The Finding of the Pharaohs

The finding of the mummies of the Pharaohs in 1881 was by far the most important of late discoveries. An account of it at the time was published in every newspaper of importance throughout the land; but for the benefit of young readers I will give it space.

For a long time the antiquarians had known that the Arabs at Luxor were selling to travelers objects taken from tombs. It was a matter of great interest to them, and they were on the lookout to see where they came from. The Arabs were wily, and kept well their secret; but one was at last induced to reveal it, and then he led the way. The place of the tomb chambers proved to be near Deir-el-Bahari.

Here was a well-like shaft, filled with sand, discovered by chance, leading to a tunnel, and the tunnel to a rough chamber in the cliff. In this chamber were upward of thirty mummy-cases, the majority of them decorated with the royal asp.

These cases contained the mummies of the Pharaoh of the oppression, the Pharaoh of the exodus, Queen Nofretari, together with other royal personages and the high priest Nabseni. At an unknown time, and for an unknown reason, these relics had been taken from their first royal resting-place and hidden in this rude chamber.

I recently read a very interesting description, by Emil Brugsch Bey, of the Bulak Museum, of the entering of the chamber, the removing of the cases, and the transporting of them across the plain. I will give it in brief, as nearly as I can:

“The well cleared out, I descended and began the exploration of the underground passage. Soon we came upon cases of porcelain, funeral offerings, metal and alabaster vases; then we reached the turn in the passage; then a cluster of mummy-eases came in view. Examining them by the light of my torch, I saw at once they contained the mummies of royal personages of both sexes. Plunging on ahead of my guide, I came to another chamber, containing mummy-cases of stupendous size and weight, with polished surfaces and gold coverings.

When I left the tomb it was almost dark. Jackals and hyenas were skulking around the neighborhood, and broods of vultures were sitting on the cliff near by, and the valley was still as death. There was little sleep in Luxor that night.
I spent most of the time hiring men to remove the relics. At early morning three hundred Arabs were employed. One by one the cases were hoisted to the surface, securely sewed up in sail-cloth, and then transported across the plain. Two squads of Arabs accompanied each sarcophagus, one to carry it, and the other to keep watch.

After six days of hard labor under a July sun, the work was finished. I shall never forget the scene I witnessed when, standing at the mouth of the shaft, I watched the strange line of helpers while they carried across that historical plain the bodies of the very kings who had constructed the temples still standing, and of the very priests who had officiated in them. When we made our departure from Luxor, our late helpers squatted in groups upon the Theban side and silently watched us. The news had been sent down the Nile in advance; so when we passed the towns, the people gathered at the quays and made most frantic demonstrations. The fantasia dancers were holding their wildest orgies; a strange wail went up from the men; the women were screaming and tearing their hair; and the children were so frightened I pitied them. At last we arrived at the Bulak Museum.”

The Bulak collection is a rare and large one. It contains relics from nearly, if not every, dynasty of Egypt. The mummies of the great Pharaohs are here exposed to view, and cases of rich and elaborate jewelry in gold, found with the mummies of their queens. The chief treasures, found by Mariette Bey, have a large space devoted to them, and attract special attention.

In the valley of the Nile, about thirty miles from the ruins of ancient Thebes, Professor Flinders Petrie has made a new find of an ancient race and an ancient civilization. He was led to investigate the locality from the appearance of its having been a pleasant location for dwellings. Professor Petrie places the date of objects found at three thousand years before Christ. Besides human remains, he has found various relics-vases of porphyry, handmade pottery, a set of ninepins, ivory combs, and various other articles. From the position he found the bones in he was forced to the conviction that cannibalism was common among them at this period of history, but probably as a funeral rite, the partakers believing, with some other races, that the virtues of the dead were imparted to those who partook of their flesh.

From Oriental Days
by Lucia A. Palmer, 1897