Volume9 No. 1
Summer1998
THE OSTRACO]Y
EGYPTIAN STUDY SOCIETY O DMNH| 9s9 PUBLICATIONSCOMMITTEE Graeme Davis Judy Greenfield Tyson Thome Frank Pettee lvlaryPratchett ESS STAFF LIAISON Dr. Robe.t Pickering THE OSIRACO/Vis publishedfour timesper year by membersof the EgyptianStudy Society.The ESS, a supportgroup of the DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, is a non-profitorganization whose purposeis to study ancientEgypt.Articlesare contributedby membersand scholarson a voluntarybasis.Memberparljcipationis encouraged.Nothingmay be reprintedin wholeor partwithoutwritten permlssron. 01998 EgyptianStudySociety Publicaqon of the Ostracon is suppofted by a grant from THE PETTY FOUNDATION
IN THISISSUE Page 2
Snakesand SnakeSticksin AncientEgypt by BillCherf
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RoyalMummies:Beforeand After by Marianne Luban
13
LectureRepofts
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Houseof Scrolls:Book Reviews
and -$nakes in
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;Aneient Eggpt by Dr.BillCherf
About the Author Dr. Bill Chei has a BA from lndiana University and MA and PhD from Loyola University of Chicago in Ancient History. He has taught at regional branches of the University of Minnesota and Michigan.During 1986-1987,he was an Alexander von Humboldt research fellow at the Kommission fur Alte Geschicte und Epigraphik in Munich. His publications range from ancient Egypt to Late Roman frontierhistory.Presentlyhe is a computer consultant lor Whittrnan-Haft.
lntroduction Topicsthat appear in this publicationtypicallydeal with the marand rarelythe mundane.This note,howvelous,the exceptional, ever, sharessome musingson a mundanesubject:snakes and snake sticks. ln order to appreciatetheir impact upon ancient Egyptiancivilization, the followingwill be discussed:the snakes indigenousto the Nile Valley,the Egyptiansolutionfor lhem, whal rolesnakesplayedin the Egyptianafterlife,and the signiflcance of the snakesticksfoundin the tomb of KinaTutankhamen. Snakes of the Nile Valley The flourishingancientNile Valleyecologywas one of seemingly infinitefloral and faunal diversityand the ancient Egyptjanlanguage reflectsthis, especaallyregardingbirds. Yet that same no less than thirty djfferenttypes of snakes tonguedifferentiated whose habitatsencompassedevery ecologicalniche of the Nile Valley.Snakeswere presentin bushes and trees, in caves and holes,along riverbanks,in the riveritself,in the irrigationcanals, the cultivatedfleldsof temples,and privaiegardens.Snakeswere presenlthroughoutlhe surroundingdesert margins.In addition, they burrowedinto all types of soil - even the soft mud brick of This last situationleadto magicalspellsfor domesticarchiteciure. "freeinga hoLjsefrom the poison of any snake, rnale or female." lmagjnethat you are a commonEgyptianfarmer.ln the pre-dawn lightyou toddleofJalonga dustypath to a typicalday'swork in the flelds.You are bare toot, nakedfrom the waisl up, wearinga light kilt,perhapsa sweat band,and some sort of head coveringfrom a shortagr! the day'shighsun.Youare carryinga watercontainer, culturalhoeingtool or sickle,and maybe a mid-morningsnack. Duringyourday'sweeding,repairofthe irrigation channels,or harvestingin the hip-deepwheat, you work the day long bent over with your head close to the ground.What sorts of snakesmight you encounterliterallyeye-to-eye?Or, mofe to the point,which ones don'fyou wanl to run into? Cobras Twenty-twospeciesof cobraare nativeto the NileValleyand thirteenare poisonous- threeare downrightdeadly.Perhapsthe most reveredof this family was the hooded cobta (Naja hale). This snake gave rise to the royal uraeus- an enragedhoodedcobra, that appearson every Egyptiancrown as the totem symbol of Lower Egypt.These snakes,usuallya uniformgolden brown in colorwith a blackcollarand head,can reacheightfeet longwith a hood is formed centralgidh of six inches.The snake'swell-knov,/n by the swingingout of long, movable,anteriorribsthat stretchthe
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loose skin of the neck. A shy but frequenl visitorof cultivatedlields and gardens, one memorable specimen 'protected'for years the OrientalInstitute'svegetablegarden in Luxor As is well known,the hoodedcobra is the snake ot choiceof Norlh African snake charmers, because the snake's strike as relatavelyslow and avoidable. Also, this shy snake can be made relatively docile through overfeeding and repealed milking of its venom sacks. Cobra venom is a nearly painless, neurotoxinthat attacks the nervous system and brain.When the musclesof the diaphragmceaseto function,the victim suffocates and dies. All members of the cobra family are termed proteroglyphs,meaning that their venom-deliveringfanqs are fixed and non-movable.When cobras strike,they bile and chewfrom side to side in orderto envenomtheirvictims. Another cobra of note, this one native to the Nile Valley'sdesert margins, is the hoodless or spitting cob.a (Naja nigicol/s). Unlike its hooded cousin, lhis snake is sandy-coloredand grows to a length of ten feet with a central girth of eight inches. Venom ejected from this snakes' speciallyevolved fangs can blind prey within a t\r,/oto three meter radius.A very aggressive snake, the spitting cobrawas especiallyfearedby the ancientEgyptians,and as we in the mythologyof the shallsee below,this fearwas memorialized sun god Re's encounterwith the snakedemonApophis. Vipers Two membersof the viperfamilyare nativeto the NileV'alley. The sand viper (Ceraslesv,'pera)is common to the desert marginsand (s_b.0so oftenmentionedin may be the dreaded"mottled-snake" Egyptianmagicaltexts.But its the hornedviper (Cerastescomutus) that is perhapsthe best known.A sandy yellowsnake with brownspotsand two distinctiveprotruberences aboveits eyes,the hornedviper,while relativelysmall at lhfee feet long, is easy to accidentallystep on. lts bite like its desert cousin is drop-dead deadly.The hornedviper'simage is a familiarone, for it was chosen by the Fgyptiansto be lhe glyphfor the consonant'F'.By the is a tissuedestroyby,vipervenomis hematoxicand consequently your body'scells on contact. ing agent,in essencedisintegrating Once bitten.viper venom producesan excruciatingburningpain and inflammation in the area or limbaffected.As it passesthrough the blood stream,the venom's toxin eventuallyaffects the cardiac All membersof the viperlamily tissueproducingfatal arrhythmia. are called solenoglyphs,meaningthal they have nrovablefront fangsthat fold back intothe mouthuntiltheyare needed.Movable fangs make vipersextremelydangerous,becausethey can open their mouthsalmostto a full 180 deqrees,extendtheirfangs,and literallystab theirvictimwith them. As to which snake Queen CleopatraVll choseto commitsuicide with in 31 8.C.,she chosethe hoodedcobra.Why? First,it was the sacred snake of Lower Egypt. Second, the hooded cobra by Hellenisticlimes was consideredthe magicalfamiliarof the sun god, whose biteconferrednot only immortality, but also divinity.In essence,Cleopatrachosea royalroadto deathand the company of gods.And third,her choiceof the hoodedcobrawas dictatedby expediency:the snakewas a highlypoisonous,relativelypainiess, neurotoxicvector.
The EgyptianSolution The long-livedEgypiian civilizationwas an agrarian one. The myriad complexes of temples, palaces, granaries, and administrative buildings could hardly be called 'cities' in the modern sense. Farmedsfields were every},here and they were the home of several grain-eating fauna: insects, birds, and above all rodents, which are a favoritefood of snakes, whether poisonousor nol. But how would a farmer know when he venlured hip-deep into his tields? How would he protect himsell? He needed a practicaltool. Above all, the ancient Egyptians were a practical people. When iaced with the challenge of how to easily and swiftly dispatch a dangeroussnake a tool was devisedthat was as ingeniousas it was simple: a five lo six foot wooden stick with a forked end. The snake stick was born and it is known in the literature by several names: cbw.t- (var. cbb.t ), ci33.t-, wdy-, mcnh.t- (var. mnh.t-), mhhw-, ms.t-, mdw- (varmd ) , smc-, shm-, sgmh-, dmy-staves and mtc-lance). The snake stick worked as follows. The theory was first to pin a dangeroussnaketo the ground,while holdingthe stick in your lefr hand. Then, with your free right hand, you would dispatch the snake with a club, hatchet, or large machete-like,three-foot-long knife lhat the Egyptianswere especiallyfond of. Simply said. But in actualfaci, snake huntingwas a practicedskjll, an art-form,that required experience, quickness,and excellent right and left hand dexterity.Otherwise,you could find yourself quickly out of a job. lmagineagainfor a moment:stab and pin the snakedownwiththe left,bend down and quicklychop or hack with the right.That was the technique.
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Occasionally, however, one does read in the ancient sources about crushing a snake's head with the sole of a foot. This writer suspects that such a play wilh a writhing, ten-foot, spitting cobra would be ratherdicey.Clearly usingthe sole of one's foot suggests if not outrightstupidity. arrogantshowmanship, The earliesl evidence for such forked snake sticks date from the PredynasticPeriod,or about 3000 8.C., and they persistin the archaeologicalrecord until the end of the New Kingdomsome two thousandyears later.As you might expect,over the course of some 2000 years of use, the basic designof lhe wooden snake stick as illustratedin Figure 1 evolved in three areas:the shaft - let, ter A, the prongjunction - letter B, and lhe fork itself - letter C. This evolution would revolve around two simple goals: reliability,and then later,destructivepower.
