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greatest discoveries ever made in Egypt. It will ever be regretted by the Egyptologist that this remarkable collection of mummies was not discovered by some person who could have used for the benefit of scholars the precious information which this "find" would have yielded, before so many of its objects were scattered; as it is, however, it would be difficult to over-estimate its historical value.

The following is a list of the names of the principal kings and royal personages which were found on coffins at Dêr el-Bahari and of their mummies :

XVIIth Dynasty, before B.C. 1700.

King Seqenen-Rā, coffin and mummy.

Nurse of Queen Nefertari Rãà, coffin only. This coffin contained the mummy of a queen whose name is read An-Ḥāpi.

XVIIIth Dynasty, B.C. 1700–1400.

King Aḥmes (Amāsis I.), coffin and mummy.

Queen Aḥmes Nefertari, coffin.

King Amenḥetep I., coffin and mummy.

The Prince Se-Amen, coffin and mummy.

The Princess Set-Amen, coffin and mummy.

The Scribe Senu, chief of the house of Nefertari, mummy.

Royal wife Set-ka-mes, mummy.

Royal daughter Mesḥentthemḥu, coffin and mummy.

Royal mother Aāḥ-ḥetep, coffin.

King Thothmes I., coffin usurped by Pi-net'em.

King Thothmes II., coffin and mummy.

King Thothmes III., coffin and mummy.

Coffin and mummy of an unknown person.

XIXth Dynasty, B.C. 1400-1200.

King Rameses I., part of coffin.

King Seti I., coffin and mummy.

King Rameses II., coffin and mummy.

XXth Dynasty, B.C. 1200-1100.

King Rameses III., mummy found in the coffin of Nefertari.

XXIst Dynasty, B.C. 1100-1000.

Royal mother Net'emet.

High-priest of Amen, Masaherthȧ, coffin and mummy. High-priest of Amen, Pai-net'em III., coffin and mummy. Priest of Amen, T'et-Ptaḥ-auf-anch, coffin and mummy. Scribe Nebseni, coffin and mummy.

Queen Mat-ka-Rã, coffin and mummy.

Princess Uast-em-chebit, coffin and mummy.

Princess Nesi-Chensu.

VIII. The Tombs of the Kings, called in Arabic Bibân el-Mulûk, are hewn out of the living rock in a valley, which is reached by passing the temple at Ķûrnah; it is situated about three or four miles from the river. This valley contains the tombs of the kings of the XIXth and XXth dynasties, and is generally known as the Eastern Valley; a smaller valley, the Western, contains the tombs of the last kings of the XVIIIth dynasty. These tombs consist of long inclined planes with a number of chambers or halls receding into the mountain sometimes to a distance of 500 feet. Strabo gives the number of these royal tombs as 40, 17 of which were open in the time of Ptolemy Lagus; in 1835 21 were known, but the labours of M. Mariette were successful in bringing four more to light. The most important of these tombs are :—

No. 17. Tomb of Seti I., B.C. 1366, commonly called 'Belzoni's Tomb," because it was discovered by that brave traveller in the early part of this century; it had already been rifled, but the beautiful alabaster sarcophagus, which is now preserved in the Soane Museum in London, was still lying in its chamber at the bottom of the tomb. The inscriptions and scenes sculptured on the walls form parts of

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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.)

the "Book of being in the under-world;" it is quite impossible to describe them here, for a large number of pages would be required for the purpose. It must be sufficient to draw attention to the excellence and beauty of the paintings and sculptures, and to point out that the whole series refers to the life of the king in the under-world. The tomb is entered by means of two flights of steps, at the bottom of which is a passage terminating in a small chamber. Beyond this are two halls having four and two pillars respectively, and to the left are the passages and small chambers which lead to the large six-pillared hall and vaulted chamber in which stood the sarcophagus of Seti I. Here also is an inclined plane which descends into the mountain for a considerable distance; from the level of the ground to the bottom of this incline the depth is about 150 feet; the length of the tomb is nearly 500 feet. The designs on the walls were first sketched in outline in red, and the alterations by the master designer or artist were made in black; it would seem that this tomb was never finished. The mutilations and destruction which have been committed here during the last twenty-five years are truly lamentable. The mummy of Seti I., found at Dêr el-Baḥari, is preserved in the Gîzeh Museum.

No. II. Tomb of Rameses III., B.C. 1200, commonly called "Bruce's Tomb," because it was discovered by this traveller, and the "Tomb of the Harper," on account of the scene in it in which men are represented playing harps. The architect did not leave sufficient space between this and a neighbouring tomb, and hence after excavating passages and chambers to a distance of more than 100 feet, he was obliged to turn to the right to avoid breaking into it. The flight of steps leading into the tomb is not as steep as that in No. 17, the paintings and sculptures are not so fine, and the general plan of ornamentation differs. The scenes on the walls of the first passage resemble those in the first

passage of No. 17, but in the other passages and chambers warlike, domestic, and agricultural scenes and objects are depicted. The body of the red granite sarcophagus of Rameses III. is in Paris, the cover is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and the mummy of this king is at Gîzeh. The length of the tomb is about 400 feet.

No. 2. The Tomb of Rameses IV., about B.C.. 1166, though smaller than the others, is of considerable interest; the granite sarcophagus, of colossal proportions, still stands in situ at the bottom. Having seen the beautiful sculptures and paintings in the Tomb of Seti I., the visitor will probably not be disposed to spend much time in that of Rameses IV.

No. 9. The Tomb of Rameses VI., or "Memnon's Tomb," was considered of great interest by the Greeks and Romans who visited it in ancient days; the astronomical designs on some of the ceilings, and the regular sequence of its passages and rooms are interesting. The fragments of the granite sarcophagus of this king lie at the bottom of the tomb.

No. 6. The Tomb of Rameses IX., is remarkable for the variety of sculptures and paintings of a nature entirely different from those found in the other royal tombs; they appear to refer to the idea of resurrection after death and of immortality, which is here symbolized by the principle of generation.

The Tomb of Rameses I., father of Seti I., is the oldest in this valley; it was opened by Belzoni.

The Tomb of Rechmàrā is situated in the hill behind the Ramesseum called Shêkh 'Abd el-Ķûrnah; it is one of the most interesting of all the private tombs found at Thebes. The scenes on the walls represent a procession of tribute bearers from Punt carrying apes, ivory, etc.,

* No. 35, according to Wilkinson, and No. 15, according to Champollion.

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