Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu

by Alexander Marmer

  David’s office was cluttered with an eclectic collection of artifacts. Michael’s eyes gravitated to a poster lying on top of David’s desk.

  DEUTSCHES ARCHÄOLOGISCHES INSTITUT

  Proudly presents:

  The Bronze Age Egypt

  A lecture by Dr. David Krüger

  Well-known archaeologist, participant in a multitude of archaeological projects, author of several books on Egyptian archaeology, contributor to various magazines and frequent guest on television shows, Dr. Krüger presents findings from his latest expedition to Egypt.

  Carefully placing the Egyptian papyruses on the table, Anna explained, “David, these were in a package my father sent to me just before he died. Can you tell us anything about these four papyruses?”

  “Please,” David gestured for them to take a seat in one of his office chairs as he sat down in his own. Anna quickly sat down, her eyes focused on the papyruses. Although Michael sat down, his eyes and mind were exploring David’s office, soaking in his surroundings. “Very interesting,” David examined each of the four papyruses for a few moments before setting them down.

  After locating his magnifying glass, David switched on a high intensity lamp and carefully picked up one of the papyruses. Adjusting the glaring light of the lamp, he held his magnifying glass over the papyrus and studied it for a few moments.

  He spoke quietly and deliberately as he described what he saw. “This papyrus depicts two cat gods with a cartouche between them.” He looked up at the both of them and smiled, “It basically signifies that Egypt is a heaven.” He carefully placed the papyrus aside, picked up the next one and studied it for a few minutes.

  “This next papyrus has a scene from the Book of the Dead. It depicts a scene from an “opening of the mouth” ceremony. The ancient Egyptians believed that in order for a person's soul to survive in the afterlife, it would need to have food and water. This symbolic animation of a mummy was a ritual that they believed would bring sensory life back to the deceased form. In other words, it would enable the deceased person to see, smell, breathe, hear and eat in the afterlife, and thus partake of the offering foods and drinks brought to the tomb each day.”

  Anna leaned back, “It always amazes me how sophisticated the Egyptians were in everyday life, yet they believed in such fantasy.” Michael nodded in agreement as he was eagerly waited to hear what David would say next. David set aside the papyrus and picked up the next one.

  “This one displays Osiris, the god of the underworld with his wife, Isis, the goddess of magic.” David smiled briefly at both of them before setting the papyrus aside and picking up the last one.

  “The last one depicts a sacrificial ceremony of offerings to the god Horus, the Egyptian god of the skies. He was the son of Osiris and Isis,” he said, returning the last papyrus to the pile.

  Anna felt stumped, “Anything unusual you can tell us about these papyruses?”

  “No, nothing unusual,” said David, prompting Michael and Anna to both sigh sadly.

  “Well, Michael was thinking that since my father sent these to me right before he died, that they were significant in some way. Perhaps my father had a secret message hidden on one of them,” Anna said adding, “Strangely enough, some people have tried to steal these papyruses twice already.”

  “Really?” David shook his head in confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Well, maybe one of them is a real ancient Egyptian papyrus and worth lots of money,” Michael suggested optimistically.

  David laughed, “No, no.” His smile disappeared when he saw their faces. “I’m sorry but these papyruses are merely cheap imitations of the real ones.”

  There was a knock at the door. A heavyset lady, her hair pulled up into a tight bun, hurriedly opened David’s office door, causing a draft to blow the papyruses off his desk and onto the floor. Apologizing profusely in English, David introduced his secretary, who frowned as she rushed to pick up the scattered papyruses.

  The secretary handed the scattered papyruses back to David before reminding him that his teleconference would be in fünfzehn Minuten (fifteen minutes). She hurried out, closing the door behind her.

  Anna rose from her seat, “Well, David thanks for your help.”

  “I wish I could have been more help,” he replied as he shuffled the papyruses back into a neat pile. Suddenly he stopped to stare at the papyrus on top of the stack. “Wait a minute, where did this one come from?” He snatched the questionable papyrus up and flipped it over. The familiar image of Osiris and Isis holding hands was on the other side. He flipped it back over to stare at the other image in shock.

  “Look!” he announced, his voice filling with eagerness, “I missed an image on the back side of this one!” Michael and Anna were stunned. Hastily, David checked the backs of each of the other papyruses; however, they were blank.

  I can’t believe we never thought to turn them over, thought Michael, astonished at the how close they had come to missing something.

  David picked up his magnifying glass and concentrated on the newly discovered image.

  Shocked, he declared, “I believe this is Pharaoh Khufu’s cartouche. I don’t recall ever seeing it before.”

  “Pharaoh Khufu?” Anna exclaimed.

  “Khufu, or Cheops as ancient Greeks called him, was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty,” David explained. “He reigned for 50 years and built the Great Pyramid.”

  David was closely examining the papyrus again, “That’s odd. The drawing appears to be a pencil rubbing from something etched into stone.”

  Seeing their confusion, David tried to explain, “Basically, it’s similar to what people do at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in the United States. People place a thin piece of paper over the name of their loved one and then rub a pencil over it.” He glanced up at Michael. “I’m sure you’re familiar with this practice.”

  “Oh yes, of course,” Michael recalled. “Actually, I’ve visited there and seen people doing that.”

  Satisfied, David continued, “It looks like whoever made this got only part of it.”

  “How can you tell?” Anna was squinting.

