King Tutankhamun Discovery, New York Times, February 17, 1923

EXPECT NEW FACTS FROM INNER TOMB

Experts Think It May Give a Version of the Flood and of the Oppression of the Jews.

MAY TELL OF ATEN HERESY

It is Also Counted On to Reveal, if Untouched by Robbers, Splendor of Pharaonic Mummies.

No mortuary chamber of a Pharaoh tomb has hitherto been found untampered with and no sarcophagus, the outer stone coffin, has hitherto been found unplundered by robbers, according to Dr. Ambrose Lansing¹Ambrose Lansing (1891-1959) was an Egyptologist who made significant findings throughout the dig of King Tut-ankh-Amun’s tomb. Lansing has written works relating to Ancient Egypt., Egyptologist of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The antechamber, and its annex, of the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen²King Tut-ankh-Amun was an Egyptian Pharaoh who reigned for ten years until his death, ca. 1324 B.C.E. Much of his life and rule remained uncovered until the discovery of his tomb in 1924. were entered by the dynastic robbers, probably in the reign of Tut-ankh-Amen’s successor, Hor-em-eb³Horemheb ruled Egypt after the death of Tut-ankh-Amun. There is suspicion as to whether Horemheb played a role in Tut-ank-Amun’s early death, as the young pharaoh was no older than a teenager when he perished., but they evidently had to make a hasty retreat after stripping some of the gold from the funerary objects and looting some of the boxes of jewels and other small portable treasures, but the treasure left behind far exceeds in value and interest anything ever before found. The treasures in the inner chambers may be still greater and more important, according to Dr. Lansing, who hopes that these chambers escaped the looters entirely. If so, it is the only tomb of a Pharaoh known to have escaped.

If the inner tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen did escape, and it now seems that it did, it would be almost the only tomb of any great ruler or great personage of antiquity to have had such luck. Prehistoric tombs and early historic tombs in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, almost without exception, have been plundered. Grave-robbing is one of the oldest and most universal crimes. It has the most ancient pedigree of all crimes, except murder, the primal malefuction, according to the Bible.

According to Dr. Lansing, it will be months and perhaps a year before public curiosity can be fully satisfied about the contents of the inner chambers. The jewels on the mummy may be the most complete and interesting specimens of the work of the Egyptian jewelers, who were great masters. Literary treasures also are likely to be found. Because of the high artistic achievement indicated in the other finds in the tomb, it is believed that the paintings in “The Book of Dead,”⁴The Book of the Dead is a collection of Ancient Egyptian papyri containing funerary practices and important religious information. that con which is expected to be found, may be the finest of their kind. Papyri relating to the “Aten” heresy⁵The heresy mentioned here refers to the Pharaoh Akhenaten, beginning around 1358 B.C.E., who overhauled the Egyptian religion to believe in one sole god, Aten. which Tut-ankh-Amen rejected may be discovered.

Hopes for Information on the Flood

Dr. Elliot Smith⁶Grafton Elliot Smith was a scientist who led the process for examination of the body of Tut-ankh-Amun., the noted British archaeologist, has expressed the hope that legends in the inner chamber may throw a new light on the origin of the narrative of the flood. The destruction of the world because of the wickedness of man, as told in Genesis, is also read in Babylonian records and is suggested in certain tomb inscriptions in angient Egypt, according to Dr. Smith, who believes the account originiated in Egypt.

Arthur Weigall⁷Arthur Weigall (1880-1934) was an Egyptologist who published many writings relating to Ancient Egypt., former Inspector General of Antiquities to the Egyptian Government, and other have put forward the theory that Tut-ankh-Amen was the Pharaoh of the oppression, whose army was overwhelmed in attempting to pursue the Jews in their miraculous passage through the waters of the Red Sea.

Historians and archaeologists will have the keenest possible interest in the papyri that may be found in the tomb, hoping that something will be discovered to give the Egyptian version of their relations with the Jews. So far no reference has been found, in all the early records of Egypt, to the sojourn of the Jews in that country, to the seven years of famine and the seven years of plenty, to the seven plagues, or to the destruction of the army which Pharaoh sent to recall the Jews after permitting them to depart from Egypt.

One of the leading objects of searches for papryi in recent years has been to find corroboration from Egyptian sources for the stay in Egypt and the exodus⁸The exodus, according to the Bible, was the freeing of Jewish slaves from Egypt, but these events, which make so large a figure in Jewish history, are a blank in the Egyptian records which have been recovered so far. Egyptian history, tradition and literature were never consolidated and preserved, and have been pieced together only in modern times and from fragment. The Jews are believed to have been a comparatively small tribe at the time and Egypt a highly populous country, so that the Jewish contact with Egypt has been represented by some historians as a thing of slight consequence to the Egyptians, who would regard it as the deportation or withdrawal of a handful of aliens. The series of terrible plagues, described in the Old Testament are not touched upon in any Egyptian material so far recovered.

