Evening star., 1923-02-10

(London Times world copyright. BY arrange
ment with the Earl of Carnarvon)
BY Wireless TO The Star.
LUXOR, Egypt, February 9.-About
a week ago, the removal from the
tomb Of Pharaoh Tutankhamen OF a
"naos," a shrine resembling a small
cabinet, was recorded. This shrine,
which was the 109rh object removed
from the tomb. has now been more
closely examined and proves to be one
of the finest monuments ever discov-
cred.
- Is made Of wood covered with a
thick sheet of gold and has folding
doors and woodei, IS" bolts shot in
gold staples. The panels Of the doors.
the sides and ends of this "naos" are
beautifully embossed scenes, depicting
,he domestic life of the king anu
queen, and showing him hunting or
practicing archery, assisted by his
conSort.
Exquisite Workmanship.
The curved roof of the shrine has
upon 1t device comprising "Buto,' =
Egypt, and vultures. while the rails
still bear the protocol of Tutankha-
men. In the interior of the shrine is
pedestal on which originally was q
statue or emblem of the king. but
now missing.
AT the present moment lying beside
it is a quantity of jewelry thrown
there by the metropolis officials, who
evidently picked il UP from the floor
of the chamber, where 1t had been
cast by the plunderers of the tomb
The whole Of this most exquisite con-
ST. cctica stands upon miniature
wooden sled, and the more one ex.
amines it the more one is impressed
fy taa d~licecy and design of the
workmanship.
Ready Toe Transportation.
Yesterdays dlspatcn referred to the
fact that the painted caSket contain
ing the kings robes is now packed
ready for transportation to Cairo.
find that considerable progress has
ALSO been made in preparing other oo-
jccts for transport. Thus the contents
of this caSket. which have undergone
preliminary Lreitmsat. ere now pack
id in linen and sottol wool in mum
her of small boxes ready for inclu-
sion in the one packing case. AS soon
AS the latter has been made they will
be packed away, but meanwh hile in no
circumstances will these small boxes
hc reoPened, nor will their contents
be touched again until they reach
Cairo.
The long wooden box with the
hinged lid painted white with ebony
veneer and the ebony openWork
stand bearing the protocol of the
king inlaid with ivory; has also peer
Its contents. likewise. are now ready
for the final case. The shawls and
undergarments of the king, some IN
n woven tapestry fabric. which were
in 4 fairly good state OF preservation
have been spread out piece by piece
one on top of the other. with linen
separating each. and placed between
boards SO as to insure their remain
ing fiat.
Banauets Delicate Problem.
The ceremonial slaves. some OF
which are of unique and superb
workmanship, one In particular nav
ing a handle representing African ano
Asiatic prisoners bound together il,
inlaid work of silver. ebony ano
IVORY. have been packed in cotton
wool and are ready for transfer 10
their special case SO are the AFRO"
shafts. the bronze heads of which had
bsen broken eff by the metal robbers,
which have been specially treated
Several Of the stools, which have been
treated chemically, and the white
painted bed are also ready TO De
cased.
A delicate problem has been the
bouquets which had to undergo spe-
cial treatment. but are now READY
their fragility the exact mode OF
packing has not yet been decided
upon.
The two ceremonial couches, the
Hathor one with the gilded cows
heads and the long horns and the
Typhon one with the head that is a
mixture OF lion, dog and hippopotamus
have also been dealt with. The bed
portions are each in their cases. while
the animal sides are bandaged with
thick cotton wool pads where they
arc likely to touch the sides of the
cases.
Throne Finest Treasure.
AS was also mentioned in yester-
days dispatch, work has now been
started on the painted red box. In
addition the throne, which is by far
the finest of all the treasure. Is also
being dealt with. 1t will require
most careful handling, not so much
because of its fragile state, but be-
cause of the delicate nature Of the
work. Such an article, even il made
in a modern workshop. would necessi-
tate very careful packing. How much
ton be taken when handling an OBJ
ject of such antiquity as $500 years.
The treatment and packing of these
objects is hut part. though very
important part, Of the work that has
TO be done in the laboratory. One Of
the first processes which an article
has to undergo on entering the labo-
ratory Is its preliminary recording.
This consists not only Of photograph
ing the object from several angles,
but also taking down a minute de-
scription with notes of its position
and dimensions. Not until all this
Information is recorded is the object
touched for the purpose Of treatment
or preparation for packing.
Generally speaking. the objects are
being dealt with in the order In which
they come into the laboratory, but
now and again special attention has
70 be given Immediately 1t enters to