CHAPTER VIII.

EMBALMING. THE EGYPTIAN TOMB.

=Mummy= is the name given to the body of a human being, or creature, which has been preserved from decay by means of spices, gums, natron, bitumen, etc.; strictly speaking it should only be given to the body preserved by _bitumen_, for “mummy” is derived from a word which appears in Arabic under the form _mûmîâ_, and means “bitumen.” The oldest preserved bodies known were prepared with salt and soda, and bitumen was certainly not used on a large scale for embalming purposes before the XXIInd dynasty, about B.C. 900. The embalmed body, swathed in linen, was called by the Egyptians _qes_ 𓈎𓐰𓊃𓀾, 𓈎𓐰𓊃𓌟𓍱, or _qesȧu_ 𓈎𓐰𓊃𓇋𓅱𓀿𓑀𓐰𓍱, which has passed into Coptic under the form _kôs_. The word “mummy” is not of Egyptian origin.

In the latter part of the Neolithic Period the Egyptians, in some places at least, decapitated and dismembered the dead, but subsequently, probably as a result of change in religious thought, they took steps to preserve them. At first bodies were merely dried in the sun, and then placed in a hole in the ground, in a sitting position, just as they are to this day by the A-Zandê; later they were laid on one side, with the legs bent upwards, and their knees near the chin. Evisceration of some kind appears to have been practised, but not of a very elaborate character. The finest and most complete example of the class of preserved bodies which were buried in a crouching position is exhibited in the First Egyptian Room, Case A. Here we see, lying on his left side, a Predynastic Egyptian, with hair of a reddish tint; the knees are bent to a level with the top of the breast, and the hands are placed before the face. He was dolichocephalic, or =long-headed=, and he was both physically and mentally entirely different from the Dynastic Egyptians, whose skulls, in respect of measurements, occupy a middle position between the dolichocephalic and the brachycephalic, or =short-headed=. Round about the body are vessels which held food, flint weapons, etc. At this period the body was sometimes wrapped in the skin of some animal, or rolled up in a reed mat.

Soon after the beginning of the Dynastic Period, probably as the result of the growth and development of the cult of Osiris, the Egyptians began to devote more care to the preservation of the bodies of the dead, and the earliest known examples prove that the brain and viscerae were removed, and that the placing of bodies in a crouching position in graves was abandoned, at all events among the ruling classes. The doctrine of Osiris taught that the human body was a precious thing, and men took care to embalm it and swathe it in linen, so that it might be ready for the return of the soul to it, when it would begin a new life in the kingdom of Osiris.

The Egyptian texts supply no details of the methods employed in embalmment, but classical writers describe the processes at some length, and the mummies which have been unrolled and examined prove that their statements are on the whole correct. According to Herodotus (ii, 85) there were =three methods of embalming= in use in his time. In the =first= or most expensive =way=, the brains and viscerae were removed from the body, which was carefully washed with palm wine, and then sprinkled with powdered spices. The cavities in the head and body were next filled with pounded myrrh, cassia, etc., and the opening in the abdomen through which the viscerae were taken out was sewed up. A tank containing a solution of salt, or soda, was prepared, and the body was steeped in it for seventy days. At the end of this period it was taken out of the solution, dried, and anointed with sweet-smelling unguents; then the swathing with linen strips was begun. Sometimes, in the case of women, the cheeks and lips were painted, the eye-lids smeared with eye-paint, and other attempts made to give to the face the semblance of life before swathing. The fingers and toes were each swathed separately, then the legs and arms, and finally, when pads and wads of linen had been fixed in various places to keep the swathings in position, and to give to the mummy the traditional form of the mummy of Osiris, the body and head were wrapped up in large sheets of linen, which were held in place by stout bands. As each swathing was placed on the body, a priest who was specially appointed said the formula which applied to it, and in cases where a large number of amulets were used, these objects, which were intended to give to the mummy the protection of the various gods, were inserted, under his directions, in their proper places between the swathings. When the swathing of the body was ended, the name of the deceased was usually written in ink on one of the outer coverings.

In the =second method= of embalming, the viscerae were removed by means of oil of cedar, and the flesh was dissolved off the bones by a preparation of soda; mummies which were prepared by this process consist of nothing but skin and bone. The =third method= was used almost exclusively for the poor; the body was steeped in a preparation of soda for a period of seventy days, and then handed over to the relatives for burial. The period which elapsed between death and burial varied in length. From the inscriptions we learn that in one case the embalming lasted 16 days, the swathing in linen 35 days, and the burial 70 days, _i.e._, 121 days in all. In another, the embalming occupied 66 days, the preparations for burial 4 days, and the burial 26 days, in all 96 days. According to the Bible (Genesis l, 3), the embalming of Jacob occupied 40 days, but the period of mourning was 70 days. Certain stelae in the British Museum[24] mention 70 days, and we may assume that this period was commonly observed, at all events, in Graeco-Roman times.

