The Treasury of Ancient Egypt: Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology

Project Gutenberg's The Treasury of Ancient Egypt, by Arthur E. P. B. Weigall This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Treasury of Ancient Egypt Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology Author: Arthur E. P. B. Weigall Release Date: July 1, 2005 [EBook #16160] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TREASURY OF ANCIENT EGYPT *** Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Peter Barozzi and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. [Illustration: FRONTISPIECE. A statue of the hawk-god Horus in front of the temple of Edfu. The author stands beside it.] [_Photo by N. Macnaghten._ The Treasury of Ancient Egypt Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Arch ology � BY ARTHUR E.P.B. WEIGALL INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF UPPER EGYPT, DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES AUTHOR OF 'TRAVELS IN THE UPPER EGYPTIAN DESERTS,' 'THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AKHNATON, PHARAOH OF EGYPT,' 'A GUIDE TO THE ANTIQUITIES OF UPPER EGYPT,' ETC., ETC. RAND McNALLY & COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1912 _TO ALAN H. GARDINER, ESQ., M.A., D.LITT. LAYCOCK STUDENT OF EGYPTOLOGY AT WORCESTER COLLEGE, OXFORD, THIS BOOK, WHICH WILL RECALL SOME SUMMER NIGHTS UPON THE THEBAN HILLS, IS DEDICATED._ PREFACE. No person who has travelled in Egypt will require to be told that it is a country in which a considerable amount of waiting and waste of time has to be endured. One makes an excursion by train to see some ruins, and, upon returning to the station, the train is found to be late, and an hour or more has to be dawdled away. Crossing the Nile in a rowing-boat the sailors contrive in one way or another to prolong the journey to a length of half an hour or more. The excursion steamer will run upon a sandbank, and will there remain fast for a part of the day. The resident official, travelling from place to place, spends a great deal of time seated in railway stations or on the banks of the Nile, waiting for his train or his boat to arrive; and he has, therefore, a great deal of time for thinking. I often try to fill in these dreary periods by jotting down a few notes on some matter which has recently been discussed, or registering and elaborating arguments which have chanced lately to come into the thoughts. These notes are shaped and "written up" when next there is a spare hour, and a few books to refer to; and ultimately they take the form of articles or papers, some of which find their way into print. This volume contains twelve chapters, written at various times and in various places, each dealing with some subject drawn from the great treasury of Ancient Egypt. Some of the chapters have appeared as articles in magazines. Chapters iv., v., and viii. were published in 'Blackwood's Magazine'; chapter vii. in 'Putnam's Magazine' and the 'Pall Mall Magazine'; and chapter ix. in the 'Century Magazine.' I have to thank the editors for allowing me to reprint them here. The remaining seven chapters have been written specially for this volume. LUXOR, UPPER EGYPT, _November_ 1910. CONTENTS. PART I.--THE VALUE OF THE TREASURY. CHAP. PAGE I. THE VALUE OF ARCH O�LOGY 3 II. THE EGYPTIAN EMPIRE 26 III. THE NECESSITY OF ARCH �OLOGY TO THE GAIETY OF THE WORLD 55 PART II.--STUDIES IN THE TREASURY. IV. THE TEMPERAMENT OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 81 V. THE MISFORTUNES OF WENAMON 112 VI. THE STORY OF THE SHIPWRECKED SAILOR 138 PART III.