Fig0ft l. The prl-t oftb. EF?tian rorked cbr.t-iklr: .d Sh.l! 8.Prcry junctiotri C. Pmngr. Seb r:5
Typical reliability issues ot the wooden snake stick were stress cracks or fracturesthat would causedsplinteringalong its shaft (A) and prong junction (B). We know this because of ancient repairs thatwere madeto MiddleKingdomexampleswhichare on display at the MetropolitanMuseum in New York. One design response, as illustratedin Figure 2, was first to choose a narrowerfork that would inhibitsplittingalong the prongjunctionas in ExampleB. Another strategy is illustratedin Example C, where a leather or cord bindingwas added to slrengthenthe shaft and prongjunction. In example D, the fork ltself was strengthened by warping it through either soaking,heat, or pressureinto a U-shape.And finally in example E, metal bands were added to the shafr pummel, prong junction, and fork tips in an efiort to prevent both splilting and wear
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Snakesand the EgyptianAfterlife Snakes have long played a significantrole in the religiouspsyche of the ancienl Egyptian. There were good snakes, such as Nebheb-kau. One presented one's soul to him for judgement. But by the Eighleenth Dynasty and thereafrer, snake demons play a steadily increasing role in the Book of the Dead, the Book of Gates, and other late Egyptian,funerary texts. Chief among them is the demon-snakeApophis,who challengeddailythe sun god's progressthroughthe underworld.Thls malignantserpentdemon is no less than a forty-cubif long, tire spitting cobra, armored with scalesofflint. Apophis is describedas: "spittingfiery venom" at the sun god on his passing.As you might have alreadysurmised, Apophis is no less than lhe mythological,supernaturalmanifestation of the dreaded spitting cobra. Another exampleis the numerous depictionsof snakesboth good and evil,this time depictedin the hieratictexts on the walls of ihe burial chamberof Thutmose lll in the Valleyofthe Kings.Here,in this slide,goodblacksnakesare shown cavorting,center. Here, in this example, good snakes are rightofthe doorway.Allthosesnakesconsidered shownslithering, knives,stickingoui of harmfulare depictedwith long,machete-like their bodies,as they are to the right of the doorway.And let us not forgetthe many papyruseditionsof the Book of the Dead,wherein snake demons of the underworldare depictedhaving their heads severed by the knife-welding,tabby cat-goddess i{afdet, herselfan ally of Re. And so givensuch serpentinedangersin the underworld,the ancient Egyptiansdevelopedelaborate,magically empowered, snake-sticks that were then buried wilh the deceased,placed strategicallywithin lheir coffr'nson the left side, and thus withineasy reach.
But what about improvingthe statrs destructivepower? See Figufe3, where crossbarswere attachedto the fork's prongs,to befteroinchor even dislocatea snake'svertebra.lf a snakecould of the lefthand staband be so iniured,thenthe trickycoordination pin motionwith ihe righthand chop and hack couldbe eliminaled. As with all things useful,the Egyptiansnake stick subsequently underwenta developmentduringthe lgth and 20th Dynastiesas seen in Figure4; from a simplewoodenimplemenlto a composite tool of wood and metal,and finallyto a one-piecebronzetiork that was attachedto the end of a woodenshaftmuchlikea spearhead. In exampleA, pointedprongtips were addedto preventwear. In exampleC, a thin bronzesheathingwas beatenaroundand then tackedon to the wooden shaft. But it is exampleB, where true prog.esswas made,for the crossbarlinkingthe fork'stwo metallic prongspossesseda sharpened,chisellikeedge.The snakestick had fnally becomea weapon- literallya snakeguillotine. of the Egyptian the tlnal development As best as can ascertained, snake stick as a practical,utilitariantool endedwith the development of a cast, one-piece,bronze fork that was then attachedto a simplewoodenshaft.Once cast in bronze,prongwear and splitting becamea thingof the past.In addition,thesecastingsprovide designlink of the Egyptiansnake stick into a the developmental truly magicalweapon of the underworld- a device of considerable magical power. In fact, they, along wilh their associated magical inscriptjons,became the ancient Egyptians'primary defense To the ancient againstthe many snakedemonsof the underworld. Egyptian,this process js a logicalone, for it was reckonedthat the journeyto the afterlifemust be as infestedwith poisonoussnakes as any day among the living.This pervasivefear of snakes- or ophidiophobia, so clearlyapparentin the ancientEgyptians'daily life,then, logically,came to permeatehis religiousbeliefs. A
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Such a powerfully magical anti-snake device was the forked bronze butt. Technologically,it is a bronze casting attached to a wooden shaft. Ceremonially,it is an elaborate magical device that protected its owner by seeking out and destroying the snake demons of the underworld. Such magical devices possessed much sympathetic,magical symbolism.For example, in some examDlesthe crossbaris made up of three elements- two horizontalbars decoratedwith snake skin scalingand betweenthem the squiggleof a writhing,headlesssnake.In othersthe fork castpreserveslashingor bindingat the prongjuncing conservatively In othersuch castingsthe guarantee of magicalreliability. as a tion head and horns of the protectivegoddess Hathor appear. On anolher,the image of the proteclive sprite Bes - a favorite of parentsto protecttheiryoungchildrenfrom the bitesof snakes.Under no circumstancescould such bronze forked castings be understood as meaninglessornamental spear decorationsas Sir FlindersPetrieand TrudeDothanthoughtthey were. The Snake Sticks of the Tomb of Tutankhamen Among the dead boy-king'sgrave goods on open displayin the Cairo Museum are many fine wooden stavesthal have been anterpreted by Howard Carler as a royal staff collection.I suspect however lhal the collectionrepresentsmuch more: memories,trophies,diplomaticgiftsto be sure,but pra.trcalandmagicalloolsas wellfor tlve snakestickswere foundin his tomb.lt is crucialto note that they were found in two locations:in the king'sAntechamber and within the First Golden Shrine of the burial chamber itseif. Noteworthyalso is that the snake sticks found within the First GcldenShrinewere recoveredin situ, in otherwords where they wefe originaliy placed, whereas those found within the Antechambermay have been disturbedby a premodernbreak-in inlothe tomb.
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Carter's fleld notes record their in s/ii location as; "between [the] outemost ancl second shines: standing on [the] left (south) side of [the] doors...tiedtogether with /nen st pls/." These sticks were sturdilyhafted,coatedwith plastergesso,and entjrelygilt in gold foil. Their prongtips are freshlyblunt-cut,show littleor no wear, and theirvariedprongtip lengthsindicatetheirfunctionalspecializationsin eithersoft or stonysoil conditions.Thesesnakesticks, lmagine the clutter of the Antechamberas Howard Carter original- unliketheir cousinsin the Antechamber, clearlyhave neverseen ly had found it. And as with all of the other lunerary paraphemalia use. Instead,they were purposelypreserved in plaster gesso and found within Tutankhamen'sAntechamber(bread, Iinens, toi- gold foil in a consciouseffort to preventwood roi, desiccation,and letries,weaponry,chariots,etc.),ihe presenceof lwo snakesticks insect infestation.Once so prepared,they were then placedwithin and a short forked baton imply their practicaluse during his life- the king's burial chamber ready for use in the afterlife.These two time. Carter'sown fleld notes recordthat twc snake-stickswere goldensnakestickswithinthe Fi!'siGoldenShrinehad a specific found "agalnsl [the] wa to lthel left rJf [the Antechambefs] magicalpurpose:to ward off the snakedemonsof the underworld. entrance:behind chai"t \lheels 133. 134 & 136. Stackedcare' But y,/hywere they foundbound,stacked,and purposefully placed lesslytogether.AiE1. .)('.;tiar!? Ore ofthese snake sticks even in the shrine'ssoutheastern corner?Becauseon the shrine'sintecarriedthe followingi i:ed i sc|iptionin blue paint (Figure5): rior left panel,where the golden snake stickswere stacked,was "King of Upper and Lo.ver Egypt, Kheper-neb-Ra,granted life." inscribeda powedulanti-snakespellfrom the Book of the Divine Therecan be no question,therefore,as io who used and owned Cow. The spell is quite explicit.The god Thoth, speakingfor this snakestick.lt was Tutankhamenhimself. Tutankhamen, saysto the eadh god Geb the following: Ali the Antechambeds snakesticksexhibitthe telltalesignsof use Takeheedof your serpentswhichare in you. Behold,they and have structuralfatiguecracks,splits,and wear. In one examfearme in my form,but you knowthei utility.Go thento the ple, there is clear evidenceof splittingat the prongjunctionthat place in whichthe Fatherof the Abyssis and tell hin he had been couldhave only occurredif this so-called'walking-stick' keepguardoverthe serpentsin the eafthandin the should usedwith its forkedelrd pressuredagainstthe ground.
water.Writeit down as well, and take yourselfto every spot
The locationof the short forked baton is not clear and does not wherethe serpentsare, and say: appearanywherein Carteis field notes.lts length,at a rnere 1.1 meters,is shorl for a walkingstick,but as a snake baton- much Beware lest you spoil anything! like those used by professionalsnake-handlers,its presence TraditionalEgyptianmagicalpracticedictatedthat magicalinscripstronglysuggesls that its royal owner had acquired a skill at hantions should be inscribedon or near the objectsthat they were dlingsnakesat a very closerange. meant to empowet Proximity,in other words, was the criticalfacWthin the First Golden Shrine,itselfonly the outer-mostof four tor.This importantsymbioticrelationship betweenmagicaltextand such shrinesthat protectedthe rose granitesarcophagusof lhe its empoweredweaponryis worth noting.for the aboveanti-snake youngking,were foundbehindthe left-handdoor of the shrinetwo spell,the only one of its kind in the entirefunerarydeposit,was speciallypreparedsnakestickswere placedbundledand stacked associaledwiththesetwo goldensnakesticks. againstthe inner,left-handpanel.