=Cost of embalming.=—According to Diodorus, who lived about B.C. 40, the methods of embalming were three in number; the first cost one talent of silver, about £250; the second, twenty minae, about £60; and the third very little indeed. In the description of the first method given both by Herodotus and Diodorus, it is said that the intestines were removed from the body previous to embalming, but neither writer says what was done with them afterwards. We know, however, that they were cleansed, and wrapped in linen with powdered spices, salt, etc., and placed in a series of four jars, or vases, to which modern writers have given the name =Canopic Jars=. They were thus named by the early Egyptologists, who believed that in them they saw some confirmation of the legend handed down by certain ancient writers to the effect that Canopus, the pilot of Menelaus, who is said to have been buried at Canopus, in Egypt, was worshipped there under the form of a jar with small feet, a thin neck, a swollen body, and a round back. Each “Canopic” jar was dedicated to one of the =four sons of Horus=, or sons of Osiris, who were also the gods of the =four cardinal points=; and each jar was provided with a lid made in the shape of the head of the deity to whom it was dedicated. The names of the four gods were:—

1. =Mesthȧ= 𓅓𓋴𓍘𓇋𓀭, or ȦMSET 𓇋𓅓𓋴𓏏𓀭; he was man-headed.

2. =Ḥāpi= 𓐑𓊪𓇌𓀭; he was dog-headed.

3. =Ṭuamutef= 𓇼𓅐𓏏𓐰𓆑𓀭; he was jackal-headed.

4. =Qebḥsennuf= 𓈎𓃀𓎛𓏁𓈗𓌣𓌣𓌣𓆑𓀭; he was hawk-headed.

These gods represented the south, north, east, and west respectively, and the goddesses with whom they were associated were Isis, Nephthys, Neith, and Serqet. Mesthȧ protected the stomach and large intestines; Ḥāpi, the small intestines; Ṭuamutef the lungs and heart; and Qebḥsennuf the liver and gall bladder. The custom of mummifying the intestines separately is as old as the VIth dynasty at least, and the gods of the cardinal points who presided over them are mentioned several times in the texts of Unȧs, Pepi, and other kings of the Vth and VIth dynasties. The four jars were usually placed in a coffer, or chest, specially prepared for the purpose; and this is frequently depicted in representations of funeral processions. The Ani Papyrus shows the four sons of Horus standing by the coffer containing the mummified intestines of the deceased, and his renewed body rising through the cover of it, holding “life” 𓋹 in each hand (see page 138). Among the fine collection of “Canopic” jars in the British Museum may be specially mentioned the set made for Ḳua-ṭep, XIth dynasty, No. 30,838 (Third Egyptian Room, Wall-case No. 112), and the sets Nos. 22,374-7, and 9562-5, of the later period, in Wall-cases Nos. 74 and 75 (Second Egyptian Room).

The custom of mummifying the dead appears to have been unknown in the Predynastic Period. In the earliest attempts made to preserve the body, the plan followed was to remove the intestines, and then to dry it in the sun, or to rub it with salt. The skulls found in the tombs are usually empty, a fact which proves that the embalmers were able to remove the brain and membranes without injury to the bridge of the nose; sometimes they contain bitumen, or some kind of resin, which must have been introduced into them by the way through which the brains were extracted, _i.e._, through the nostrils. Mummies cured with unguents and spices do not last long when unrolled; the skin of those cured with natron, _i.e._, a mixture of carbonate, sulphate, and muriate of soda, is hard, and comparatively durable, but it hangs loosely from the bones, which are white and somewhat friable; bodies from which the intestines have been removed, and which have been preserved by being filled with bitumen, are quite black and hard, and practically speaking, last for ever. The dead poor were sometimes merely salted and laid in a common pit or cave. At one period the dead were embalmed in honey: the treatment of the child who was found in a sealed jar of honey, mentioned by the Muḥammadan writer ʿAbd al-Laṭîf, and the body of Alexander the Great being well-known instances of the custom.

Under, or soon after the XXVIth dynasty, the Egyptians began to place their mummified dead in brightly painted =cartonnage cases=, decorated with inscriptions containing the pedigree of the deceased, religious texts, figures of gods, etc., and to set them upright in the halls of their houses. The faces were painted to resemble those of the dead, and attempts were made to reproduce the natural colour of their skins, hair, and eyes, and even to represent small physical peculiarities. A man’s immediate ancestors formed a part of his household.