--RESEARCHES IN THE TREASURY. VII. RECENT EXCAVATIONS IN EGYPT 165 VIII. THE TOMB OF TIY AND AKHNATON 185 IX. THE TOMB OF HOREMHEB 209 PART IV.--THE PRESERVATION OF THE TREASURY. X. THEBAN THIEVES 239 XI. THE FLOODING OF LOWER NUBIA 262* XII. ARCH �OLOGY IN THE OPEN 281** * Transcriber's note: Original text incorrectly lists page number "261". **Transcriber's note: Original text incorrectly lists page number "282". ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATE PAGE A STATUE OF THE HAWK-GOD HORUS IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE OF EDFU. THE AUTHOR STANDS BESIDE IT _Frontispiece_ I. THE MUMMY OF RAMESES II. OF DYNASTY XIX. 10 II. WOOD AND ENAMEL JEWEL-CASE DISCOVERED IN THE TOMB OF YUAA AND TUAU. AN EXAMPLE OF THE FURNITURE OF ONE OF THE BEST PERIODS OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART 17 III. HEAVY GOLD EARRINGS OF QUEEN TAUSERT OF DYNASTY XX. AN EXAMPLE OF THE WORK OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GOLDSMITHS 22 IV. IN THE PALM-GROVES NEAR SAKK R�A, EGYPT 36 V. THE MUMMY OF SETY I. OF DYNASTY XIX. 48 VI. A RELIEF UPON THE SIDE OF THE SARCOPHAGUS OF ONE OF THE WIVES OF KING MENTUHOTEP III., DISCOVERED AT D �R EL BAHRI (THEBES). THE ROYAL LADY IS TAKING SWEET-SMELLING OINTMENT FROM AN ALABASTER VASE. A HANDMAIDEN KEEPS THE FLIES AWAY WITH A BIRD'S-WING FAN. 62 VII. LADY ROUGING HERSELF: SHE HOLDS A MIRROR AND ROUGE-POT 71 DANCING GIRL TURNING A BACK SOMERSAULT 71 VIII. TWO EGYPTIAN BOYS DECKED WITH FLOWERS AND A THIRD HOLDING A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. THEY ARE STANDING AGAINST THE OUTSIDE WALL OF THE DENDEREH TEMPLE 82 IX. A GARLAND OF LEAVES AND FLOWERS DATING FROM ABOUT B.C. 1000. IT WAS PLACED UPON THE NECK OF A MUMMY 94 X. A RELIEF OF THE SAITIC PERIOD, REPRESENTING AN OLD MAN PLAYING UPON A HARP, AND A WOMAN BEATING A DRUM. OFFERINGS OF FOOD AND FLOWERS ARE PLACED BEFORE THEM 100 XI. AN EGYPTIAN NOBLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY HUNTING BIRDS WITH A BOOMERANG AND DECOYS. HE STANDS IN A REED-BOAT WHICH FLOATS AMIDST THE PAPYRUS CLUMPS, AND A CAT RETRIEVES THE FALLEN BIRDS. IN THE BOAT WITH HIM ARE HIS WIFE AND SON 108 XII. A REED BOX FOR HOLDING CLOTHING, DISCOVERED IN THE TOMB OF YUAA AND TUAU 118 XIII. A FESTIVAL SCENE OF SINGERS AND DANCERS FROM A TOMB-PAINTING OF DYNASTY XVII. 133 XIV. A SAILOR OF LOWER NUBIA AND HIS SON 144 XV. A NILE BOAT PASSING THE HILLS OF THEBES 159 XVI. THE EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF THE CITY OF ABYDOS 166 XVII. EXCAVATING THE OSIREION AT ABYDOS. A CHAIN OF BOYS HANDING UP BASKETS OF SAND TO THE SURFACE 175 XVIII. THE ENTRANCE OF THE TOMB OF QUEEN TIY, WITH EGYPTIAN POLICEMAN STANDING BESIDE IT. ON THE LEFT IS THE LATER TOMB OF RAMESES X. 186 XIX. TOILET-SPOONS OF CARVED WOOD, DISCOVERED IN TOMBS OF THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY. THAT ON THE RIGHT HAS A MOVABLE LID 192 XX. THE COFFIN OF AKHNATON LYING IN THE TOMB OF QUEEN TIY 207 XXI. HEAD OF A GRANITE STATUE OF THE GOD KHONSU, PROBABLY DATING FROM ABOUT THE PERIOD OF HOREMHEB 217 XXII. THE MOUTH OF THE TOMB OF HOREMHEB AT THE TIME OF ITS DISCOVERY. THE AUTHOR IS SEEN EMERGING FROM THE TOMB AFTER THE FIRST ENTRANCE HAD BEEN EFFECTED. ON THE HILLSIDE THE WORKMEN ARE GROUPED 229 XXIII. A MODERN THEBAN FELLAH-WOMAN AND HER CHILD 240 XXIV. A MODERN GOURNAWI BEGGAR 250 XXV. THE ISLAND AND TEMPLES OF PHIL WHEN THE� RESERVOIR IS EMPTY 269 XXVI. A RELIEF REPRESENTING QUEEN TIY, FROM THE TOMB OF USERHAT AT THEBES. THIS RELIEF WAS STOLEN FROM THE TOMB, AND FOUND ITS WAY TO THE BRUSSELS MUSEUM, WHERE IT IS SHOWN IN THE DAMAGED CONDITION SEEN IN PL. XXVII.