VALLEY OF THE KINGS

Otaki Mail, 3 January 1923, Page 4

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

' PILGRIMAGE TO BEGIN ON LARGE SCALE. j ROT ALT 2' INTERESTED. J London, December ill. The “Daily Mail” states that the ex | traordinary interest which is being Laj hen throughout the world iu Lord Carjharvou’s discoveries iu the Valley of j the Kings has led tile Egyptian Govern rneuL to erect a barrier lo prevent people entering the tomb aud spoiling | the treasures. Already there are great demands lor hotel accommodation in Luxor and district, aud a pilgrimage will begin on a largo scale as soon as it is possible to admit visitors, j Lord Carnarvon was received by Their Majesties at Buckingham Palace, ■and vividly described Iho treasures. ! Queen Mary was particularly interested in Lord Carnarvon's reports that a cable from Mr Carter, who is still in Egypt, might be construed to mean that he has made further discoveries.

It appears that for the lirst time the fabric in which Egyptian sovereigns . wore dressed has been found. The dresses of Tutankhamen’s queen are of . ! diaphanous material us portrayed in . Egyptian monuments, but never before j * seen or handled. So beautiful aud '

> delicate is tlie workmanship that their preservation is a matter of great diificulty, as objects long kept in a vault I are liable to fall to dust upon exposure to the air. On the back of the King’s throne is a unique portrait of the King in precious stones. There is nothing | to compare with its beauty among j former finds in Egypt. Life-size sta- | i hue's of the Pharoahs are known to | ! have been fashioned at that period ; from actual plaster masks,, thus a true ! I portrait has now been discovered of , I Tutankhamen. The excavators have ! also discovered how the Egyptians l lighted their palaces with twisted linen ‘ bands soaked iu oil held up in metal. “The Egyptologist ' ’ hopes that, the ; papyri will throw now light on the period. i j