About the beginning of the Graeco-Roman Period, or in the first century after Christ, it became the custom among the ruling class in Egypt to insert =painted portraits= of the dead in the linen swathings over their faces. Specimens of such portraits may be seen in Case Y in the Second Egyptian Room, and in Wall-cases Nos. 70 and 71. A century or two later further attempts were made to abolish from mummies the funerary swathings, etc., and the dead were placed in =papyrus cases=, which were moulded to their forms, and were painted with coloured representations of their clothes and ornaments. Very fine examples of such painted papyrus cases are exhibited in Wall-cases 64 and 65 in the First Egyptian Room, and they are of special interest as showing what kinds of garments and jewellery were worn by the Graeco-Egyptian ladies of Egypt, and how they were decorated. In the case of men, painted portraits were inserted over the faces, and the rest of the mummy was covered with plaster, usually coloured pink or red, and ornamented with faulty imitations of the scenes found on the old cartonnage cases. The best example of this kind of mummy is that of Artemidorus, exhibited in Wall-case 63 in the First Egyptian Room. The figures of the gods, etc., are painted in gold, and the mistakes in them prove that the artist did not understand the signification of the scenes which he was copying. The old theology of Egypt was forgotten, the meanings of the old funerary texts and scenes were lost, and the artist found himself obliged to use the form of address to the dead customary among the Greeks, _i.e._, “O Artemidorus, farewell!”

The Egyptians, even after their conversion to Christianity, continued for a time to mummify their dead, and to bury them with the old ceremonies; but before the end of the third century A.D. the art of embalmment had fallen into general disuse. The pagan Egyptian embalmed his dead because he believed that the “perfect soul” would return to the body after death, and that it would enter upon a new life in it; he therefore took pains to preserve the body against the corruption of the grave. The Christian Egyptian believed that at the Resurrection he would receive back his body, changed and incorruptible, and that it was unnecessary for him to preserve by means of spices and unguents that which he would obtain, without any trouble on his part, by faith through Christ. Little by little, as a result of this belief, the observance of the old pagan ceremonies ceased, and with them embalmment in the Egyptian fashion. The views which Anthony the “Father of the Monks of the Egyptian desert” (A.D. 250-355), held on this matter are of importance. According to Athanasius: “The Egyptians were in the habit of taking the dead bodies of righteous men, and especially those of the blessed martyrs, and of embalming them and placing them, not in graves, but on biers in their houses, for they thought that by so doing they were paying honour to them.” Anthony besought the Bishops to preach to the people, and to command them to cease from this habit, and he showed “That it was a transgression of a command for a man not to hide in the ground the bodies of those who were dead, even though they were righteous men. Therefore many hearkened and were persuaded not to do so, and they laid their dead in the ground, and buried them therein.” When he was dying he entreated his monks, saying: “Permit no man to take my body and carry it into Egypt, lest according to the custom which they have, they embalm me and lay me up in their houses.... And ye know that I have continually made exhortation concerning this thing and begged that it should not be done, and ye well know how much I have blamed those who observed this custom. Dig a grave then, and bury me therein, and hide my body under the earth, and let these my words be observed carefully by you, and tell ye no man where ye lay me until the Resurrection of the Dead, when I shall receive this body without corruption from the Saviour.” (See _The Life of Anthony, by Athanasius_, in Migne _Patrologiae_, Ser. Graec., tom. XXVI, col. 972.)

The linen =mummy swathings= must now be mentioned. These were made from =flax=, and were of various thicknesses. Surviving examples vary in length from a few inches to about 15 feet, and in width from 2 to 10 inches; some are made with fringe at each end. Mummies are often found wrapped in linen sheets, several feet square, and the outside covering of all is sometimes of a purple or salmon colour. Under the Ancient Empire, mummy swathings were quite plain, but under the Middle Empire, blue stripes occasionally appear at the ends, and the sheets in which the mummies of kings were wrapped, _e.g._, Ȧmenḥetep III and Thothmes III, were covered with hieroglyphic texts from the Book of the Dead. At a later period texts in the hieratic character appear on the swathings, accompanied by vignettes drawn in outline. The principal seat of the linen industry in Egypt was Panopolis, the modern Akhmîm, and, at a very early period, the weavers attained to such skill, that in a square inch 540 threads may be counted in the warp and 110 in the woof. About the third century of our era, the mummies of wealthy people were wrapped in “royal cloth” made wholly of silk and decorated with figures of gods, animals, etc. The visitor will find a large collection of mummy swathings and sheets exhibited in Table-case E, in the Third Egyptian Room. Here are the fringed linen =winding-sheet= of Teḥuti-sat, a singing woman of Queen Ȧāḥmes-nefert-ȧri, B.C. 1550 (No. 1); two swathings inscribed with texts from the Book of the Dead (Nos. 11, 12); a roll of linen inscribed with the names of Piānkhi Seneferef-Rā, B.C. 700 (No. 13); grave shirts from Akhmîm (Nos. 18-27); and specimens of =embroidered linen=, with figures of saints, etc. (No. 39 ff.); a portion of a =Coptic stole= embroidered with scenes from the life of Christ, and squares of linen worked with coloured figures of birds (doves?), and the Cross and symbol of “life” 𓋹 within wreaths (Nos. 40-51).

