disturbed in their work, and probably dropped these as they On the following day the tomb was formally opened in the presence of the Duke of Connaught, and those who were allowed to enter it saw the most curious and gorgeous funeral furniture which has ever been seen in an Egyptian tomb. Mummy-cases plated with gold, exquisitely formed alabaster vases, painted boxes

and chairs, a chariot, etc., lay piled one above the other in barbaric profusion. The sepulchral chamber is about 30 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 8 feet high. To the left of the entrance were two large wooden sarcophagi, painted blue and gold, each containing two coffins, two for the man and two for the woman, who were the occupants of the tomb. Each outer case was plated with gold outside and lined with silver, and each inner case was plated with gold outside and lined with gold leaf. Near the wall to the right were two mats made of palm leaves, which are commonly called "Osiris beds." On

the mats layers of damp earth were laid, and in the earth wheat was planted in such a fashion as to outline figures of Osiris. When the grain grew up the form of the god appeared in living green. Primarily the placing of an Osiris mat in the tomb was merely an act of sympathetic magic, but there is reason to believe that in the XVIIIth

dynasty spiritual beliefs of a high character were connected with the custom. At the western end of the tomb were several large sealed jars full of wine and oil, and small boxes containing pieces of cooked meat wrapped up in black muslin. Above these was the chariot already mentioned, and close by was the set of "Canopic" jars, which contained

some of the intestines of the deceased.

Elsewhere in the tomb were found sandals made of papyrus and leather, boxes to hold ushabtiu, and ushabtiu made of wood, alabaster, gold and silver, and painted wooden vases. Worthy of special note are: 1. A box for holding the clothes of the deceased, made of palm-wood and papyrus: inside it is a shelf provided with papyrus flaps. 2. A box

plated with gold and blue porcelain. 3. A box, on four legs, with a rounded cover, inlaid with ivory; the names and titles of Amen-hetep and Thi are given in gold painted on a blue ground. 4. A long bed, with the head-piece ornamented with panels, wherein are figures of the old deities Bes and Ta-urt made of gilded ivory. This is undoubtedly the bed whereon the deceased had slept during

Outside of the head of the bedstead of Iuȧa and Thuȧu.

their lives, and the plaited flax on which they lay is curved by use. 5. A chair, ornamented with reliefs in gilded plaster. On each side is a figure of a gazelle, and a triple emblem of "life." In it is a cushion stuffed with goosefeathers. 6. A chair of state, with solid sides and back, ornamented with figures of gods and of Sat- men, daughter of Queen Thi. In front, at each side, just above the legs, is a carved female head; the seat of the chair is made of

plaited palm-leaves. 7. A chair of state which, like the preceding, belonged to Sat-Amen, with a representation of the deceased sitting, with a cat under her chair. The picture is lined by the so-called "Greek fret," the result, some think, of intercourse between Egypt and the Ægean. All the objects in the tomb are beautiful, and nearly all of

them are plated with gold, or covered with

gold leaf, or decora

Chair of State.

mothers-in-law.

ted in some way with the precious metal. The effect of so much gold is to give many of the objects a garish appearance, but it in no way destroys the beauty of their shapes and forms. When we remember that Åmen-hetep III. was master of all the gold-producing districts in the Sûdân we need not be surprised at such a display of gold on the funeral furniture of one of his fathers-inlaw and one of his

The forms of the name of Queen Thi's

father are Iuâa, Âaa, Åâa, and Aaaa,

AAA and 4 or 1

,

and his titles were "Erpa ha," "Smer-en-smeru," for which it is impossible to find exact modern equivalents, and he was

called the "mouth of the king of the South, and the ears of

The offices which he held were those of "seal-bearer," or "chancellor," and "priest of Menu" (or Amsu), and he was the "overseer of the cattle of the god Menu in the city of Apu" (Panopolis). His wife Thuảu, —

called the “ornament of the king," §,

is

and she was a

“priestess (gemāt) of Amen." Her husband is described as the "divine father (i.e., father-in-law) of the lord of the two lands," and she is often mentioned as the "royal mother of the great royal wife." Nowhere on the objects found in the tomb have we a hint as to their nationality, but it seems quite clear that they were not Egyptians. On the scarabs which Amen-ḥetep III had made to commemorate his marriage with Thi, the names of her father and mother are given without the addition of any title of honour, and without the signor, which would indicate that her parents were foreigners, but it is nevertheless probable that they were. From the way in which Queen Thi is addressed by some of the writers of the Tell al-'Amarna tablets we are justified in assuming that they were addressing a countrywoman. And this is probably the case. The titles of Iuȧa and Thuȧu mentioned above afford no reason for doubting this, for nothing would be more natural than for Åmen-ḥetep III to bestow high rank and titles upon his chief wife's parents. Meanwhile there is reason for believing that Queen Thi's influence made her son reject the pretensions of the priests. of Amen, and it seems that her religious opinions were unlike those of the orthodox Egyptians of Thebes. Further light will undoubtedly be thrown on this point by the publication of a volume by Mr. Theodore M. Davis, which, we learn from him, is to appear shortly.