Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-02-03
EXCAVATORS NEAR
TUT-ANKH-AMEN BIER
Great Pink Stone Coffin Olsen
gagged Save for Walls of =
Third Shrine.
LAST PROBLEM SOLVED
Roof of Fourth Chamber Raised
by Workmen.

By the Associated Press
LUXOR, Egypt, February with
steady strides. considering the be-
wildering difficulty Of the work, the
excavatorS in the tomb of Tut
Ankh-Amen are approaching the
GROWING stage Of their labors-the
opening of the great pink stone
coffin.
Good progress was made this week
with the work Of dismantling the
! three outer shrines, so that with the
| removal of the two side cornices of
the third shrine this morning the
fourth casket now stands olsen
gagged save for the walls Of the third
shrine. and fully disclosed in its
cleaning golden beauty.
AS Howard Carter draws nearer to
the heart of this bizarre, beautiful
nest Of shrines evidence accumulates
that the body of the mystery pharoah
Is still within. Tucked away in the
corners and the narrow spaces be-
tween the different caskets have
been found successfully such attri-
butes of royalty as the kings scep-
tiers. maces and gilded wood inlaid
with faience and now, within the last
few days. the discovery of two great
ostrich feather fans with gilded han
dies more than three and half feet
long. stamped with the two car
touches giving the kings family
name and official title. proclaims that
the body of the pharoah is indeed
close at hand.
Fans ROynlty's symbol.
For these fans, which have been
symbol of royalty in the orient
through ages and are frequently de-
picted in muriel relief in the ancient
Egyptian temples, were borne close
behind the monarch by great mobiles,
who were honored by the charge,
even as today in Rome great fans
tatori bearing the Pope.
Were further indications required
they would be found in the protective
goddesses of death with tenderly
spreading wings, which are beautf-
fully depicted in giIded gesso on the
Towering Of the fourth Nasket, SINH
lar to the goddesses distinguished by
the excavatorS, incided upCn the out
side of the stone sarcopfagus in
their brief glimpse of the coffin
month ago.
Mr.. Carter was at first extremely
puzzled by the problem which the
fourth casket presented. Obviously
his first move would be to take off the
doors, which in the case Of the other
shrines was not an operation of great
Faced Hard PROBLEMS.
For the rest, however, the shrine
appeared to be in one piece, and how
to dismantle it without damage in
the narrow space at his disposal was
a problem
Closer inspection today showed
that. after all. the shrine is in sec
tions like the others. AS result
of this afternoons work, by means of
wedges Mr.. Carter succeeded in rails
ing the roof of the shrine about six
teen inches, disclosing part of the
lid of the sarcophagus beneath. One
of the next things to be done is to
provide the elaborate tackle of pull
leys and differential gear required to
raise the immensely heavy lid of the
sarcophagus
MIR. Carter conferred all the morn
ing at his home on the edge of the
Valley of the Kings with his lawyer.
who arrived Unexpectedly from Alex
andria, presumably in connection
with the long drawn-out negotiations
proceeding between the Egyptian
government and the eXcaVators re.
garding the conditions of control OF
the tomb