In the same case is a good general collection of =reels=, =spindles= and spindle whorls, and carding instruments, etc., used by workers in linen. In Table-case J is a fine collection of pieces of linen ornamented with patterns and designs woven in coloured threads, or worked in wools, from the tombs of Egyptian Christians, dating from A.D. 300 to 900. Of special interest are the squares with figures of Adam and Eve (No. 4), St. George slaying the Dragon (No. 18), and God the Father among the Seraphim (Nos. 21-24). The fine pieces of yellow silk, one with arabesque designs and an Arabic inscription in the Kûfî character, are remarkable (Nos. 25-27). Of =bier-cloths=, the finest example in Europe is probably that seen in Wall-cases 70 and 71, in the Second Egyptian Room. This cloth is embroidered in coloured wools, with a frieze of cherubs holding necklaces, baskets of fruit, flowers, etc. In the centre two cherubs are supporting a crown, within which is worked a cross, and the rest of the cloth is ornamented with doves, vases of fruit and flowers, rosettes, etc. It belongs to the period after A.D. 350.

The =Egyptian Tomb=.—The care taken by the Egyptians to preserve the bodies of their dead would have been in vain if they had not provided secure hiding places for their mummies. The mummy had to be guarded against the attacks of thieves and of wild animals, and placed beyond the reach of the waters of the Inundation. In primitive times the dead of all classes were buried in graves which were dug on the skirts of the desert, in the sandy or rocky soil; this custom was dictated by economical considerations, for the mud soil of the country, every yard of which was cultivated, was too valuable to the living to be devoted to the dead. The graves were usually oval in shape, and comparatively shallow, and they were covered over with slabs and layers of sand (see Case A, First Egyptian Room); it is probable that they were marked by some kind of stone or stake driven into the ground near the head of the grave. The graves, in which bodies were buried in a sitting position, were, of course, deeper than those in which they were laid on their sides. Over the graves of chiefs, huts made of reeds and grass were built, and offerings of food and drink were probably placed in them, as well as in the graves. At a later period mud houses took the place of the reed huts, and, still later, such houses were built of stone. In the Archaïc Period the buildings over the graves of the kings were rectangular in form, and they contained many chambers, wherein, no doubt, the ceremonies connected with the burial of kings were performed, and stores of provisions of all kinds for the use of the deceased were placed. At this time men and women of lower rank were buried in shallow graves, the sides of which were protected with crude bricks, and the poorest folk of all were buried together in pits, which belonged to the community.

[Illustration: The Step Pyramid at Ṣaḳḳârah.]

[Illustration: PLATE XIV.

False door from the Maṣṭaba tomb of Ȧsȧ-ānkh, a high official, who flourished in the reign of King Ȧssȧ, about B.C. 3400.

[Vestibule, South Wall, No. 53.]]

In the IIIrd dynasty, king Tcheser 𓍹𓐼𓧲𓐰𓂋𓐽𓍺, whose name a late tradition coupled with a very severe Seven Years’ Famine, built himself, at Ṣaḳḳârah, a magnificent tomb in the form of an oblong pyramidal building with six steps, to which the name of =Step Pyramid= has been given. Its total height is about 197 feet, and the length of its sides at the base is: south and north 352 feet, east and west 396 feet. A common name for the tomb is _Pa tchetta_ 𓉐𓐰𓏤𓆓𓐳𓐷𓏏𓐰𓇾𓐸, “House of eternity,” and tombs were endowed with estates by wealthy folk in perpetuity. The commonest form of tomb made for royal personages and nobles at this time, and for several centuries afterwards, was the heavy, massive building of rectangular oblong shape, the four sides of which were four walls symmetrically inclined towards their common centre. To this building the name of =maṣṭaba=, _i.e._, “bench,” has been given. It was thus called by the Arabs, because all the examples with which they were familiar, being more than half buried in sand, resembled the long low seats which are common in oriental houses. The exterior surfaces of the maṣṭaba are not flat, for the face of each course of masonry, formed of stones laid vertically, is a little behind the one beneath it, and if these recesses were a little deeper, the external appearance of each side of the building would resemble a flight of steps. The height of the maṣṭaba varies from 13 feet to 30 feet, the length from 26 feet to 170 feet, and the width from 20 feet to 86 feet. The plan of the maṣṭaba is an oblong rectangle, and the greater axis of the rectangle is usually in the direction from south to north. Maṣṭabas were arranged in rows symmetrically on all sides of the Pyramids at Gîzah. The maṣṭabas at Ṣaḳḳârah are built of stone and brick. The entrance to the maṣṭaba is usually on the east side. Near the north-east corner is sometimes found a series of long vertical grooves, or a “false door” (see =Plate XIV=), which is sometimes called the stele. Near the south-east corner is generally another opening, but larger and more carefully made; in this is sometimes found a fine inscribed limestone false door, and sometimes a small architectural façade, in the centre of which is a door. The top of the maṣṭaba is quite flat.

