Evening star., 1923-02-22

Arrangement with the Earl of Carnarvon.)
BY Cable to The Star.
LUXOR, Egypt, February 22.-Tne
result Of the opening of the sealed
door OF the tomb of Tutankhamen,
with the discovery Of the sepulchrai
chamber, with its concentric cata-
falques or tabernacles and the new
treasure house, was SO much in de-
fiance of all precedent and expecta-
tion that 1t is difficult now to remem-
ber what our anticipations were
week ago. The chief subject of specu-
lation then was whether the next
chamber would be the last or the
penultimate. or whether there Woulo
be four or Ave more. None knew, but
some had visions of chambers beyond
chambers and galleries after gal
leries. Now we have evidently
reached the holy of holes, but
whether there may yet be more rooms
and additional treasure houses. Elk
pert opinion Is that there are no
more The full extent OF the tomp
is well known. and IT Is an interest
ing point in connection with what
said Tuesday about TutankhaIne en- 5
age.
Whole Tomb Outlined.
The whole tomb consists of the en-
trance passage, the antechamber ana
the sepulchral chamber, with an an
mex or treasure house opening on
each of the two last. Compared Win
the last resting places Of some OF tne
quarters for the repose of an Eeyp-
tian king. They really suggest ra'ner
the tomb of some young prince, no"
ever splendidly regal are the 1ur-
nishings buried with him.
This theory is well known. ana sug-
gestions have been made that the eN-
tent of a kings tomb and the num-
Der of chambers have some CORE
spondence with the length OF ms
reign This is difficult to substantlate'
port from the fact that the tombs
were made during the lives OF !ne
kings In the course of a long reign
king might reasonably go on aoa-
ing room to room and burro"lns
yearly deeper into the rocky recesses.
This however, does not seem TO be
invariable.
SpecuIatiOns Minor Point.
In the case of Tutankhamen we
know that his reign must have been
short, but, even SO, il is argued that,
if a full-Erown man. the King, IN
the pride of his strength. would nave
made statelier mansion FOR his soul
than Tutankhamen did.
1t is only Il minor point, pOt opens
up interesting speculations. Anyhow:
happily for US, the magnihcence OF
the funeral trappings and the iaflsh-
ness of the stores provided for the
deceased for his existence in the
hereafter are out of proportion to the
actual dimensions of the tomb.
In conversation one of the leading
Psychologists of the world said:
1T ought to make US ashamed 70
think what a living force to the Ola
er life. 1t may have led to the dom
ination o IA corrupt and unscrupu-
lous priesthood. but in itself 1t was a
very fine thing"
Overwhelmed by Care of Dead.
1t is true that none can see the care
with which the material needs Of the
dead were provided for and the re
mote and secret character OF the
piece of the sepulcher without being
not only impressed but overwhelmed
and humbled.
Whether you at q distance can
visualize this I do not know. Imagine
! this last interior cavernous chamber
| SO filled with the outer tabernacle OF
tho sarcophasus that mere passage OF
any intrud fng foot Is most difficult
Inside the first tabernacle, in a dark
ness already absolute, one almost
imagines. deeper and deeper are other
tabernacles, shell within shell. till at
the core of the enfolding shrines. at
the very heart, lies the body Of the
king in the sealed sarcophagus.
This chamber itself Is sealed and
can be approached only through the
outer chamber, carved In solid rock,
and this is reached only through
long gallery to which lead steep
winding stairs from the outside air.
Every orifice or door by which the
workmen and mourners entered has
been carefully blocked with heavy
stones imbedded in cement.
Awaited Coming Of IA.
When you realize all this dug deep
into the heart Of the eternal hills in
the remoteness at the head Of a long
winding valley in an uninhabited
desert you will get some idea Of the
profundity of the black silence in
which the kings sought to secure
themselves an unbroken sleep till
their souls, their Ka. came to re-
possess their bodies.
But probably description Is useless.
only by the actual experience OF
reopening can one appreciate the
depth of silence Of such a tomb as
this.
Conspicuous among the objects Of
,feaa1 the new treasure chamber are the
These are all kinds. sailboats and
rowboats Of varying sizes, and it
Is noteworthy that some Of the sails
seem to be better preserved than
any Of the other linen fabrics found
In this tomb. Much Of that which
was carefully laid in the royal
chests is now merely a chocolate
covered mass Of disintegrated fiber.
The sails of the boats, exposed to the
air of the chamber for thirty-four
centuries, are much better. Though
lighter hue. and though, of course.
they have not heen handled thew