Someconclusions Four observationscan be made regarding the impact of snakes and snakestickson ancientEgypt. First,giventhe ecologicalconditionsof the Nile Valley,its ancient respondedlo thosechallengesin practicaland creative inhabitants \.r,/ays - only one of which was the invention and gradual technologicalimprovementof the woodensnake stick into its composite wood/metallicvariety, and Unally,a one-piece, cast bronze fork. once establishedas a practicalanti-snaketool, the ceremonial forked bronze castings, as identifiedby Trude Dothan, were employedas magicalantisnakedevicesusedto protecttheirowners in the underworld. Second,the next lime that you happenacrossan Egyptiantomb wall scene of an individualwith a staff standingknee-deepin a field of grain,while others are harvesting,think twice about the misleadingcaptionthat usuallyreads:"Overseerduringharvest." lMorelikelyis the fact that the individualwith the staffis a snake lookoutor the local snake exterminalor. Third,in regardsto the staffcollectionof the youngTutankhamen, it seems lo representfar more than just an amateurishcolleclion of walking sticks as Howard Carter had originallysupposed. lnstead,on the basisof their locationwithinthe burial,lhe former use and clearly inlended future function of the king's snake sticks can be precisely outlined. In life, Tutankhamen used, and was found enough of, three forked implementsto have them placed in his Antechamber along with his other mementoes of life, which offer at the very least a glimpse oi the ecologicalhazards of everyday Egyptianlife.But in death,the youngkingwas armedwith two stout snake sticks that were carefully prepared for eternity, and placedwithinthe FirstGoldenShrinein closeproximityto a powerful anti-snake text. As in life, so also in death, the king was expectedto use these implements. Fourth and finally,on lhe basis of the archaeologicaland epiwas a pracgraphicalevidence,it is highlylikelythat Tutankhamen in handling that skill snake ticedsnakehandler.lt may very well be was a cultivatedand necessary pharaonicattributefor cullic reasons, if not a preparationfor personal death. After all, the dead king had to defend himself from snake demons in the underworld in order to Dreservethe balanceof the Universe,and to defeat the dark powers of the snake demon Apophis and his familiars Althoughsnake-handlingthroughoutthe Middle East is a commonplace,physicaland epigraphicevidencetor such a practiceby an Egyptianpharaohhas, untilnow,been a neglectedtopic.
Bibliography W J. Cherf, "The Function of the Egyptian Forked Staff and the Bronze Forked Butt: A Proposal," Zeitschift f0r die Agyptische Sprache 109 ('1982);86-97; W- J. Cherf, "Some Forked Staves in the Tutcankhamun Collection." Zeitschrift fiir die Agyptische Sprache 115 (2) (1988):107-1'tO: T. Dothan,"Forked Bronze Butts from Palestineand Egypt," /srael ExplorationJoumal 26 ( 1976):20-3,.', A. Hassan Stcickeund Stabeim pharaonischenAgypfen (Munich 1976\: A. Piankoff. ed.. N. Rambova The Shines of Tut-AnkEAmon (Princeton1955).
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Qogal Wlummies $etove and o41i", bg UlJadanne 4fubon About the Author Mananne Luban is a life-long student of ancient Egypt who specializesin the royal mummies of the New Kiltgdool and in Egyptian language.She is a/so a writer living in Minnesota,whose shotl fic' tion colleuion, "The Samaritan Trcasure' is described in "500 Great Books By Wamen" (Viking/Penguin),and the moderator ol an lnlemet discusslon list called "Scnbelisl', devoted to ancient Egyptian topics. ln their book, An X-Ray Atlas of the Royal Mummies, Edward F. Wente and James E. Harris presenteda number of hypotheses and viewpojntson the royal mummiesof Egyptbased upon radioiogicalevidenceand computerimaging,taking into consideration cranio-facialmorphologyand dentition.They dealt with family genealogies, age at deathand physicalproblems,presentingtheir fashion. flndingsin a remarkablyorganizedand comprehensible Wthout a doubtthe work of Wente and Harrisis the most scientifthat are recognized to date addressingthe probJems ic AUblication are summaof rhe mummies.Thesedifficulties in the ldentification rizedIn an articleby EdwardWente, 'U/hoWas Who Among the Royal Mummies", which appeared in The Oiental lnstitute News and Noles.No. 144,Winter 1995,and is availableon lhe Internet. l,Iv own work with the royal mummies ol the 18th and 19th Dvnastiescannol be considereda scientificendeavor.I base my conclusions on the evidenceof my own eyes (and the perceptions of certainartistsof ancientEgypt).I did "computerimaging",but my brain was the comouter.Wente and Harriswere concerned with how thingslooked behindthe royal faces. I was concerned wilh the facesthemselvesas preservedby the art of mummification as practicedby the sncient embalmers.Yet, ultimately,my and lhe otherswho differedliii l lrtm Wente,Ha,-ris, obsen,ations conlributedto theirboof Sometimesthingscan be revealedto us withoutthe ardof technology,if we just look hard enough. I believeit is quitesafeto say that nothingin Egyptologyfascinates us more than ihe remainsof the pharaohsand their ladies.They, likethe mummiesof Egyptiancommoners,are the land of Kemet's noblestand most poignantlegacyto us. To allthe many questions we have regardingancientEgypt,these mummiesonce knewthe answers,but now lhey are foreversilent. Still,manythingsaboutthe mummiesspeakeloquentlyaboutwhat types of peoplethey were, what they may have died of and how the royal mummiescertainold they were at dealh.Nevertheless, ly have presented more puzzles than provided answers. Some of the mysteriesconnectedwith them may possiblybe clearedup by doingDNA testingon the royalremains.Apparentlysampleshave beentaken for such an analysis,but the resultsor findingshave yet to be disclosed. I have beenenamoredof the idea of ancientEgyptmost of my life and, when mummiesceasedto be objectsof hcrrorfor me, they became part of my fascination as well. I have been on a flrstname-basiswith lhe royal mummies for quite some time but, recently,my interest in them has taken a new form. It all startedwhen I came acrossa large photo of the mummy of the "Elder Lady,"found in Amenhotepthe Second'stomb, in a
magazinead. I was struckonce againby the delicacyof her bone beautydefyingdeath itself.On a whim I structure,the aristocratic look a pieceof fairlytransparenlpaperand tracedthe proflleof the mummywith the aim of tryingsome regression.I am a wrrter not an artist,and have rarelydrawnanything,but the resultof my fool ing aroundwith the pencilsurprisedme lt lookedsomehowrrght and even vibrant!| began to developa method by which to do other pharaonicportraits.I freelyadmitthat my arNvorkis nothjng lt is very differentfrom the lovelyiittlepaintingsof the spectacular. kings and queens of Egypt by thal flne artist,VvlnifredBrunton, whichwere done overfiftyyearsago. UnlikeBrunton,I have made only a perfunctory attempt to render clothing,jewelry, and headdresses.I was concernedwith the livingfaces of the pharaohs. Vvhen I drew a crown or a head-cloth,it was a rudimentaryone Afterallwe knowwhat those lookedlike.I withoutembellishment. had a lot of difficultywith the uraeus,the cobra,and was tempted to show it likethe ancientsdid, out of perspeclivel It is no exaggerationto say that, for about a year, I lived and breathedmummies,studiedstatues,paintingsand reliefs- allwith a view to conjuringup, if only in my mind, the living faces of Amenhotep,Thutmose,and Ramses.Sometimesmy conclusions agreed with VvinifredBrunlon, more often they did not. Brunton's Egyptianporlraits are beautifuland colorful but, with a few exceptions, they seem to me to express a certain denial that the pharaohsand queensmighthave appearedany differentfromthe Tutankhamunis seen the ultra-exotic averageBriton.So?nehow, Englishchoirboy. by Bruntonas a rosy-cheeked I wantedto stickto drawingonlythe personagesof whom we have remainsat that.but,in the mummifiedremainsand well-preserved the end, I had to draw a coupleof famousqueensby the popular demandof my Egytophilefriends.Truly,I wantedto use my imaginationas littleas oossible.but foundthat even with the best-lookthere is alwayssomethinggone ing examplesof mummiflcation, sadlyout of whack.Knowingfamilytraitsis helpfulin dealingwith and mosthelpfulare the ancientartisls, theseinevitabledistortions some of whom did a wonderfuljob in conveyingthe individual of their subjectswithinthe stylisticlimitalions. characteristics It must be stressed, from the outsel, that the current identitilicationsof the royal mummiesfoundin lhe Deir el Baharicache and KV35,the lomb of Amenhotepll, are basedupon docketswritten by the priestsof the 21st Dynaslyon their re-wrappedremainsor re-furbishedcoffins. Many of these coffins belongedto other individualsand bear the names of theiroriginalowners.lt is my opinion, however, based partly upon my work, that the priests of the necropolis, the Valleyof the Kings,used extremecautionin their docketingand were, for the most part, correct. VVhydo some of us study these long-deadEgyptiansso closely and yearnto know as much as possibleaboutthem, going so far as to try to make them look slill alivein artisticrenderings?Even in the horrorfilms,the mummiesalwaysget up, often committing mayhem,sometimessearchingfor lost loves.lt is as if these people camefrom such a magical,glittering,mysteriousplacethat we can'tbearfor them lo be well and trulydead.