[Illustration: A group of Maṣṭaba tombs at Ṣaḳḳârah.]

[Illustration: Tablet for offerings, or altar, of Ḥeru-sa-Ȧst, a scribe.

[Southern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 14, No. 1034.]]

[Illustration: An Egyptian tomb of the maṣṭaba class.

=A.=—The hall of the tomb in which offerings were made.

=B, C.=—The pit, or shaft, leading to the mummy chamber.

=D.=—A small corridor.

=E.=—The mummy chamber.]

[Illustration: The soul, in the form of a human-headed bird, descending the pit of the tomb to visit the mummy in the mummy chamber.]

The interior of the complete maṣṭaba consists of: 1. A chamber. 2. The Serdâb. 3. A pit. 4. A mummy-chamber. The walls of the =maṣṭaba chamber= may be ornamented with sculptures or not. In it, facing the east, is a false door, which is usually inscribed. At the foot of the false door, on the bare ground, is often seen a =tablet for offerings=, made of granite, alabaster, limestone, etc., on which are sculptured figures of meat and drink offerings—cakes, loaves of bread, geese, a haunch of beef, vases of unguents, fruit, vegetables, flowers, etc. In many tablets for offerings small tanks, or hollows, with channels, are cut, and in these libations of wine were supposed to be poured. A large collection of such tablets for offerings of all periods, from the IVth dynasty to the Roman Period, is exhibited in the Egyptian Gallery, Bays 14 and 16. Sometimes a pair of stands for offerings, made of stone, is found by the stele; examples of these are exhibited in Wall-case No. 200, in the Fourth Egyptian Room. In the south or north wall of the maṣṭaba chamber is usually a narrow chamber built of large stones, partly hidden in the masonry, to which the name of =Serdâb=[25] has been given. Sometimes the serdâb is isolated from the chamber, but usually it is connected with it by means of a rectangular passage, or slit, so narrow that the hand can be inserted in it with difficulty. Inside the serdâb the statue of the deceased, which was intended to serve as a dwelling-place for the Ka, or double, was placed, and the passage was made in order to conduct to it the smoke and smell of the burning incense and offerings. The serdâb is sometimes called the “Ka-chapel,” and persons of means and position generally appointed a “priest of the Ka” to offer up offerings morning and evening. The =pit=, or =shaft=, of the maṣṭaba was rectangular, square, or oblong, but never round, and it varied in depth from 40 to 80 feet. It led to the chamber below the ground where the mummy was laid. At the bottom of the pit, on the south side, was an opening into a passage from 4 to 5 feet high; this passage led obliquely to the south-east, in the same direction as the upper chamber, and then expanded on all sides and became the sarcophagus chamber, or =mummy chamber=. When the dried or mummified body had been placed in the sarcophagus, and the cover of the sarcophagus had been sealed, the pit was filled with stones, mud, and sand, and the deceased was thus preserved from all ordinary chances of disturbance.

The =ornamentation of the maṣṭaba= consisted of sculptured scenes of three classes: 1. Biographical. 2. Sepulchral. 3. Those referring to the cult of the dead and funerary gifts. In them we see the deceased hunting, fishing, making pleasure excursions by water, listening to music and watching women dance, overseeing building operations, or the work of ploughing, sowing and reaping on his estate, the management of cattle, the bringing of offerings to his tomb, etc. The reader will gain a good idea of the general arrangement of the false doors inside the maṣṭaba chamber, and the painted decorations and sculptures of an ordinary maṣṭaba, by examining the complete monument exhibited in the Assyrian Saloon. This was built originally on the side of a small spur of the mountain near Ṣaḳḳârah for Ur-ȧri-en-Ptaḥ, a royal scribe and councillor who flourished in the reign of Pepi II Nefer-ka-Rā, about B.C. 3100. It is interesting to note that two “false doors” are found on the south wall of this maṣṭaba, one for Ur-ȧri-en-Ptaḥ and one for his wife Khent-kaut-s, and that the former contains a list of names of about ninety canonical offerings. The decorations of maṣṭabas never include figures of gods, or the emblems which at a later period were considered sacred.

