Evening Star Newspaper, March 12, 1933, Page 57

TRAGIC ceremony held upon the banks of the Nile thousands of yeers ago has been brought to light by the amazing discoveries at Qustol, in Upper Egypt, which are probably only the preliminary finds of a huge archeological discovery. Bodies of strangled slaves, slain hunting dogs and horses and priceless treasures of antiquity have been found in the tombs at Qustol. From them, archeologists are able to reconstruct the terrible events of which these relics were the only witn2sses. With pomp and dignity the funeral ceremony of a great Egyptian King was observed. A group of huge Nubian slaves, presently to be strangled, walked proudly to the tombs under the almost cloudless Egyptian skies. Servitors in the dead King’s household, they were flanked by soldiers, whose sharp, prodding spears caused bright streams of blood to spurt from their ebony bodies. Then came a troupe of magnificent Arabian chargers, gayly decked in gleaming trappings set with silver and garnet, and carrying bells that tinkled as they pranced. Next came women and boys bearing silver dishes loaded with food, and huge earthenware flagons of wine. And last followed the long army of mourners with the draped body of the King in panoplied state. It was the end and the begining of every- thing, the moment for which the dead mon- arch’s life, from infancy onward, had been one ceaseless preparation. OR this happ:zned thousands of years &go, in that ancient Egypt where a future life was unquestioned and the people were per- haps the most strict of any in all recorded history in their religious observances. And now the entrance of the tomb is reached. The high priest leads the way, as with the dismal wailing of the profesional mourners, the embalmed corpse of the King is placed within the tomb. Outside at either side of the entrance wait the slaves, resigned to fate but thrilled by the approach of the supreme moment of death. They, too, pass underground, forced on by the cruel whips of hippoptamus hide, to be strangled in the antercoms of the tomb, and serve the King in the world of the dead. Next come the horses. Muffled screams es- cape from the underground passageways as the soldiers stab the poor brutes to death, so that they, too, in the shadowy world, may bear the spirit of the dead King in his retinue. And, lastly, food and treasure without price. Exquisite silverware, beautiful jewels are laid in the death vault to await, for 3,000 years or more, the day when they and the bodies of the slain horses and strangled slaves will be brought to the light of a new world. Qustol is in the Nubian Desert in Upper THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH 12, 1933. How Treasures Recently Uncovered in the Tombs of Qustol Shed Light on the Ter- rible Events Attending the Funeral of an Ancient Egyptian Ruler— Slaves Killed and Buried With Their Master— Gems Found in Tombs. uypt,notnr!rommexmtmckwnd temples of Abu Simbel, between the first and second cataracts of the Nile. The discoveries have been made by the Egyptian government’s antiquities department. What marvels of art may yet be found can only be awaited with eager anticipation. Priceless relics, beautiful silverware and jewelry were found beneath mounds which had crumbled over the entrances to tombs. In one tomb the skeletons of 64 dogs were found, most of these having silver bells at- tached to their crumbling leather collars. With the horses lay their silver-mounted sad- dles, embroidered saddie cloths, silver harness with disks and pendants, reins and bits of iron and silver. A rope was found fastened around the neck of one slave. All the bodies of men and ani- mals had been partly burned and traces of this burning were found even on the disturbed bones in the burial chambers. In tomb No. 3, the largest yet cleared, there lay a bull hide shield in perfect preservation, and by the side of the pit was a gaming board of wood inlaid with ivory. It lay face down- ward over a leather bag containing ebony and ivory “men,” ivory dice and a dice box. On the opposite side of the pit were iron spear heads. N the ramp lay the slaughtered horses and camels; some without any adornment; others with plain saddles and iron and leather har- ness; & few with silver trappings and harness. At each end of the pit were two roughly hewn chambers cut in the mud. That at the south end contained two sacrificed siaves and four horses, and with of silver harness decorated with lions’ heads, with eyes of gamet and tongues of - a wooden drum and iron spear. The ¢ham- ber on the opposite side contained the bones of 64 hunting dogs with an attendant slave. The tomb, though plundered, still contained the fragments of local and of imported pottery, the latter of valie since it bore the text of cursive Greek painted in red. One set of silver horse trappings found at Qustol has already been mounted in the Cairo - Museum on a fine black life-size model of & horse. The leather saddle and the blue-dyed are exact replicas of those found, and it is the intention of the museum authorities to place the originals within the case. Recently, the model of a second horse was erected on its stand in the museum, upon which a similar and complete set of silver harness is to be placed. Upon the head will be mounted the jeweled horse collar, one of the greatest treasures of the find. Some of the silver saddle pommels have beau- tiful designs upon them; in some cases the de- signs are purely of Egyptian origin, as, for ex- ample, the pair of hawks and the conventional intertwined lotus pattern. Among the discoveries which have been added to the collection in the Cairo Museum are two huge silver plates and a deep silver bowl. Both plates are 14 inches in diameter and have been mounted on silver stands. “4 group of huge Nubian slaves, pres- ently to be strangled, walked proudly to the tombs. Flanked by soldiers, followed the body of the King in pano- plied state” A Star Magazine artist’s reconstruction of the scene. with lamps at their summits. Another the form of a god’s head has eyes of in silver settings. result of the further excavations should ld & fortune in ancient treasures, and & is hoped to have sufficient workmen to clear the site before the water of the heightened Assouan Dam temporarily submerges the spot. A treasure chest of crumbling wood has ivory panels inlaid in carved niches. Each panel of ivory depicts a god from ancient Egyptian er Greek mythology. Helium Cheap, but Pure Federal helium plant in Amarillo, Tex, working at only about 60 per cent capacity last year, turned out helium of great purity, the gas testing 98.11 per cent pure. This quality gas is highly efficient, as practically all of the gas in a given weight has almost the full lifting power of helium and no extra helium need be to counteract the weight of the impurities present. The turnout of helium was a little more than 15,000,000 cubic feet. The efficiency of the Amarilio plant is so great the cost of producing helium has dropped from $36.18 per thousand cubic feet in 1925 to $7.10 per thousand last year. This price in- cidentally is far below the cost of helium 10 or 15 years ago, when it cost $20,000 for a few cubic feet of the gas produced in the laboratory. Anatomical Letters Teacher—Jane, how can you tell “»° from “d”? mm-w&h“rmuunmuu ! i dadvgy puad vy Poou g ks ey wk