Evening star., 1925-03-11
=G|zA TOMB HOLDS
+. BODY OF PRINCESS
Older Than Pyramids-Find
{. in Egypt Yields Art Works
) of 5,100 Years Ago.
By the Associated Press.

. BY the Associated Fress.
sp BOSTON, March IA cable re-
'ceived yesterday by DR.. George A.
Z, Reisner, professor of Egyptology al
Harvard and director of the Harvard
( Univer ersity- Boston Museum of Fine
,,Arts Egyptian expedition, definitely
established the tomb just discovered
: by the expedition near the Giza Pyra-
mids as being some 100 years older
: than the tombs of Tutankh- Amen
',snd of a period Of which little has
been discovered heretofore.
The cable was from Alan Rowe,
chief assistant of the expedition, an
= australian, who has been working
4 with DR.. Reisner for three years
Duncan Greenless is the second as
: sistant of the expedition which
',began work at the present place in
: November. 1t was founded in 1905
/ and actual work began in 1909 In
this district. The text of the cable
',as extended by DR.. Reisner, was made
public as follows:
Older Than Pyramids.
THE new tomb reported from the
excavations of the Harvard Bost on
expedition at Giza is the only i'm
portant intact tomb yet found previ-
Gus to Dynasty VI. 1t is to be dated
to the time of King Seneferu the first
king of Dynasty ~, the predecessor
of Cheops. that is, period of loo
years up to about 5000 B.. c. The
new tomb is situated about 100 meters
t,due east of the great Pyramid OF
Cheops. During the final clearing OF
the rock surface a patch of white
plaster was noted, which covered
masonry consisting of massive blocks
laid in plaster. On removing the
,plaster a stairway was disclosed
filled with blocks of stone, also laid
in plaster. On removing these, IL
steps appeared, which led down south
ward to the side of a square shaft
'biooked in similar manner. and the
stones were carefully laid to imi-
tate the natural rock.
{, AT meters down the shaft q
closed recess was found in the
shaft wall which contained a
sacrificial offering, consisting OF
a bulls head and legs mating
and pots. At 26 meters the top OF
the burial chamber was reached on
the south side of the shaft The bot
tom of the shaft was reached at 80
meters. On removing the top course
'ot stone in the masonry block which
closed the door of the buried cham
Der the chamber was seen to be about
is feet long by - feet wide. Inside
was an alabaster sarcophagus intact
ana On the comm lay an elaborate
woven gold mat with a line OF in
cised hieroglyphics, giving the name
Nebtl- -Seneferu, which seems to be
the name of the person buried in the
coffin. The name indicates that she
was a lady, probably a princess.
= Art Treasures Found.
= The posts of the sarcophagus are
sheathed in gold, and the floor of the
chamber is covered with vessels OF
bronze and alabaster and a quantity
>of gilded wooden furniture which is
in bad condition. Many objects are
fnct yet identifable. The Egyptian
authorities have put a barbed wire
fence around the area, in order to
prevent intrusion on the part of the
public, and the work of clearing the
tomb is proceeding satisfa ctorily.
e This tomb is not that of either
Seneferu or Cheops. 1t was in ex-
sistence when the first pyramid a
Giza, that of Cheops, was built, ant
the superstructure of the tomb mus
have been cleared away by the archi'
Iects of Cheops when they built the
Scauseway which led from the valley
Nto the temple in front of the Cheops
pyramid. The tomb is to be datec
probably to the reign of Seneferu.