belongs to the widow, herself. I could confuse future generations in my own familyby simplyplacinga lock of my mother'shair in a possibox with my name on it, or vice versa,and Ankhesenamun, bly usinga pieceof her grandmothe/sfuneraryequipment,never expectedlhe memenlowouldever be gazeduponagain. Yet the "EIder Lady" does resemble many portraitsof Queen Tiye becausethe latleris almostalwaysshownas a littlewomanwith a lurned-upnose and a resolutechin like those of the mummyfrom KV35.Some Egyptologists usedto leantowardHatshepsutas the "ElderLady's"true identity.Hatshepsut,you see, was very ofien portrayedas a littleman with a turned-upnoseand a resolulechin - only hers had a false beardattachedto itl The "ElderLady"certainly resemblesneitherparentsffuya and Thuya)nor what we knowofthe facesof the progenyofTiye. lf the "ElderLady"resembles anyoneit is the young prince,aged betweenelevenand lhirteen, found lying beside her in KV35. I can't understandwhy nobodyhas commentedon it, it seemsso obviousto me that this musl be her son.One thingwe do knowfor certainaboutthe "Elder Lady" is that she wasn't very old when she died, at lhat, as her wavy long hair is withoutgray. I have worked from the skulls of two individualsthoughtto be Smenkhareand Amenholeplll and foundlhat,while"Smenkhare" has the typical flat-bridgednose and massive bite (indicatinglarge lips to closeover it) of all of the male heirs of Amenhoteplll, the skull of one who is probablyAmenhotep,himself, is of a much different sort, closely resembling his forebears, Amenhotep ll and This is the "Elder Lady" from KV35. I faithfullytraced the lady's Thulmose lV In fact, the mummy may not be that of Amenhotepat basic profile from hairline to throat from an enlarged photo of lhe al l l face of the mummy, but restoredthe tilt of lhe nose to what it must Smenkhareand Tutankhamun,surely brothers,have heads that have been before the pressure of the bandagesflattened it some- conformto an odd but nearlyidenticalshape.Perhapsthe younger what (nol much in this instance).I have closedthe mouth,givenit generationof this familyhad lheir littlenogginsboundin childhood a slightsmile.Also, I gave the poor lady a lovelyeye, whichthere to createthis cephaliccondition.lt makes them look ratherlike is no reasonto doubt she possessedin life,and some eyebrows extraterrestrials,especially in the cases of two pre-teen princessand Iasheslo match her abundantdark hair.I sensedthis emaci- es, depictednude and seatedon cushions,their elongatedskulls ated and desiccatedcorpsehad once been a fairwoman,but now and fingers causing them to look like charactersin a science-ticI believethe "Elder Lady,"known to be royal fronrthe positionof tion movie. her anns, must have been one of the most beautifulqueens of The tomb worksof art (bul of QueenTiye yieldedsome perplexing Eqyptever I envisionher as lookingsomewhatlike VivienLeigh not her mummy),including finely-wrought a cofflnvriththe goiden as she appearedin Caesarand Cleopatra.In fact,in thistllm Leigh face adzedoff.The coffln,thoughtto be originallyintendedfor the wears a replicaof one of Queen Tiye's circletcrowns,thereby burialof a woman,provedto containthe remainsof a man,the one unwittingly becominga reasonablefacsimile,not ot Cleooatra,but tentativelyidentifiedas Smenkhare.Also, in this tomb were four of QueenTiye, herselt.Followingmy reconstruclion of the face of canopicjars, their lids beinga remarkablebustof ambiguoussex, the "ElderLady",I now recognizeher in severalof the nameless formerlyconsidereda portraitofthe same shadowyyoung man bui images from Amarna and the reign of Tulankhamun.These now thought to be that of Kiya, a consort of Akhenaten.Yet these imageseilher representthe "Elder Lady" or other femaleswho sculptures certainly correspond to the so-called skull of "Elder lookedvery much like her. Nowadays,the petite-featured Smenkhare,who succeeded(or was co-regnantwith)Akhenaten Lady"is pronouncedto be QueenTiye,wife of Amenhoteplll and for a time but died suddenlyand was followedby Tutankhamun. motherto Akhenaten,becausea lock of hair in a littlecase bearKiyawas possiblythe motherof Smenkhareand Tutankhamun, as ing Tiye's name that was djscoveredin Tutankhamun'stomb Nefertitibore only female children. matchesthe hairof the "ElderLady."This was rathera shockto all of us who had always associatedQueen Tiye with that stern little Judgingfrom his portraitsthe true appearanceof Amenhotep lll is wooden head attrjbuted to her where she looks like everyone's difficullto pin down. In many, perhaps the majority,of his images ideaof the motherin-lawfrom hell.Whilecompellingevidence,the the king has what I will call, in default of a better descriptiveword, hair is inconclusiveproof because it cannot be stated with 100% a "Nubian"look.Also, when shown lookinglike this, his features certaintythat it is really Queen Tiye's hair in that case, even though are always very youthfulappearing. On the other hand, once in it clearly bears the name and titles of this lady. Yet it is difticultto awhile, Amenhotep is portrayed as someone very different - an imaginethis box, which slates in writing that Tiye was already aged,corpulentmonarchwith a Levantineface. Examplesof this deceased,couldhave beenfashionedfor any other purposethan alternative"look" of Amenhotep can be seen, for instance, on a to hold the twist of hair. Guardingthe shrineof King Tut were a stele where a slumping,world weary king sits beside Queen Tiye, group of achinglylovely golden goddesses,their faces all mod- a carnelianinset of a bracelet,and possiblyon a small,golden elled on a cast of features such as are seen on the "Elder Lady." staluette from the tomb of Tutankhamun that is thought to be of Archaeologistshave long wanted to believe that the svelte god- Amenholep lll. The snub nose of the "youthful"Amenhotep suddessesgroupedaroundthe shrineof KingTut were meantto look denly becomesthe longish,curved feature that the Egyptiansliked likeAnkhesenamun, Tutankhamun's littlequeen.Perhapsthe hair to draw on their Asiatic prisoners,for example.
Somethingobviouslyis at odds here and it is not Amenhoteplll doing a Lon Chaney - like metamorphosis from time to time. Actually,the phenomenonbegins in the reign of his sire, Thutmose lV . For some reason, perhaps political,some artists of the 18th Dynasty took it upon lhemselves or were instructedto make the pharaohsappear more "southern"with less of the "foreign"(i.e. Asiatic)look so prevalentin the Deltaor Lower Egypt where lhe Hyksos had ruled for so many years. Not to put too fine a point on it, to make them come across as more ethnicallyEgyptianthan perhaps they actually were. My reconstruction of the face of Amenhoteplll also very much resemblesthe featuresof another pharaoh,Thutmosel, as seen in a wall-painting whereit is obvious the artist was attempting portraiture of this king and his consort, definitelydoes not Queen Ahmes. However,my reconstruction look like the mummy calledThutmoseL Since this mummy has been supposedloo young at death to actuallybe Thutmose l, in thereexiststhe possibilitythat this king has been misidentilied, uniit e tt at of his son, Amenhoteplll, lhe face of ThutmoselV is very wellpreserved and one is able now to see almost exactly how he lookedin life.Afier I had done my drawingof him, lfound confirmation of its accuracy in a picture of an ostracon in the Luxor Museumwhere the pharaohis shown in a wig and diademmuch like that found on the head of Tutankhamun'smummy. How difierent. however.ThutmoselV lookson the wallsof his tomb with his largelips,snub noseand chubbycheeks- all lhe oppositeof what the king's actual features are. The same thing happensin the tomb of Amenhoieplll. lt even seems to be the same artist at work. This curious phenomenon comes to a halt with the reign of Akhenalen and the "realistic" school of art that flouished at that lime.
' If
Amenhoteplll goldsmith But there are limits even to realism. The master who made the tunerary mask seems to have made a few changesthat differfromwhat one can gatherfromthe face ofthe king'smummy. He possiblymade the nose smallerand more up-turnedand very likely enlargedlhe lips to cover the king's immenseincisors.A pharaoh,after all, cannot be shown with buck leeth. I did not have the heart to do this mysell The nose, now very much compressed, looksas if it was nol all that smallin life. Nevertheless, I take my reconstructionof the face of Tutankhamun,in part, from the goldsmith,as his art is too marvelous,his eyeloo keen,for me to deign to contradicthim too much. I believe that, even if he made a few minor adjustmentsto the young king's looks, we can trust this ancient craftsman to capture the real essence of Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun may havebeenonly a minorruler,but his chiefgoldsmith was a l\4ichelangelo. This man preservedwhat time, nature, and modern man have stolen from his master
wearinga hat that is seen on what may be a ldrew Tutankhamun dresse/sdummyfoundin his tomb. lt is a simplifiedversionof the red crown (deshret)of Lower Egypt and perhapsthe forerunnerof the much later oriental tarboosh, the red hat with the tassel. \/VhetherTut ever actually wore this headgear is problematic. Another head covering belonging to the young pharaoh that I admire was found on his mummy, a once-splendidskullcap,with ils terrific bead-workcobras, covering lhe shaved head. The young pharaoh's remains have sufiered quite badly since he was {irst unwrapped, as shown by early photographscompared with later ones - not that the body was ever in great condition.lt is shocking to contemplaiethe neglect that has lefr him with crumbling ears (partly destroyed by the removal of a golden templeband) and fallen-in eye sockets. Aside from a compressed nose, his face looked fairly good at his first exposureto the modernage, but it is rapidly disintegratingand his mummy is entirelydisarticuTutankhamun lated. But the greatest indignity is the loss of his penis, stolen by some impiouscharacterand probablyresting in a privatecollection of oddilies todav.