The next form of the tomb was the =pyramid=,[26] which is to all intents and purposes merely a maṣṭaba built on a square base, with the greater part of it above the surface of the ground. It contained a long passage, with a sarcophagus chamber, or mummy chamber, at the end of it. The place of the maṣṭaba chamber was taken by a small temple, or chapel, built outside the pyramid, in which funerary gifts and offerings were made; the pit of the maṣṭaba was represented by a long passage, which sloped either upwards or downwards; and the mummy-chamber in each case was substantially the same. The principal pyramids of Egypt are those of Abû Roâsh, Gîzah, Zâwyet al-ʿAryân, Abû-Ṣîr, Ṣaḳḳârah, Lisht, Dahshûr, Al-Lâhûn, Ḥawârah, and Kulla. In the Egyptian Sûdân there are pyramids at Kurrû, Zûma, Tanḳâsi, Gebel Barkal, Nûrî, and Bagrawîr, but all these are inferior in design and construction to the pyramids of Egypt. The latest of the pyramid tombs in the Sûdân were built probably during the first or second century A.D. by a series of native queens, each of whom bore the name of “Candace.” A great many theories, chiefly of an astronomical character, have been formulated about the Pyramids of Gîzah: but it is now generally thought that they were tombs and nothing else, and there is no evidence to justify us in believing that they were built by any of the Hebrew patriarchs, or that they were the “Granaries of Joseph,” or that they contain chambers filled with gold and precious stones, which have not yet been discovered or cleared out. The kings of the XIIth dynasty followed the example of their predecessors of the Vth and VIth dynasties, and built pyramids for their tombs, but they were on a much smaller scale. The pyramids of Ȧmenemḥāt I and Usertsen I were at Lisht, those of Ȧmenemḥāt II and Usertsen III were at Dahshûr, the pyramid of Usertsen II was at Al-Lâhûn, and that of Ȧmenemḥāt III was at Ḥawârah. Nobles and high officials built pyramidal tombs, usually about 30 feet high, which were supposed to contain the three essential parts of the tomb, the upper chamber, the pit, or shaft, and the mummy chamber; but as a matter of fact, the body was buried in the brickwork which formed the base of such a pyramid; there was no pit, and the pyramid itself represented the upper chamber.

[Illustration: A section of the Second Pyramid of Gîzah, built by Khāfrā (Chephren), showing a piece of the original casing at the top, underground passage, and mummy chamber.]

[Illustration: Entrance to the tomb of Khnemu-ḥetep, an official, at Beni Hasan.

XIIth dynasty.]

[Illustration: PLATE XV.

View of a painted chamber in the tomb of the scribe Nekht.

XVIIIth dynasty, about B.C. 1450.]

[Illustration: PLATE XVI.

Wall-painting from a tomb.

_Scene_: Payment of tribute. Sûdânî men bearing rings of gold, logs of ebony, panther-skins, apes, etc.

[Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 13, No. 520.]]

=Rock-hewn tombs.=—The pyramid tomb was suitable for regions where the ground was flat, but the Egyptians who dwelt in places near mountains began at an early period of history to hew tombs in them. Thus at Aswân (Syene) the mountains on the west bank of the Nile contain three tiers of tombs, the oldest being those of nobles and governors of Elephantine under the VIth and VIIth dynasties. These are approached by means of a staircase cut in the slope of the hill, down the middle of which a smooth path was made for the purpose of drawing up the coffins and sarcophagi of the dead. At the top of the staircase the hill was scarped, and here the chambers of the tombs were hewn. The “false doors” were cut in the solid rock, and were above the mouth of the shaft, or pit, at the bottom of which, in chambers made for the purpose, the mummies were placed. Some of the tombs of the XIIth dynasty on the north side of the hill have long corridors leading to the mouths of the pits, and above these are the “false doors,” before which statues were sometimes placed.

[Illustration: Entrance to a royal tomb in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings.]

[Illustration: I. Ground Plan of the Tomb of Seti I, B.C. 1366.

II. Section of the Tomb of Seti I.

(From Lepsius, _Denkmäler_, Abth. I, Bl. 96.)]

[Illustration: Wall-painting from a tomb.

_Scene_: Servants of a high official bearing offerings to the tomb.

[Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 12, No. 517.]]