Connects Moses with Aten Heresy.

Mr. Wiegall’s theory is that Moses, who had risen in the Egyptian Government service, had succeeded in inaugurating the worship of Jehovah, so that the “Aten heresy” would in reality be the Jewish religion.

The belief that Tut-ankh-Amen was the Pharaoh of the persecution is based on the chronological grounds and on the belief that, since the “Aten” heresy was repudiated during his reign, Moses and his people, who were responsible for it, may well have had their troubles with the Egyptians at this time. Tut-ankh-Amen’s tomb is a short distance from the burial-place of Meneptah, who is generally believed to have been the persecutor of the Jews and the “Pharaoh of the Exodus.”

But it will be months, according to Dr. Lansing, before the curtain can be raised on these and other possibilities.

“I received a letter from one of the workers,” he said, “indicating that the tomb will probably be looked over and then cemented up until next season. Things will be examined in place, inventoried and photographed, but they cannot very well be taken out of the tomb this season. The heat becomes very severe in March, and it is impracticable to continue at work. The things must be studied where they are. Much mischief would be caused by any hasty attempt to transport them. It will be very difficult to remove the heavy sarcophagus. Everything is much safer in the place where it has been preserved for more than thirty-two centuries.

“No other Pharaoh, I believe, has ever been found untouched in the original sarcophagus. The robbers in all other cases smashed the stone lid and took the jewels and valuable things which were buried with the body. As this has invariably happened to the other Pharaohs, we do not know exactly what their funerary equipment was, but it probably consisted of a number of fine pieces of jewelry among other things.

“Many unsmashed sarcophagi have been found, but on being opened, it was discovered that the mummies had been transferred there after having been plundered in earlier sarcophagi. In such cases, the necropolitan authorities had rewrapped the mummies, and re-equipped the bodies, but with less splendor.

“If the mummy is found as originally buried, we might expect to find many valuable articles, such as collars of gold, probably ornamented with stones, gold bracelets and anklets and perhaps some kind of a crown. I don’t believe there would be anything like a breastplate, but there would probably be a pectoral, which is something like the modern lavalliere.

“Judging from the reports, these pieces might be set with stones, especially lapis lazuli, carnelian and turquoise, which are about the old precious stones. This was long before the use of pearls or diamonds as jewelry. There might be found some imitations of lapis lazuli and other stones in glass. Glass was highly esteemed at that early stage in the art of making it, but it was used only for imitations of the precious stones, and on the whole it is probably unlikely that jewels ornamented with glass will be found.

Mummy May Wear Mask.

“Whatever the jewels are, they will probably be found, not next to the body, but wrapped in among the folds of the cloth in which the mummy is wound. There will probably be no robes or articles of clothing, outside of the plain cloth wrapping. There might be a covering of tapestry or something of the kind in the sarcophagus, but that is doubtful. It is expected that there will be a mask on the face. This will probably be made of stucco placed on linen, formed like a human face and then glided.”

The theory of Professor Flinders Petrie⁹William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) was an Egyptologist who completed significant surveys regarding the Egyptian pyramids, King Tut-ankh-Amun’s tomb, and many other temples. is that the richness of the treasures in Tut-ankh-Amen’s tomb is due to the fact that he was the last of his line and had, therefore, no heir to whom his treasures could be passed, and as a result that most of his personal estate, in the way of jewelry and art, was buried with him. Professor Petrie believes that objects of this kind which he had inherited from generations of ancestors were probably buried with him. On this hypothesis the inner chamber might be exceptionally rich in heirlooms which would make a splendid addition to the treasury of art and archaeology already found in the outer chamber.

“But this is a moot question,” said Dr. Lansing. “The other Pharaohs were so badly plundered that we do not really know how much or little may have been originally buried with them. Several couched, chariot and other furniture have been found in other tomb.”

It is not expected that any more trussed fowl and such objects will be found in the inner chambers, which are supposed to be devoted mainly to magical things which were expected to speed the soul of the dead on its way to its eternal home. It is in [connection] with this that valuable literary remains are expected.

One of the trappings of a splendid funeral in ancient Egypt was the illuminated papyrus roll known as “The Book of the Dead.” This was a religious document in the form of a scroll which might approach 100 feet long, with religious writings, elaborate pictures of the hereafter, as some Dante of ancient Egypt had portrayed it. This was supposed to have a magical function, being a sort of religious Baedeker, outlining the pilgrimage which lay before the Pharaoh. The most interesting point expected in “The Book of the Dead” which is thought almost certain to be found with Tut-ankh-Amen is some reference to the Aten heresy.