Tuthmoselll In his great old volume, Royal Mummies, Grafton Elliot Smith, recallinga fine statueof Amenhotep'ssire, Thutmoselll, walhits outsize,majesticnose,coulcjn'treconcileit with the smallish,delicate nose of Amenhotepll and, concludingit must have shrunk drew a diagramshowingit as havingbeen much larger terrifically, originally.However,when Smith examined Amenhotep'sson, ThutmoselV and saw this mummy'ssimilarlybeautifulnose, he realizedhe had made an errorand said so in the book.Curiously, the diagram was not withdrawn be'fore Royal Mummies wenl lo press.Still,lhis book (whenwe can gel hold of it) givesus the best and clearestlook at the faces of the pharaohspossibletoday unlesswe can gc to Cairo to see them firsl-hand.A down-sized version of the same photographs can be seen in Robert Partridge'sFaces of Pharaohs,which is, of course,easily purchased today - unlike the rare Royal Mummies. Dr.Smithalso had to admitthatthe nose of Thutmoselll, the great warriorpharaoh,had been exaggeratedby his famous statueas welf. Smith wrote: "...fhe badly damaged nose was nanow, highbndged and prominent but not larye." Certainly, this pharaoh's nose is the mostjuttingof all those to be seen on lhe mummiesof Egypt'skings,but it is not quite the stupendousorganof the statue in size or shape. lt must be stated that, while most of the pharaonicnoses are aquilineand curved,they are reallynot too large compared to the rest of the tace and therefore do not detract in any way from the individual'sappearance.lt is my personal beliefthatthese noseshad the oDpositeeffectand were theirchief However,it remains handsomeness. assetas regardsaristocratic true that a sort of "plastic surgery" was very ofren performed on these noble noses by the sculptors- if not actuallyon the living pharaohs- and we seldomget to see their actualproflles.That is why the statue of Thutmose lll mentionedis so unusual.lt is almostAmarnesquein its exaggeratedrealism. I can just imaginethe amazementof Thutmose lll that anyone feature.He was far wouldwant to writeabouthis most outstanding from a foppishcharacterand probablydidn'ttake much stock in
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looks.Actionwas the only thing thjs king was interesledin, one senses.Whetheror not he was acluallyhandsome,it is impossible to say now. Thutmose had a large, flat head but that was easily taken care of by the very attractiveroyal head-gear in the various forms. He had good lips, nice teeth (with the usual overbite commonto all Egyptianroyaltyuntilthe 1gth Dynasty)and a sofl it his mummy'snose is all smashedno\,Y, littledimpledchin.\r'y'hile is not too hard to figureout its formershape,easieractuallythan it was to reconstructsome of the Ramessidnoses. Slyledthe Napoleonof Egyptfor his militaryexploitsas well as his short stature.it should be clantiedthat Thutmose lll measures short only because his feet are missing. fhey were no dotjbt hackedoff in orderto stealhis goldensandalsand toe stallsmore easily.In fact,Thutmose'slimbswere all choppedoff by robbersto by the pious facilitalethe theftof his jewelry.He was reassembled priestswith woodensplintsand whatnot- everythingbut chewing gum. Yet the feet are long gone. RobertPartridge,in his remarkable book, Facesof Pharaohs,says it is now thoughtthat the lving Thutmosewas actuallyabout 1.71 melres - around six feet. Wth his driven (and also vindictivein the case of his aunt, personality stature,I thinkit is safeto Hatshepsut) and intimidating assumethat no one dared steal so much as a grape out of the pharaoh'sbowlwhile he lived,but now there is nothingleftof what musl have been a particularlysumptuousburial given the enormous powerof Thutmoselll. However,a trio of Thutmose'sAsiaticwives managed to hold on to a little golden hoard of their lovely head-dresses and personal items until 1916 when their tomb was discovered.lt is rathera shame these foreigngirls, possiblyhomesickand unwillingconsorts,can never know how much they came out ahead of their autocraticmaster. Untilthe discoveryof King Tut'stomb,Amenhotepll had the distinctionof being ihe only pharaohfound lying in his own original At tomb,althoughhis gravegoodshad longsincebeenplundered. some point,probablyduringthe 21st Dynasly,Amenhotep'stomb was resealed,but not before he was given some company- fifteen includinghis own grandson,Amenhoteplll, some otherindividuals Ramessid pharaohs who had also lost the wondrous articles interredwith them, and also variousanonymouspersonsof both sexes,some of whom mighthave been relationsof Amenhotepll. This king, althoughresemblinghis son, Thulmose lV, in many resDects.has a much more forceiul countenance. Indeed, this gentlemanwas no one to trifle with, as we shall see presently. Eventhoughthe facialfeaturesof his mummyare badlydistorted, one is stillawarethat this,too. was a handsomeman and tall into the bargain.At over six feet, Amenhotepll was surelyone of the tallestpharaohsof Egypt,althoughnot quiteas big as Ramsesll, whosebody measuresL733 metres. Amenhotep ll had curly brown hair, graying a little at the temples. He was already balding at the crown of his head. Experls feel he died between the ages of 45 and fifry, but he may well have been older.The skin of the mummy is coveredwith small nodulesthat are probably the manifestationof the illness that killed the king. Doubtlesssome disease, which even the strongestcould not battle, struckdown AmenhotepIl, yet,when alive,the man had been just as mercilessto his enemies.We know from a stele or two left by the king lhat he had captured seven foreign princes and did them all to deathin a grislyfashion.One of thesewas takensoulh to Nubiaand hungfrom the wallsof a fort "in orderto causeto be seen the might of His Majestyfor ever and ever."I have tried to draw the king as he might have appearedto those seven men before their execution. Amenhotepwas a physicalpersonwho excelledat sports.He had
boastedthat no one but him couldpull his bow.This greatbow was found with him when his tomb was discoveredby VictorLoret in 1898 and was foolishlyleft in the sarcophagus,only to be stolen who had takenthe by the descendants of the ancienttomb-robbers restof Amenhotep'sfuneraryobjectsand personaltreasufes. ThutmoselV is a pharaohwho lookspositivelygentle.He is very facially,even his lips have kept theirshape,which well-preserved is a rarething,indeed,with mummies.Talkaboutreflr]edfeaturesl ThutmoselV has a betterbone structurethan Kalharineflepburn, and while aiive, was possiblyprettier.Right novr',at least, his nrummygives the impressionof an effeminateyoung man who died arounCor beforethe age of thidy (althoughsome say more likefifty).lt couldbe that,when fleshed-out,ThutmoselV seemed a littlemore vir,le. The mediocrepaintingsin his iomb present him as a chubbycheekedboy-king,rather like Tutankhamun,which he was not. Thutmosewas alreadyslightlybald at the time of his death and, somethingihe even as a mummy,he is the essenceof afistocracy, artistof the tomb evidentlycouldn'tsee. After I had drawn him, I saw a photo of an ostraconportraitof this pharaohin the Luxor looksexactlylikemy portraitof the king. l\ruseumwhich,thankfully, The rabbis used to sa.vthat the prjncesof Judah were comely because they had beautifulmothers. By this same logic, why shouldn'tthe kingsof Egypt.who surelyhad accessto the finest consorts,havs propagatedthemselvesin a chainof strikingspecimens,whichthey certainlyseem to be. Whilesurelythe son of Amenhotepll, it is doubtfulthat Thutmose lV ascendedthe throneof Egypt in his rightfultuin. A steleerected by Thutmcsebetweenthe pawsof the GreatSphinxhints,indirectly,thattheremay have beena problem.The stelesaysthatthis Thutmose went hunting, got tired and sought some shade beneaththe loomingsphinx.Asleepthere, he dreamtthe sphinx foretoldthat, were Thutmoseto clear away the desertsandsthat had half-burieC this monument,he would becomeNeb Tawi,the Lord of lhe -TwoLands,the rulerof Egypt. Tehutimes)lVs calmfeaSteleor no sleie,lhLrtmose(pronounced turesstroDglyprociarmthat he is certainlyan offspringof the previous pharaoh,AmenhotepIl, if possiblynot the eldesl or lirst in line of succession.Therefore,it !','ouldbe difflcultto accept that Thutmoselvs own sor Anrenhoteplll, possessingsuch genes, couldever have had the coarse,heavymien so many of his statues display. I keep readingthat Thutmose was supposedto have sufferedfrom some "wasting"diseasethat made him look emaciated,but io me he seems no more or less scrawny than any olher mummy. There'ssomethingI have noticedand wonderaboul:A gorgeous golden mask was found on the mummified body of King PsusennesI at Tanis.I have the oddestsuspicionhe "appropriated" it from an earlierera when makingthose maskswas a highart, a lime when portraiturestroveto be accurateinsteadof idealized. In fact, I thinkthe Taniskingstook quite a numberof thingsfrom the Valley when they were "restoring" the tombs of the Theban kingsand rescuingtheir remains.ls it possiblethe originalowner of the mask had been Thutmose lV? lt bears his features exactly. Psusennes'sarcophagushad been used 170 yearsearlierfor the burialof Merenptahand his blackgranitecoffinhad belongedlo a 1glh Dynastynoble.Insidewas anotheranthropoidcofiinof solid silver,its face a copy of the goldenmask.The mask in questionis the finesl ever uncoveredafter that of Tutankhamun.To be fair to King Psusennes, however,I must say that I have read nothingthat would supportmy hunch,nor do I know of any inscriptions on the mask or silvercoffin,originalor altered.I have searched,without success,for Pierre Montet'spublishedaccount of these items.Yet,