Under the XVIIIth dynasty rock-hewn tombs of great size were made, and the finest examples of these are undoubtedly the =Tombs of the Kings= at Thebes. The annexed plan and section of the tomb of Seti I will give an idea of the extent of the largest of them. A is a flight of steps, B a corridor, C a second flight of steps, D a corridor, E, F, and G are rectangular chambers, H and I corridors, K an ante-chamber, L the large six-pillared hall in which stood the king’s sarcophagus and mummy, and M, N, O, P, Q are chambers in which funerary ceremonies were performed. Under the sarcophagus is another staircase, which leads to an unfinished passage, its entrance being about 150 feet below the entrance to the first staircase; the total length of the tomb is about 700 feet. The walls of the corridors and of most of the chambers are decorated with hieroglyphic texts and vignettes which illustrate mythological legends and the funerary ceremonies, all painted in bright colours, and on the roof of the great hall are painted lists of the thirty-six Dekans and other stars, and several figures of solar and stellar gods. The Tombs of the Kings were all built on practically one and the same plan; the modifications which are found in the details are due partly to structural difficulties, and partly to the variation in the length of the time which was devoted to their making. They cover a period of about 550 years, _i.e._, B.C. 1600-1050. At the entrances to some of the tombs of nobles and high officials gardens were laid out and trees planted, and these were, of course, maintained out of the endowments of the tombs. Under the XXVIth dynasty attempts were made to reproduce tombs after the plans of the XIXth dynasty, and a few very remarkable tombs, _e.g._, that of Peṭā-Ȧmen-ȧpt at Thebes, were the result. The decoration was, however, inferior, and the scribes who drafted the texts for the walls contented themselves with making extracts from the old funerary compositions, and invented few that were wholly new.

[Illustration: Limestone coffin of Ḥes-Peṭān-Ȧst.

Ptolemaïc Period.

[Southern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 26, No. 968.]]

The poor were buried in shallow graves made in the desert, or in caves and hollows in the mountains. Some of the caves in the Theban hills are literally filled with skulls and bones and the remains of badly made mummies, and the same may be said of several “mummy pits,” in many parts of Egypt, which were the common property of the neighbouring towns. Among such remains are found cheap porcelain scarabs and poorly moulded figures of the gods, and sometimes coarse papyrus sandals, which prove that the equipment of the poor for their journey to the Other World was cheap and meagre.

=Tomb Equipment.=—To describe here in detail all the varieties of objects which may be fittingly grouped under this head is impossible, but the principal requirements of the dead of well-to-do folk may be thus enumerated: =1.= =Coffin=, or coffins, painted and decorated according to the means of the relatives. A fine collection of coffins, which illustrates all the important varieties between B.C. 2600 and A.D. 300 is exhibited in the First and Second Egyptian Rooms. Fine =sarcophagi= in wood and stone will be found in the Second Egyptian Room and in the Southern Egyptian Gallery (see =Plates XVII= and =XVIII=). =2.= A stele, or =sepulchral tablet=, recording the name and pedigree of the deceased, and containing usually a prayer to certain gods for sepulchral offerings (see =Plate XIX=). Examples of almost every kind of sepulchral tablet in stone will be found on the shelves in the Egyptian Galleries, and brightly painted wooden tablets are exhibited in the Third Egyptian Room (Wall-cases Nos. 99-113). =3.= A set of =Canopic Jars= (see above page 160). =4.= A =statue=, or figure, seated or standing, usually inscribed, which was intended to form a dwelling place for the “double” (Ka) of the deceased, and to receive the offerings of his friends and relatives. (See the double statue of Ka-ṭep and Ḥetep-ḥeres from their maṣṭaba at Gîzah, and Third Egyptian Room, Wall-case 99 ff.) =5.= A =ushabti figure=, _i.e._, a figure which was supposed to transform itself into a living man in the Other World at the command of the deceased, and to perform any agricultural work which he might be condemned to do. In some tombs scores of _ushabtiu_ have been found, and when a large number was buried in a tomb, a special box to hold them was provided. (For examples see Second Egyptian Room, Wall-cases Nos. 77-82.) =6.= A =Heart-scarab=, _i.e._, a model of a beetle (of the _Goliath_ species?) usually in hard green stone, which was either inserted in the breast of the deceased, where it was intended to take the place of his heart which had been removed during the process of mummification, or was fastened on the breast over the heart. It was inscribed with the text of Chapter XXXB of the Book of the Dead, in which the deceased prays that his heart may be victorious in the judgment, that no hostile or lying witnesses may appear against him, etc. This prayer is very old, and a Rubric to the LXIVth Chapter proves that it was in existence early in the IVth dynasty. Frequently the heart-scarab was inserted in a rectangular temple-shaped plaque, or pectoral (see Table-case I, in the Fourth Egyptian Room). =7.= A copy of some religious text or texts (=Book of the Dead=), written upon stone, wood, or papyrus. In the Vth dynasty such texts were cut on the walls of pyramid chambers, corridors, etc. In the XIth dynasty they were traced in ink on the stone mummy chambers and on the sides of wooden sarcophagi. (See the coffin of Āmamu in the First Egyptian Room, Case C.) In the XVIIIth-XXVIth dynasties they were written on rolls of papyrus which were placed in the coffin with the mummy, or between the legs of the mummy, or in a niche in the wall of the tomb. Sometimes the mummy was wrapped wholly in inscribed papyrus, and sometimes the texts were written on the linen swathings. =8.= A =set of vessels= (bowls, jars, vases, bottles, etc.) for holding unguents, oils, astringent liquids, etc., for use in the Other World. These were made of granite, diorite, breccia, alabaster, etc., and their shapes are often exceedingly graceful. A very complete collection of them will be seen in the Fourth Egyptian Room; the oldest date from the Archaïc Period, and the series continues to the XXVIth dynasty at least. =9.= Royal ladies and priestesses were usually provided with a =toilet box= containing combs, mirror, hair-pins, hair-tweezers, sandals, tubes of eye-paint, flasks of sweet unguent, etc.; for an example see Standard-case L, in the Fourth Egyptian Room. =10.= A =Pillow= made of wood, ivory, alabaster, etc.