This papyrus may indicate alterations in “The Book of the Dead” as a result of the change of religion made by Khu-n-aten. The prayers and magical formulae of “The Book of the Dead” are almost certain to have been changed during the Aten period, and it is possible that some change may be retained in the document buried with Tut-ankh-Amen. Whether changed or not, it is likely to be a fine and splendidly illuminated document.

Drawings Have Magic Purpose.

Some of the drawings of “The Book of the Dead” and their purpose are described as follows by E. Wallis Budge¹⁰Ernest A T Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was an author who wrote on many topics relating to Ancient Egypt. He worked in a few museums throughout his lifetime which added to high expertise in Egyptology. in his Egyptian history:

“The Theban and Saite Recensions of ‘The Book of the Dead’ are full of spells, accompanied by magical drawings. Thus the Chapter of the Ladder and the drawing of it would secure for the deceased the use of the famous ladder whereby Osiris had climbed up from earth into heaven. The Chapter of the Ferryboat and a picture of it would provide a boat for the deceased when he wished to sail across the Nile of the Other World. Each part of the spell possessed a magical name, which is given in the text of the spell, and when all the names of the parts were properly pronounced by the deceased the boat would sail to any place to which he wanted it to go. The Judgment scene, which represented to the initiated the deepest and most fundamental truths in the religion of Osiris, was, to the ordinary Egyptian, a magical picture drawn on funerary papyri with the view of making the gods declare those for whom it was drawn to be truth seekers. If drawings of Osiris, Ra, Isis and Nephthys, the four gods of the wind, were painted on a coffin, they would enable its occupant to enter each of the four quarters of heaven.”

An Egyptian version of the story of the “flood,” according to Dr. Elliot Smith, was in one case at least told of the wall of a tomb, to assist the soul of the inmate of the tomb.

Suggesting that the walls or contents of the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen might throw further light on the origin of the Biblical narrative, Professor Smith declared:

“Inscribed on the walls of the tomb of Seti I, in the Theban necropolis-less than seventy years after the burial of Tut-ankh-Amen – is the remarkable story of the Destruction of Mankind. In spite of the fact that it was inscribed in this tomb as recently – in comparison with the Sumerian story – as 1800 B.C., the strange confusion of archaic reference which has made it so unintelligible to most modern scholars reveals the fact that its origin must be referred back to the fourth millennium. Although the destruction is not brought about by the flood, it is clear that the Egyptian and Mesopotamian stories have a common origin and a common motive. For the essential incident in the latter is not the flood, but the destruction of mankind which it brought to pass.

“If it be asked why this venerable story should be inscribed in the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh, the answer is that its aim was to secure for the dead king those boons the attainment of which was the central motive of the tale.”

What was done in the Babylonian legend by the flood was accomplished in the Egyptian variation, according to Dr. Smith, by the slaughter of all Egyptians by an ancient king. The legend indicated that the kings of old were executed when they began to show signs of age, because the belief prevailed that the prosperity of early Egypt waxed or waned with the physical condition of the king. The monarch of the legend began to show symptoms of age. His subjects began to murmur that it was time for the king to die. But the king hit on the plan of killing his subjects and renewing his youth by drinking their blood. He finally killed them all.

“But when the king had slaughtered them,” Dr. Smith [continued], “and had attained a renewal of his youth, he was overcome by the boredom of too prolonged an existence upon earth. So he mounted upon the back of a celestial cow and so reached heaven and attained immortality.”

Citations

The original source for the transcription came from The New York Times on February 17, 1924 through the TimesMachine.

“Arthur Wiegall.” Artefacts of Excavation. 2015. https://egyptartefacts.griffith.ox.ac.uk/people/arthur-weigall.

Benderitter, Thierry. “Akhenaten and the Religion of Aten.” Tombs of Ancient Egypt. https://www.osirisnet.net/docu/akhenaton/e_akhenaton_01.htm.

“Book of the Dead.” University College London. 2002. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/literature/religious/bdfront.html.

Knohl, Israel. “Pinpointing the Exodus from Egypt.” Harvard Divinity Bulletin. 2018. https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/pinpointing-the-exodus-from-egypt/.

Mellor, Lise. “Smith, Sir Grafton Elliot.” Faculty of Medicine Online Museum and Archive RSS. 2008. https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine/museum/mwmuseum/index.php/Smith,_Sir_Grafton_Elliot.

“Sir Ernest A T Wallis Budge.” Collections Online | British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG62010.

“The Archaeological Record: Flinders Petrie in Egypt.” 2002. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/archaeology/petriedigsindex.html.