TuthmoselV anotherclue to the mask and cofflnsbeingfrom an earliertime is lhe golden funerary mask of Psusennes's successor, Amenemope.lt is of such an inferiorartistrythat it is not possible lo believeit would have been deemedacceptablehad there still been a schoolof goldsmithscapableof turningout works likethe mask and coffinsof the previousrulet It is writtenthat,when ThutmoselV travelledon the Nile,the red and greensailsof the royalcraftbillowing,the populaceturnedout to get a glimpseof his beauty.Perhapshis clotheswere decoraf ed with fine, colored embroidery,rare examplesof which were foundin his tomb.Ohutmose,himself,was discoveredin the tomb of his father,Amenhotepll, where he had been placedfor safekeeping.)We know,surely,that gold blazedfrom his every limb, but was perhapsoutshoneby somelhingvery evidentaboutthis king: He had a killersmile.Splendidteeth,perfect,gently-curved features,and an air of peacefulreposemake Thutmoselvs royal mummyone ofthe few whosegood lookscouldnot be vanquished by death and time. Setil's portraitsall looklike him,the artistsnot havingforgottenthe bump on the bridgeof the regalnose of this splendidman. Seti's tomb (againsans mummy)is quitea dazzlingdisplayof colorsand images, more like a carnival than a final resting place. The Egyptianzodiac is painted on the ceilingwith such tongue-incheekwhimsythatwe get the picturein moreways than one: King Seti I was probablythe sort of fellow a paintercould take a few libertieswith and maybeone couldeven tell him a joke or two when he dropped by to inspect the tomb's progress. The persons who carved the reliefs of Seti I on his temple walls (surely lhe hardest job in all of Egyptian artistry) could scarcely knowthatthey were recordinga standardof masculinebeautythat was to last until the presentday At the beginningof the '19th Dynasty,Egyptwas hardlyan isolatedsociety.Peoplevisitedthis fabled land even then, most particularlythe envoys of other nations,who must have spread the word that the visage of Egypt's king was not the least oi the wonders to be encounteredthere. A pharaoh as far removed from Seti I as Ramses lX (about 200
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a cross betweenSeti I and his heir, Ramses ll, anotherstriking mare. It all began with a soldiernamed Ramessuwho succeededhis King Horemheb.We don'thave very many porcomrade-in-arms, traitsof RamsesI and his mummyis missing,*but it is quiteclear that this pharaohconlributeda nasalshapeto Egyptianmonarchy that did not die out for generationsto come. His grandson, Ramsesll, sportedthis very same nose and his is perhapsthe only Ramessidmummyon whichwe are ableto see the familyproboscisin a decenlcondition. Seti I, who was in betweenthesetwo hawk-nosedgenllemen,had a prominentnose,too, but it was smallerand differentdue to the fact that Seti resembledhis mother,Sitre.VvheneverSeti l-'is depictedas worshippingvariousgoddesses,lhey bear the face of the king'smother,who is the imageof him. Dorothy Eady, an eccentric but extremely knowledgeable livedfor manyyearsat Abydosin orderlo be nearthe Egyptophile, spiritof the love of her life,our perenniallyhandsomefriend,Seti. Born and raisedin England,this lady alwaysclaimedEgyptwas her true home.She had been there in anotherlife,she was sure. Dorothy(or Omm Sety,as she was calledby everyone)told many peoplethat the pharaohvisitedher often,lookingaboutfrftyand perfectlyfit, which is how she had left him in a previousincarnation. Omm Sety was certainlya well-knowncharacterand one of at Abydcsin her own right.lt was she who madethe the attractions sbout King Seti and his molher.The storyof Dorothy observalions with lhe deceased,make Eady'slife, includingher conversations fascinatingreading in Jonathan Cott's The Search For Omm Sety.
Set / years)is shownon the v,/alls of Karnakas havingSeti'ssame filmstarprofile,and he is not the only one.Whetherthis late Ramessid actuallyresembledSeti or wishedto emulatehis efflgiesis difficult to say unlessv,/ecan get a look al his mummy. By Ptolemaictimes, Egyptwas alreadya touristattractionas it is now and many travelers,especiallyGreeks,had the chance to admireSeti at Abydos and Karnak,althoughno one was lo see this king in the flesh again until 1886 when Niasperounwrapped him. Seti'smummywas discovered,by happychance,in the Deir El BahariCachein 1881, stackedlikeso muchfirewoodalongwith the other great rulersof the 18th and 1gth Dynasties.They had a coupleof genaeenplacedin this secludedspoi for safekeeping eratronsdown the line by the priestsof the necropolis,the Valley of the Kings,when their individualtombs were disturbedby robbers. Some think the priests were ordered to do this by later pharaohswho wantedthe gold of their predecessors to replenish theirtreasuries. Howeverit occurred,lhe vast hoardof glitteringobiectsthat were surelyburiedwith a mightysovereignlikeSeti I is all now absoluteiy vanished.Even his sarcophaguslies in Londonin the Sir John SoanesHouseMuseum,far from home.But the "look"perpeluated by those who carvedout Seti'simagesholds sway in our very era. lt was an ideal ihat made RudolDhValentinoand John Barrymorematineerdols- thin, narfownose, slightlyaquiline,ju! ting chin,sensualmouthwith lips noi too full, however,and large, compellrngeyes regardlessof color. lt is amazing how most Hollywoodleadingmen of all decadeswere some variationon this actors like Dustin Hoffman type - except down{o-earth-looking (who is a Thutmosidif ever there was one). Even the kings and princesin the Grimm'sFairyTalesI readas a childwere,to a man, 1)
had such a remarkably-preSeti, at least when first unv,/rapped, servedface that he seemedonly to be asleep.That is why I drew takenof him and his son,Ramses him in thisattitude.Photographs the Great,by a SignorBeatoof Luxormakethesemummiesseem like men who had expiredonly hoursbefore.I thinkof Seti as the pharaohwho was so handsomethat his beautyrefusedlo die with him N4aspero, who unwrappedthe mummy,commented:"/t v/asa masteniece of the aft of the embalmer,and the expressionof the face was that of one who had only a few hourspreviouslybreathed his last. Dealh had slightly drawn the nostils and cantractedthe lips, the pressure of the bandages had flattened the nose a little, and the skin was datkened by the pitch: but a calm and gentle smile sti played over the mouth, and the half-opened eyelids allawed a glifipse to be seen from under thetr lashesof an appar ently moist and glisteningline, the rellectionfrom lhe white porcelain eyes let in to the orbit at the time of buial.' As I have mentioned,Seti has an aquiline,very sharp nose with practicallyno $,/ings to the nostrils(quitelike the wing-less"Elder Lady"),which is ratherthe key to his beautyand, I suspect,the mark of blue-bloodedness at that time. The Egyplianscalledthis elevatedstatussheps,which lthink is a perfectlydrollword and I wouldn'tbe surprisedif this wasn'ttheir slangyterm for a nobleappearingor dishyguy as well. Not conientto stealmerelythe pharaonicgravegoods,the thieves had venturedintothe Valleyof the Kingslookedfor jewelsbeneath whichis why so many the bandagesand even underthe rib-cages, roval mummies have gaping holes in their chests. The heart scarab,a valuableitem, was lootedin this fashion.That reminds When me: The wealthof King Seti I hasn'tentirelydisappeared. his body was x-rayedin the 1970s,it becameclearthat both robbers and archaeologistshad missed one amulet hidden in his wrappings- the sacred eye of Horus.That'sit - one littlegolden eye, the last talismanremainingto someonewho had once been one of the world'srichestmen, if not the richestof all. to be continued...
LECTTIRE REPORT,S YUYA AND TUYA Presenledby David Pepper ESS Meeting,February17th 1998 The flrst intact "royal" tomb ever found was in 1905 - that of King Tut's grandparents,Yuya and Tuya. Several hundred objects from this tomb can be seen today at the EgyptianAntiquitiesi/1useum in Cairo: jewelry chariois, furniture, sarcophagi, nesting coflins, mummiesand more. The tomb was robbed three times: first shortly after the burial, and twice more when KV3 and KV4 were excavated.The debris from these excavationswas dumped onto the opening of the tomb of Yuya and Tuya unknowingly. Yuya's outer funerary sledge was covered with black pitch decorated with gold bands. Inside were three nested coftins:the outer coffinwas coated with gold, the maddlewas silver-coatedwith gold bands, and the inner coffin was covered wilh gold leat and decoratedwith gems and coloredglass. Yuya's canopic jars were in a square sledge covered with black A DIG IN THE KINGS' VALLEY Presentedby Dick Harwood March 17, 1998 ESS lvleeting,
pitch.Castoroil was foundin one jar, natronin another,and a third containedan unknown dark red substance. Tuya's sledge was similar to Yuya's. Inside were two nested coffins. The outer coffin was completely covered with gold, while the inner coffin was covered with gold and lined with silver. The treasures found included two four-legged copper stands, a large calcite jar, three chairs - a child's ibex chair, a middle-sized chair and a large chair 30" high, gildedwith beads in front.Also found were three beds, 13 wooden boxes, 14 ushabtitigures,a large chest full of wigs for both Yuya and Tuya, foud calcite jars, papryus, and 24 small containersof food - one even containeda wrapped duck. The chariol in the tomb was the tlrst ancienl chariot ever found, and had leathertires. Both mummies were found in their coffins. Yuya died tirst at 58 years of age; Tuya was 15 when they were married. Mummifled cats and dogs were also found in lhe tomb, which has no wall paintingsand no evidenceof flooddamage.lt is a smalltomb,2025ft long and about '15ftwide. Repoft by Bette Lou Lesan Cookson. bul as soon as you step insidethe tomb,goingsymbolically West, nightor the landof the the sun disk changesto red, representing oeao.
