Evening star., 1923-02-27

London Times New York Times Copyright. By
Arrangement with the Earl Of Carnarvon.)
BY Cable TO The Star.
LUXOR, Egypt, February 27.-How-
ard Carter and Mr.. Calender closed
yesterday the tomb Of Pharaoh
Tutankhamen and labored throughout
the day to assure the dead Egyptian
monarch a quiet rest until work can
be resumed next fall.
The whole morning was taken. up
with blocking the door and clearing
from the well the apparatus accumu-
lated there during the past three
months. An interested crowd of tour
lists watched the process. Yesterday
afternoon the work OF filing in with
sand and rubble was started, and it is
not expected to be finished before this
evening.
Filled In by Boys and Men.
me filling in of the entrance to the
tomb Is being done by a couple Of
score of boys and men under over
seers. who run backward and for
ward in an endless chain discharging
pasket after basket of sand and rub
Die into the shaft from which
emerged huge cloudlike smoke as
from great fire. 1t was an extraor-
more curious by the fact that while
dlSslng out tomb is an ordinary eX-
perlence this is probably the first
time that any of those present had
ever assisted at the filing in of a
tomo containing an ancient king.
Visit Tomb Last Time.
1t was impossible not to be moved
wonderful death chambers of Tut
ankhamen. knowing that in few
hours the work Of shutting up the
tomb would be begun. The large
antechamber, with its bare. undeco-
rated walls of pale pinkish yellow,
is now emptied of all its precious
contents and seemed bleak and des-
olate
To the left as one enters the end of
the chamber. behind a wooden barri-
cade. lay trays containing two lovely
alabaster vases. black wooden
swan and a heap of blackened fibrous
matter which was once a rush baS-
ket. with some bones found lying
on the floor of the sepulchra1 cham
Der. These bones have not yet been
examined. but they are believed to
be the bones Of some quadraped ami
NAL. conjecturally the remnants of
something sacrifcial. Close by, also
behind the wooden rail is a boarded
patch low down on the further wall.
1t shows the entrance hole made by
the robbers into the annex, and has
been temporarily shut.
Two Statues Impressive.
At the opposite end of the chamber.
that is on the right as one enters,
stand conspicuously the two black
and gold statues of the king. one on
each side of the wide, gaping en-
! trance to the sepulchral chamber. At
some places on these statues pItch
was used for bitumininzing and
seems to have run. and here and
ial
able These are minor flaws, how
ever. AS they stand, the two figures
are very striking, and when proper
| ly treated they will be magnificent.
the sepulchral chamber the light
CLEANS on the face of screen, whlch
seems almost to choke the entrance
of brilliant turquoise blue fa1ence IN
laid in gold sea, the thing with WhIch
the whole surface of the tabernacle
is covered, producing a dazzling ef-
feet.
SepuIchrnl Chamber Lower.
The floor of the sepulchral cham
ber is more than three feet lower than
that of the antechamber. without any
steps or anything to break the drop
down over the rock ledge. The best
way to. get in is to sit on the moor
and dangle ones legs and let oneself
drop in like a boy sliding off q. wall
bump into the silded structure in
front, the lower part of which is COW
cred with planking to guard against
accidents
When you land YOU find yourself
on the right hand almost at the cor
ner of the room and you wriggle
round the angle of the tabernacle to
find that the room in this dimension
that is. from north to South--is not
more than i feet or Q feet long. On
your left is the splendid front and
closed doors of the shrine with their
belts and staples. On the right is
another doorway which opens into