TO the backs OF donkeys. and a few
/ days later tho dealers Ia Luxor and
! Cairo had on sale the diplomatic cor
respondence Of Amenhotep III and
| Amenhotep ~ (Akhnaton) with the
/ Babylonian and Syrian Dynssts. This
1 casual find Of documents Of absorbing
/ historial interest led Professor Peterie
/ TO commence excavation OF the actual
buildings IN 1891 he cleared a group OF
| town houses. finding more cuneiform
/ tablets The great temple and king S
| palace with it's wonderful painted pave
ments representing ponds OF fish, flower
| ing shrubs. leaping animals, butterflies
and birds in flight all rendered in a
very naturalistic style. These paintings
among the most valuable monuments
in the realistic art of the XVIIith Dy
nasty were wantonly destroyed by dis
charged workman in 1912. A misfortune
that emphasizes the need for excavation
and scientific record at site remot'
and difficult for the Government L
protect.
From 1907 the German Oriental So
ciety held the site and in 1911 commenced
the systematic clearance OF the city build
ing by building. During the summel
+ of 1913 thieves again broke into on
of the tomb-chapels and destroyed re
Iiefs to revenge the discharge of
care-taker This second act Of mall
cious destruction makes it imperative Il
save monuments so precious withou