The Expedition team consists of seven people: Dr. Richard Wlkinson,the team leaderfrom the Universityof Arizona;iwo others from the UniversityofArizona - one a computerexpertand one a graphicsexpert;two Egyptologists- and epigrapherand an iconographer- from the Universityof Toronto;a practicingattorney al KV10, The lecturebeganwith a quickupdateon the excavations from Phoenix(who'salso a pastTrusteeof ARCE,and acts as an the tomb of Amenmesse,which has passedfrom the Universityof assistantio the expedition);and Dick,the expedition'sphotograTennessee, beforeproceed- pher. Arizonato the Unjversjtyof N,lemphis, They were accompaniedby an Egyptian Inspector,required the Motif ing to the Universotyot Arjzona'scurrentundertaking, by law to be present at all times in case somethingof importance AlignmentProjector MAP Over the next severalyears, among is found. other things, the proje^t to record all of the unpublishedwall scenesin the Valley's gtrr and 20th DynastyRamesidetombs, Coloredslidesare ihe primarymeansoi recordingthe sceneson belorethey are lostforeverthroughvarioushazards,includingthe the walls.Theseslidesare then digitizedonto CD-RONIdisks;on the computer, they can be zoomed in on to show fairly minute attritionassocialedwith touristtraffic. detailsof the scenes.The Egyptologists write accompanying text The alignmentof the scenes on the tomb walls is symbolicand that goes ontothe CD-ROMdisks,translatingand interpreting lhe complex.For example,above the entranceto KV 8, the Tomb of hieroglyphicwritingsand the scenes, and comparingthem with Merenptah,is a motifshowingthe three manifestations of Re: the similarscenesin the other Ramesidetombs.The ourDoseof this morningscarab form and the evening form as a man wilh a ram's is to be able to studythe tombs in much greaterdetailthan is poshead,both enclosedwithinthe thirdform - the sun disk itself.This sible on-site, and also to preserve the scenes for future generamotif is flankedby lhe lsis on the left and Nephthyson the right. tions of archaeologiststo study and re-interpret,long after the lsis is usually associatedwith the "South" (Upper Egypt), and scenes themselveshave disappearedfrom the walls. Nephthysis usuallyassociatedwith the "North"(or Lower Egypt). So lookingWest into the tomb, it is ceriainly proper that lsis would All this fascinating informationwas liberally sprinkled with anecbe on the left (South) side of the scene and Nephthyson the right dotes and insights into expedition life, ranging from the hotel's (North)side. amenitiesto the summer climale, climateto the necessityfor fitting the expedition'swork around the needs ol the Valley'stourists The tombs don't follow any set compassalignment,but not only including the challengeof splicingthe expedition'slightsinto an are the paintingsand reliefsinsidethe tombs symbolic;lhe tombs existing system wilhout turning the current off and plungingother with the entrancessymboli- (potentially themselvesare laid out symbolically, tourist-inhabited)tombs into temporary darkness! A callyto the East - the land of sun and life - and the burialchamsneak peek at KVs was a welcome side-excursion,as was a to the West,the land of darknessand death.As berssymbolically seriesof slidesof KV17,the tomb of Seti I, whichhas beenclosed a result,lsis is alwayson the leftside of this scene,and Nephthys to the public for many years because of structuralinstability. on the right - regardlessof the physicalalignmentof the tomb. Also, the sun disk above each tomb entranceis always painted Repod by GraemeDavis yellow,representing morning,or daylight,or the land of lhe living1998 marksour Chairman'slhird seasonas a fleld photographer with the Universityof Arizona Egyptian Expedition.An update on this season'swork will appearin the next issueof The Ostracon, but at the time ofthis lecture,the 1998seasonlay in the future.
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INTRIGUEIN THE COURT, PART I' Presentedby Bill Petty ESS Meeting,May 1gth 1998 As the house lights dimmed we were once again caught up in the magic of a Bill Petty production, beginningwith a short review of Part l. Our memories were refreshed on the co-regency of Hatshepsutwith the young Tuthmosislll, her title as Queen and Great King'sVvifeof Tuthmosis ll, and her death - which was possibly hastened by Tuthmosis lll. Wth these events, we were broughtthroughthe reigns of Amenhotepll, TuthmosislV and Amenhotep lll into a new era with Akhenaien and Nefertiti. We and the were caughtup in Bill's"whodunnit"styleof presentation, stage was set for Part fl of the drama: Tut, Tut,Ankhesenamun. Everyonewas drawn to lhe young queen's dilemma: how to keep her wealth and stature,when no-one around could stack up to her lost love,Tutankhamun? She beganlookingaroundoutsideEgypt for a new husbandwith rankand statuseoualto her own - but alas, due to the old laws, daughtersof Egyptdid nol marryforeigners. With some persuasion by the court, she settled down with the agjng - but Egyptian- commanderAy. VVhichtakes us right into the middleof the New Kingdon,and lhe gloriousage of Egyptianconquestand militaryrulerslike Horebheb,Ramsesl, Seti I, Ramses ll - but flrst a messagefrom our speaker.
Vviththe death of Ramses ll (who left a grcatlooking mummy) and the rule of Merenptah,we move on lo the sons of Ramses lll and the Harem Conspiracy.One of the big events of Ramses lll's reign, this trial was presidedover by 14 ofticials,with 29 chief conspirators and a cast of characlersout of a Sherlock Holmes story The Harem Conspiracy was a devious plol lo murder the king, planned by one of his minor queens, named l]y, who hoped to leave her son Pentwereruling Egypt. She had to recruit a few others for her plan: six more wives,lwo scribes,all the harem inspectors, a few standardbearersofthe army, a captainofarchers - and let's not forget the butlers. She was a busy lady, plottingwith the majority of those officialswho were personallyclose to the king, and co-ordinatinga revolt outside the palace to coincide with the intendedcoup. Wth over 40 people implicated,the trial was divided into groups. Ramses passed judgement until he became a greai god (that is, died), and then appointedofficialstook over.The commission could call for evidence when necessary,deliver and carry out a verdict and proceedwith the death penalty. As the house lights came up again, we found ourselves al the close of the 20lh Dynasty and the decline of the New Kingdom, when priests al Thebes ruled along with kings, and Pharaonic power sputtered,then faded into the west wilh the settingsun.
Bill, I hope the screenplayfor Part lll has and started production, I must admit that I never took a real good and honestlook at a so we can all escape inlo an action-packed thriller next year this reviewer - one of great monument before: a true look at legend versus fact. Bill's lntrigue in the Coutt, Parl ll gets interfacingof fact and myth about Abu Simbel was very enlighten- the season'stop presentations. Repoft by Alice Gemmel. ing. A mjracleof ancientengineering,or somethingthat just happened?Like many other great structures,it was built just right. Now,backto our program. PHARAONIC PHASHIONS Presentedby Evan Mitchell and company ESS Meeting,June 16th,1998 Evan Mitchell began his presentation,Pharaonic Phashions,wilh a dizzying review of 1,000 years of European fashion, demonstratinglhe incrediblechanges in clothing through the ages. Anrient Egyptian fashion, in contrast, remained relatively unchanged- a by-product of the conservalismof the culture and the ancient Egyptiantendency to revere lhe past. No matter how many variationson the theme of ancientEgyptianclothingexist, it'snot hardto identifya particularfashionas "Egyptian." Academicinterestin ancient Egyptianclolhingis a recent phenomenon.But the question,"what did they actuallywear?"is difficult lo answer.Only a small number of garmentshas survived, probably"lessthan three garagesales'worth."This was probably due to lomb robbery, as fine fabric and clothing were valuable. Also, clolhing was probably recycled until it was unrecognizable, from riches to rags. Funerary clothing, of which a few examples survive,were meant as grave goods and are not indicativeofwhat people actually wore. Many of our ideas about what the ancient Egyptianswore is deducedfrom scenesin tomb paintings,but you can't always believe whal you see in these paintings. Afrer all, these deDictionswere idealizationsand "wish-lists"for the deceased.We know that the fashions in lomb paintingsdon't necessarily reflect reality, for example, they never show people in warm clothing (we know it gets cold in Egypt), nor are side seams shown. (Afrer all, these people are in Paradise where cold and seams are irrelevant.)And we know that those ankle-lengthsheath dressesworn by lsis and company would be about as comfortable to wear as sausagecasings. It is possibleto conjure up some idea of what those ancienlswore
and Evan, with lhe help of several ESS members,showedus what some may have looked like. The ESS audience was lreated to a wonderfulfashion show of these various styles,from headdresses and kilts to cocoon-likewrap-around dresses, on the improvised Ricketsoncatwalk. Garments in ancient Egypt were made primarilyfrom linen. Both but only men worethem on men and womenwore linenloincloths, the outside.Men dressedin kilts of variouslengths,somelimes with shoulder straps. Tunics were also worn, over the kilt or viceversa. Men's clothing rarely covered the body above the waist, though in later times the bag tunic appeared which covered lhe entire body, not unlike a gallabia.Some paintingsdepict men wearingdecorativeaprons,includingthe enigmaticpyramidalone. Did the stiffenedapron symbolizethe pyramidalshape of the benben or serve as a portable writing desk? Other mysteries of Egyptianclothing persisl: headclothsare depictedin arl, but have never been found. Women wore wrap-arounddresseswith shawls and sashes. In additionto several styles of wrap-arounddresses, women also clothedthemselvesin straight(sheathor tubular) dresses that reachedthe ankle. Some went topless. Royalty and laborer wore lhe same basic lunic or dress style, but the privilegedclasses improvedon their garmentswith llne fabrics and ornaments.A garmentmadefromfine diaphanouslinen,worn wilh jewelry of gold and preciousstones, would have been a definite show-stopper! No matter whal material or construclion, what style or pattern, there is somethingundefinably,unmistakably"Egyptian"about the clothing we were shown. As Evan concluded, ancient Egyptian dress styles are "all different,but look the same." Repoft by Judy Greenfield
