The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-02-05
PEOPLE FROM ALL
PARTS OF WORLD
GATHER At TOMB
Crowds Awaiting at Luxor
Opening of Pharaoh's Mau-
soleum-- Weather Is Ex-
ceptionaIIy Hot
Nv ARTHUR WEIGALL

Daily Mail)
LUXOR, Egypt, Feb. 4.-The clans
are gathering at Luxor. Every train
deposits on the hot, dusty station
platform dazed but eager special cor
respondents of the worlds press. The
huge Winter Palace hotel is crowded
and private steamers, full of tourists,
are collecting at the moorings. 1t is
an animated scene and everywhere
one hears talk of Tutankhamen, who
is called now by the ribald "Tutanks-,
Carter or Tut Carnarvon," or most
usually simply 'old Tut"
There is q lull in the proceedings
in the valley of the kings Just now.
Mr.. Carter who, with Lord Carnar-
Won. discovered the tomb of Pharaoh
Tutankhamen, has gone to Cairo 20
meet the latter on his return from
London. Meanwhile Mr.. Lucas Mr..
Calender and Mr.. Burton are work
ing quietly on the tomb. in the glare
of powerful electric lights. or in an
tomb of Seti la big, airy place
into which flood of daylight comes
through the large square doorway.
Tomb Hot and Stuffy
Here the work of preservation and
packing of the contents of the tomb
is conducted under cool and comfort
able conditions, but Tutankhamen's
I tomb itself is now very hot and
stuffy. The electric light engine. in
stalled in the valley of the kings for
lighting the show tombs, supplies the
current, but this works only in the
morning so that the excavating party
usually spend the morning in the
tomb and the afternoon in the work.
shop.
The hope of seeing objects carried
out of the tomb brings crowds of
ing, but in the afternoons the place
is deserted except for the excavators
and the ever-present police. Now,
however, only two statues, two
couches, and the three chariot bodies
are left, and work has been suspend
ed at the moment. AS the weather is
exceptionally hot for this time of
year, l fancy that sightseers arc
mighty glad not to be impelled, by
their Unsuitable curiosity, to make the
one-hour journey on donkey-back up
to the valley each day.
Pharaoh's History
I constantly hear it said, both by
amateur archaeologists and by those
actually connected with the discov
cry, that very little is known of this
pharaoh's history, but this is quite
mistake. Considering the shortness
of his reign our information about
him is very considerable and 1 am
s,sorry to say that it reveals a SEEM
ingly rather vacillating character.
though doubtless he was the victim
of circumstances.
During the 10 years of Akhnaton's
reign. at Tellelamarm-1371t to 1853 B..
C.-while that strange, romantic fig
ure was preaching there his mono
theistic Atonworship-Tut
appears to have held the position OF
court chamberlain, for to me there
seems little doubt that he has to be
identified with Tutu, or Duku, as the
Asiatics called him. Akhnaton's
trusted courtier and friend. There IS
an inscription extant in which Tuto
writes of himself: MY voice was
not loud in the kings house, nor my
walk staggering in the palace. The
king rose carly every day to teach
me, because of my zeal in performing
his teaching. I have grown wealthy
by the bounty of the king" And he
tells us that he was the supreme
mouthpiece of the entire land.
seixes Throne
We find him, however, In close
friendship with a certain Aziru,
traitorous vassal prince, who. in
letter preserved among the famous
Tellelamarni correspondence, calls
him deferentially: MY Lord or MY
Father" which suggests, by the way,
that Tutankhamen was an elderly
1 man.
No sooner had Akhnaton died than
Tutankhamen got rid of the succeed
ing king, Smenkhkara, and seized
the throne, marrying Akhnaton's
daughter-then a little girl about 10
in order to legitimate the throne.
He was soon induced by the priests
of Amen tof ring the court back to
Thebes and ellelamarna was finally
81. II q
modern sexcav tors there have found
the bodies of he kings dogs left to
starvse in the ryal kennels, and oxen
left, 10 die on the royal farm.
Eie mad the dtcency, it seems to
bring Akhnatons mummy back with
him and buried him in the valley OF
the hinss. where Mr.. Davis and l
fouRu MIN some ears ago. But after
that ne played up to the Amen priest
hood, Akhnato,n's bitterest enemies,
and celebrated his return to Thebes
by building a famous colonnade in
the temple of LuXor-afterward APP
propriated by the Pharaoh Horem
heb. This colonnade is the most inn
posing part of the Luxor temple and
was at that time about the biggest
building of it's kind in Egypt.
Re-establishcs Religion
He decorated its walls with scenes
showing the wild enthusiasm of the
populace at his return and the first
celebration of the great Amen fes-
tival. The modern visitor may still
see representations of the people
n dancing. beating drums. and glowing
1 trumpets, etc, in his honor-a fact
oddly enough overlooked by most
archaeologists.
During Akhnaton's reign. and
monotheistic religion, the temples of
Amen and the old Gods were neg
lected, but the new Pharaoh, who
had now aggrandized his name into
first. Naturalization and then,
Tutankh Amen, established these
and in the great inscription at Kar-
max tells us in the vivid phrases how
he did so. He says "The temples
Of the gods had come upon bad times.
Their courts were road for common
feet. The land was overridden with
plaques and the gods were neglected
1t was then that his majesty searched
for what was useful for Amen, made
his image in pure gold, raised monu-
ments to other gods, filled their
buildings with foreign slaves, and
multiplied their estates"
The tomb of Huy, his viceroy in
Ethiopia is now open to visitors at
fhebes and is decorated with scenes
showing the princes of earth doing
homage and bringing tribute, but,
curlously enough, sightseers seem to
have overlooked this.
Tutankhamen reigned at least six
year.for the sixth year is mentioned
on piece of linen we found in the
valley of the kings, but to the end
of his life he seems to have lowered
uncertainty between. the Amen and
Atom religions. Among objects found
In the tomb are references to both,