BURIED IN A TOMB OF GOLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 13 April 1907, Page 4

BURIED IN A TOMB OF GOLD.

GORGEOUS SUPULCHRE FOUND AT THEBES.

Mr. Theodore I[. Davis lias discovered at Thebes the tomb of Teie, one of the greatest names ill the history of ancient ICgypt. She \<as, says the Times, the moth-l-and inspirer of the famous Amen-hotep IV., the "lii'iviic King" of the eighteenth dynasty, who broke Willi the religious tradition" of Egypt, and endeavored to introduce a pantheistic monotheism, the visible- symbol of which was the. solar

". '.: he worship of Anion, the god r.f his fathers, was proscribed, and for the lirsl. tune in history there was persecution for religion's sakt. The old religion of Egvpl triumphed in (he and the tomb of Teie bears witness to the blind rime of the victorious priesthood of Thebes and the intensity of their hatred towards the ••benlie King.''

The doorway of piled stones, which was ..enled with the roval seal, Mas partially Inokeii through, th- wooden doors were y,-r. nched ironi their hinges, the '.■..'l!:n was i.,iii to pieces, and the imnu mv it-Hi iurned over in order to erase lII'-.- Uf.-nie of the "lierelie King" incised mi ill- r-heel of gold which lay beneath it. Whcrcv'i- the nam ' the la-relic was found i; wa-. carefully de-t roved, and the tiee.ve of the King, adorning the solar di--r. which had teen engraved on

Din: i)l' tin: u'old plates of the catafaliplc, ffil- 11.1-I'll.'ll Oil I. 'I'll!' mi" 11. however, who thus violated tin- In,nli were mi common robbers. The havoc tl'i'V wrought was the result oi' iHli-ioiM zi'iil. mill -mi' I'm- these desecrations the tomb ivmaius -is it was lei'i liy tlii' priests amid tin- ilimes of a religion revolution which had spoilt its fore.'. he'ore -Moses was bom. Wherever the excavators walked they trod upon fragments of sold plate and gold leaf. The coilin, when it was discovered, lay on a liicr encrusted with gold, and supported en lour lion's claws, also of gold. The woodwork of the. bier has been converted into touchwood by the actio.i of wilier. The coilin, however, i., iulae!. and is a superb example of the jeweller's work'. (JOEDEX COFFIN. The v>cod of which it was composed is entirely covered with a frame of gold inlaid with lapis lazuli, cornelian, and green glass. The inlay represents for the most pari a pattern of scales, but down llic middle runs an inscription from which lie learn that the coilin was "made ioi Teie'' liy her son. The niiiimnv itself was wrapped from head to fool in sheets of gold. There were 1 lacelcts on the arms, and a necklace of gold heads and ornaments of gold inlaid villi precious stones round the neck, while the head was still cncirchl by a priceless object—the Imperia crown of the Queens of ancient Egypt. This crown is at once simple and e i(iiisiVi/ fashioned, and represents the royal vulture holding a signet-ring in either talon, while its wings surround the head, and are fastened'at the tips behind by a pin. The whole is of solid gold without inlay or other adventitious ornament. An idea of the personal appearance of (.Kieen Teie is gained from the four portrait tends which replace the heads of the genii of the dead of Egyptian orthodox,,' as the covers of the four cauopic jars.

These heads are done in Egyptian alabaster, with the eyebrows and eyeballs represented by inlays of lapis lazuli an.! tbsilian. The face is that of a woman at ou-'.s masterful mid engaging; but apart fiom the lips there is little that is Eg/plian about it, and the delicate suh-aipiiliine curve of the nose is European rather than African. Many articles of artistic interest were found in the tomb.