every fourth year,what we call leap year. However,every 39 years one has to wait only three years lo add the extra day. Unit fractions are the perfect means to investigatethis phenomenon and if the Egyptiansnoticedthis occurrence,it is possiblethey devised unat fractionsfor exactly that purpose.Unit fractions give the length of Mathematics is a term said to be coined by Pythagoras himself the Sothic year to be 365 + 1/4 + 1/(a39) days, accurate to one around500 B.C.E..lt means,"thatwhich is learned".My lecture, second. titled:"EgyptianMathematics:ASearch for Early Mathematicians", of the Canicularor Sothiccycle,the length givento lhe EgyplianStudy Societyon July 21, 1998,investigat- Previouscalculations of time between Sothic risingsoccurringon New Year's Day of the ed when certain mathematicalconcepts were learned. wanderingEgyptiancivil calendar,did not take into accountthe The Rhind Papyrus and lhe Moscow Papyrus are the only two "39 yeai' cycle. The correct calculationgives a canicularcycle of writingsthat survivetoday mathematical examplesof hieroglyphic '1424 yearc [= 365.2564 | (365.2564 - 365)]. The Sothic rising They tell us that lhe Egyptians used unit fractions, fractionswith appearedon lhe Egyptiannew year in '140A.D.. Countingback numeratorof one, to performtheir division.They used a method Sothiccyclesgives 1284B.C.,27098.C., and 4'134B.C.as posknown as error reckoning lo compute their math. They would sible startingdates for the Egyptiancivil calendar.The calendar selecl an answer lhat was close, run the answer through their was alreadyin use in '1284B.C.and 2709 8.c., leaving4134 B.c. computations,find out how far ofi they were, and add-in a new as the bestcandidate. fraction that would bring them closer to the correct answer Assumingthat the Egyptianswere able to measurethe exact In the Rhind Papyrusthe tgyptrans used 3.16 lo approximatePi length of the year from the Sothic rising,they would have checked in the calculationof the volume of a cylindricalgranary.Many peo- their data againstother stars as well. The Decan lists and the ple suggest that this was the best approximationto Pi the Ramissidestar clocksprovidevery adequatemeansto do this. Egyptianshad, but I think it is possiblethe EgyptiansoverestimatThe Egyptiansmay have also triedto checkthis data againstthe ed Pi to increasethe amountof tax calculatedon grains. sun and its shadows.The megalithsrecentlyexcavatedat Nabta Many people have also suggestedmany outlandishconclusions are apt devicesto acknowledgewhen certain shadowslineup. regardingthe dimensionsof the Great Pyramid.They claamthe These shadowsline up 365 days apart with a 4 year leap cycle. the exact lengthof the solaryear,the cir- However,this Cycle does not break every 39 years as it does for dimensionsincorporate cumferenceof the earth,the distanceto the sun, and the periodof the stars.Applyingunitfractionsto this situationgivesan approxprecession.lt is very easy to fudge these calculationsusing bad imation of the length of the year as 365 + 114- 1l(4'32). mathematical techniquessincethe exteriorof the Great Pyramid to the lengthof the year differconsideris rnissingand we do not know lhe exact dimensionsof the pyra- The t\,yoapproximations ably,but both are correct.One is reckonedfrom the starsand the mrd . otheris reckonedfromlhe sun. lf bothare correcithenthat implies What we can measurevery exactly is lhe angle of the faces of the that the sun and the starsmove differently throughthe sky.This is Egyptianpyramids.Also,in the RhindPapyrusthe authorusesthe an effect of what we call precessionand it is observableby cof equivalentof what we call the slope in algebraor the tangentin lectingdata on the starsand the sun over many years. rise over run, to calcJlatelhe anglesof pyramids. trigonometry, The measuredanglesin many pyramidscorrespondnearlyexact- Therefore,it is possiblefor the Egyptiansto have calculatedthe the lengthof time it takesfor the sun and the ly to simple rise sver run expressions.For example,the Red periodof precession, stars to lineupagain or 25,791years.The lack of mathematical Pyramidhas slope = 2A121,the NleydumPyramidhas slope = 1 4 /1 1 andat . leas t f iv eI i c ' p y ra m,Chsa v es l o p e= 4 /3 .Thesl ape texi survivingtoday could suggestthat lhe Egyptianswere not or it could suggestlhat their matheof the GreatPyramidis .i(-:,ihatits hrpshavea slopeof9/10(arc- interestedin mathernatics, / 10) = 51' 50' 39").The slopesof the GreatPyramid maticswas so sacredevery lext was closelyaccountedfor and lan(g.sq!'t(2) and the [,4eydumPyramidincorporatevery good approximations onlytwo fell out of the handsof the priests.The Egyptiansobvious aptitudefor mathematicssuggeststhe Iatter. for Pi intotheir pyramids. EGYPTIAN MATHEMATICS: A SEARCH FOR EARLY MATHEMATICIANS Presentedby Jim Lowdermilk ESS Meeting,July 21st 1998
A pyramidis a very mathematicalentity.Calendaisalso exhibit lt is saidthatihe Egyptiansbasedall situations. very mathematical three of their calendarson the Sothic rising.The Sothic rising occurs365 days apart most years with anotherday addednearly
Note: ln the course of writing this summary, I noticed an enor in my calculationsof the Sothiccycle. The value cited duing the lecture was incoftect and has been conected in this summaN.
T.G.H.JAMESLECTURE
VolunteersWanted!
Astutereaders will have noticed that this issue containsno repoft on the lecture given to the ESS on Apil 30th by Dr. T.G.H.James. We hope to include it in th next issue. lf you attended the lecture and would be prepared to contibute a bief repod, pleasecontact any member of the pubhcationscommiftee.
we need people to help with this section of the Ostracon.The publications committee would love io hear from anyone who is inteftestedin writing bnefr"eporfson ESS lecturesand other activities. You don't have to commit yourself to covering every single lecture - once or lwice a year would be tine. lfyou are interested, please contact any member of the publicationscommiftee.
Repoft by Jim Lowde!milk
Houseof Scrolls Book Reviews
Rarnses Volume 1: The Son of Light by ChristianJaq Warner Books. New York. 1997
Ramses is - predictably- a paragon of all manly virtues. He charms wild beasts by staring at them. He surpassesmasons fishermenat fishing,and sailorsat sailing.He is at stone\,vork, loved by the most beautifuland passionateplaygirlof Memphis, but also attracts the solitary and introspectivemusician who yearns for the female priesthood.He speaks fluenl Greek. His innocence.luck and heroic oualitiesthwart the evil schemes of ChristianJaq is author of more than fifty books and a radio proagainst him. A combinationof Superman,the Phantom, those ducer,with a doctoratein Egyptianstudies from the Sorbonne. and Davy Crocket. This book is the firstof flve volumes about Ramses, begun only two years ago. Five books in two years may explain some of I can't resistmentioningone scene near lhe end: Ramses'marriage. lt was a small, privateaffairin the country,for only a few the nature of the book. friends - includingMoses, Homer, and Helen of Troy. No kidMore than that, the book is not particularlyimpressive.The The only things Jaq has left out are shootingthe rapids, ding. chapters are very short, and each one is divided into several in a temple at night, and being sealed in a tomb black magic scenes. Assassin falls off cliff in the deserl. The thirsty trek with rescuers broughtby the dog. Well, there are four books to across the desert. Attacked by a cobra, in the desert. Knile go, and Ramses isn't even king yet. The scope for blood,thunlight, in the desert. Passionate lovemaking in a hut, in the der and passion is only beginning. desert.There is plenty of action and dialogue,bul littledescription of place or mood, litlle characterdevelopment,and mostly The absolutelyastonishingthing about this book is that it has only cartoon-likepersonalities.There is a faithfuldog and a pet sold over one million copies in France. "l thoughl the French lion.There is a scheming,greedy,overweightolder brother.But were sophisticated"was Dr. Don Hughes'reactionl Review by Stuaft Wier we learn almost nothingabout what the key tigures look like. This novel is a recent amportfrom France, where it is said to have had phenomenalsales.But it is not reallya novel.lt is presenled as a novel, but it's really a screenplayfor a motaonpicture. At least.that is how it appearsto me. A screen play for an action picture,with lavish sets and littlelime for thinking.
The DMNHLibrary ESS memberswill flnd over 285 books and audio tapes on just about any aspect of Egypt,from mummiesand pyramidsto textiles and weed flora. lt offers a diverse collectionof authors, i ncl udi ngl G.H . James, E mi l y Teeter,John Rom er , Jam es ln earlieryears, each departmentof the museum supplied its Henry Breasted and Howard Carter. There are also ARCE own needs, ordering all materialsnecessaryfor its work. The Journals, several volumes of the EpigraphicSurvey from the librarywas cared for by museum staff members,and eventualUniversity of Chicago Oriental Institute,and a number of chilly acquiredits flrst professionallibrarianin 1975. dren'sbooks.Audio tapes of almostall of ihe ESS lecturesand Museum members have borrowingprivileges.The librarycon- symposiaare availableas well, so if you missed a lecture- or tains over 2,400 items, with an emphasis on anthropology, just want to hear it again - this is the place to go. archaeology,astronomy,geoiogy,museum studies, paleontolLocated behind the purple doors on the third floor, northwest, ogy and zoology.lt takes part in inter-libraryloans, and makes from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, the library is open l\4onday-Friday prouse of lhe Carl system,ACLIN, and commercialdatabase from .1:00pm to 4:30 pm. on Saturday and ducersto obtain material.lts collectionsare classifiedusing the Library of Congress system. Questions can be answered by te l e p h o ne,m ail,or by ju s t w a l k i n gi n ' K a th yG u l l y ,th e l i brari an, Delores Eckrich, former Keeper of the Scralls always provideshelp and Information. Even lhough it traces its existence to the beginning of the Denver lrruseumof Natural History itself in '1900,the museum libraryloesn't seem to be as well known.
The Electric Papyrus will returnin the next rssue. are See Frank Pettee or ca 777-5494
CO 80205 of NaturalHistory, 2001ColoradoBlvd.,Denver, DenverNluseum
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