Evening star., 1924-03-30
Pharaoh omb Engages Hunt Fact and


only the greatest seaport of the world
but the greatest airport as we'll.
has long been controlled by a press
agent. And mora remarkable state
ments have been printed about it
than about all the motion picture
stars in Hollywood. For it's press
agent works while those of Holly
wood sleep.
The tomb of King Tut, despite the
fact that it is the best press agent
tomb in the world, Is one of the least
interesting shrines in the Valley Of
the Tombs of the Kings. 1t is much
smaller than any of It's neighbors.
Its walls, except in the one chamber
where the sarcophagus reposes, are
bare of decorations, and even the
decorations in the burial chamber, de-
spite their exquisite coloring, do not
compare with those on the colorful
walls of the nearby tomb of Seti l.,
which are in high relief.
Why, then, you ask, has the dis
covery of the hole in the ground in
far-off Luxor been hailed as an event
of such worldwide Importance? Sim
ply because OF its Itinerary equip
ment. King Tuts tomb Is the first
royal tomb near Luxor to be dis
covered with its original contents
more or less intact. But as all of its
contents, except the sarcophagus, have
been removed, the tomb might we'll
be described as a hollow mockery.
In the days when the Pharaohs of
the eighteenth, nineteenth and twen-
tieth dynastics ruled Egypt-the three
dynastics buried in the Valley of the
Tombs of the Kings-it was their
custom TO begin building their tombs
when they ascended their thrones. AS
King Tut-ankh-Amen ruled but six
years-he died at a tender age some
thirty-two centuries back-his tomb
was a rather incomplete affair cut out
of the solid limestone rock in the
royal burying ground.
II Tut had lived to a ripe old age,
he might have had. a tomb worth
talking about-like Rameses VI, for
instance, or Seti /. For one has only
to see their tombs to agree with the
American tourist who said, after ex-
amining them: Those old boys cer-
tainly knew how to live"
X 4 X X
HOWEVER, when those tombs were
- discovered, press agenting had
not reached the fine art it has today,
No newspaper syndicate doomed the
wonders of the sarcophagus OF
Amenhotep II when it was discovered
with it's royal occupant in his proper
place. 1t is an actual fact that more
"blah" has been made over King
Tut's tomb than ali the other archie
illogical discoveries in the royal
boneyard put together. Rumors of
buried treasure, sealed doors and
other features that appealed to the
popular imagination have been con-
tributing factors. But back of it all
has been the most efficient press
agentry of modern times.
admit that the contents of King
Tuts tomb are Of great archaeological
value, but their intrinsic value is
relatively small No great store of
gold or precious stones has been dis
covered. The estimate of s50,000,000,
made by one writer, is ridiculously
fantastic. The entire contents would
not fill two American freight cars,
and. at a forced sale. wouldn't bring
500, 900.
Now that the tomb is practically
stripped of it's treasures, any one but
a blind man would find the tomb of
Amenhotep II, close by, where it's
royal occupant can be seen in his
glass sarcophagus, much more il
luminating-and l do not refer to the
powerful electric light which shines
on his royal knob. Unless King Tut's
remains are similarly exposed to
view, when his tomb is opened to
the public next year. all the columns
that have been written about 1t will
not make it the seventh wonder of
Egypt. The only real wonder about
1t will be that some travellers will
actually make the trip to Egypt to
see itAunless they take my tip.
Mind you, 1 do not advise you to
remain away from Egypt, despite
some of it's drawbacks, which 1 shall
detail later There are older, more
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