[Illustration: Painted limestone figures of Ka-ṭep and his wife Ḥetep-ḥeres.

IVth dynasty, B.C. 3750.

[Vestibule, East Doorway, No. 14.]]

The tombs of the wealthy were provided with chairs, tables, couches, stools, boxes, painted and inlaid to hold jewellery, scents, etc., and many articles which the Egyptians used daily in their professions. The sistrum, cymbals, and bells which the priestess used in the temple were buried with her; the bow and arrows of the hunter, the favourite inscribed staff of authority of the official, the spear, dagger and axe of the warrior, the palette and colour-pots of the artist, the sceptre or symbol of office of the governor, children’s toys and dolls, dice, draughts, and counters used in games—all these things went to form the equipment for the tomb in individual cases, and examples of them are to be seen in the Third and Fourth Egyptian Rooms.

Of =personal ornaments= of the dead the variety is endless, but a very good general idea of them may be obtained from the collections in the Table-cases in the Fourth Egyptian Room. In =Case F=, one side is filled with amulets, many of which were worn for decorative purposes during life by their owners, and the other side contains a collection of =necklaces= and =beads= belonging to various periods between B.C. 1700 and A.D. 100. The beads are made of gold, amethyst, garnet, carnelian, mother-of-emerald, lapis-lazuli, agate, topaz, glass, etc., all which materials were believed to possess magical properties, and the pendants were intended to bring luck, long life, health, etc., to their wearers. The necklaces of the early period will be found in =Case J=, some of which belong to the period of the Early Empire; the porcelain beads and necklaces are in =Case B=. At one period unpierced, round and conical beads were made in Egypt. (See Table-case L, Second Egyptian Room.) They were found placed in semi-circular rows on a layer of clay, which was intended to serve as a necklace or breastplate for a mummy. A fine display of =gold rings=, =pendants=, =bracelets=, etc., will be found in =Table-case J= in the Fourth Egyptian Room. Worthy of special note are: the gold =bracelets= of =Nemareth= (Nos. 134, 135), the gold uraeus (No. 105), the “heart-scarab” in massive gold setting (No. 132), the hawk of gold (No. 133), gold pendant (No. 137), gold pectoral (No. 138), =gold bangle= with figures in gold and silver alternately (No. 140), gold lion (No. 175), =Scarab of Sebekemsaf=, a king of the XIVth dynasty (No. 195), =gold rings= inscribed with the names of Thothmes III, Ḥātshepset, Shishak I, Ȧmen-ḥetep III, and Ptolemy III (Nos. 198, 201, 217, 237, 266), =silver rings= inscribed with the names of Ȧmen-ḥetep IV, Shishak, and Psammetichus (Nos. 390, 392), and a very fine collection of 64 scarabs in agate, onyx, lapis-lazuli, etc., from the tomb of a princess of the XIIth dynasty, about B.C. 2400 (No. 382).

[Illustration: PLATE XVII.

General view of the Sarcophagus of King Nekht-Ḥeru-ḥebt, B.C. 378, engraved with scenes and texts from the Book of What is in the Other World, and selections from the Book of the Praises of Rā.

[Southern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 25, No. 923.]]

[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.

Granite sarcophagus of Nes-Qeṭiu, a prince, chancellor, and scribe of Ȧmen-Rā.

XXVIth dynasty, or later.

[Southern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 26, No. 825.]]

[Illustration: PLATE XIX.

Sepulchral tablet of Ban-āa, a scribe.

XVIIIth dynasty.

[Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 9, No. 474.]]