  “We’ll readdress that momentarily,” David said. “The hieroglyphic text is impossible to read and most of the scenes look difficult to interpret.”

  Anna sighed in frustration, prompting Michael to put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Anyway, we can try and see what we can understand. It is my job after all.” David looked sympathetic, “Patience, my dear Anna, patience.” He got up from his desk and walked over to a cluttered bookshelf. After looking for a few moments, he snatched a book from a lower shelf saying triumphantly, “This should do it!”

  He started flipping through its pages. “Here,” he said, pointing at a picture, “Look at this, it closely resembles the picture on this papyrus.” Both Anna and Michael had their eyes glued to the book as David continued, “It represents the royal title, Lord of the Two Lands, meaning the Pharaoh of both Upper and Lower Egypt.

  The next image appears to be the royal pharaoh cartouche bearing the name of Pharaoh Khufu.”

  “What have scholars determined about Pharaoh Khufu?” asked Anna, intrigued.

  David flipped through several pages in his book before stopping at the desired page and reading out loud:

  Pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops as the Greeks called him (ca. 2585 – 2560 BCE), whose name means ‘he who crushes the enemies,’ was the second ruler of the Fourth Dynasty, which was founded by his father King Sneferu. Ancient Greek historians credit him with a reign of approximately fifty years. He was known to have had at least four wives, with whom he had several children each. Khufu continued the policies of expansion initiated by his father and extended the Egyptian borders to include Sinai and Upper Egypt. Khufu built the Great Pyramid, a monument that makes him one of the most famous pharaohs f
rom ancient Egyptian history. Supposedly, Khufu was buried inside the Great Pyramid with all his treasures, but neither his mummy nor his treasures have been found. It is believed that the Great Pyramid was robbed during ancient times, shortly after Khufu’s mummy was buried within his pyramid.

  “Wow, I wonder what the connection between my father and Pharaoh Khufu could possibly be?” Anna wondered.

  “That’s impossible to say, but let’s look further,” said David as he flipped earnestly through the pages. “This scene is from the Book of the Dead and is related to the afterlife and the soul of a deceased pharaoh.”

  “The Book of the Dead?” Anna looked puzzled. “You’ve mentioned that before.”

  “That’s the book that explains the procedures that the dead must undergo to reach the afterlife,” Michael explained.

  “It’s the afterlife in today’s language, but the ancient Egyptians would have said ‘to gain admittance to the eternal realm of the god Osiris,’” David further explained. “This next image also closely resembles one of the scenes from the Book of the Dead; it shows a pharaoh adoring the god Osiris. That’s definitely a pharaoh, because he is wearing the crown of the Upper and Lower Egypt.

  “Here, look,” he added, pointing out another picture, “you can see the crown of the Upper and Lower Egypt much better in this image.

  David studied the papyrus intensely for a few more minutes before speaking in a reverent hush, “I would say that based on the royal cartouche bearing his name, this is none other than Pharaoh Khufu himself.”

  “Wow,” exclaimed Michael. “Are you sure?”

  “If this pencil rubbing was made from an authentic artifact from that time period, then I would say so with about a ninety-five percent certainty. It would be a difficult thing to make a fake piece out of something as elaborate as this.”

  Michael and Anna looked at each other wide-eyed. It was possible that Anna’s father had been on the verge of some incredible discovery.

  “Let me briefly explain ancient Egyptian life and spirituality,” David continued. “Ancient Egyptians believed that in addition to the body itself, human beings were made up of different spiritual elements: the body’s shadow and two other forces, ‘ka,’ the divine energy giving life to the body, and ‘ba,’ a person’s unique personality. It was crucial that these elements remain intact for participation in the afterlife. Although Egyptians loved life and didn’t want to die voluntarily, it entirely consumed Egyptian religious thought.” Sitting behind his cluttered, yet impressive desk, David looked like a college professor giving a lecture.

  “Egyptians believed in the afterlife, with death viewed as a pathway into eternal existence. So, they buried their dead with all the tools they might need in the next world. The mummification and burial rituals were designed to preserve the integrity of the deceased.”

  “OK, then who is Osiris?” Anna interrupted inquisitively.

  “He is the god of the underworld,” answered David. “He’s depicted as a mummy with his hands coming through the wrappings to hold his shepherd’s crook and flail. He always wears a tall white crown. Sometimes it has two plumes on either side, but sometimes it has ram’s horns.” David closed his book on ancient Egyptian life.

  Michael took this moment to break the contemplative silence, “Is there anything else you can tell from the pencil rubbing?”

  “Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell you at the moment.” David peered at the papyrus once more. “Actually, if you look here along the bottom, it appears that you can almost see the beginning of another diagram. So, if you were to find the other part of the pencil rubbing or, even better, the original surface from which it was made, it would bring more to light.”

  “Do you think my father made this?” asked Anna.

  David shrugged. “No way to know at this moment, but I can tell you one thing, if this artifact really exists, then it would be the most sacred artifact to ever exist. It shows Pharaoh Khufu’s transition into the afterlife.”

  “Could it be a stele?” Michael asked.

  David gasped, “Sure, it could be a stele. The size and shape would definitely correspond.”

  “What is a stele?” asked Anna, perplexed.

  David gave Michael an inquisitive look, “But how did you know?”

  “Just an educated guess,” Michael replied calmly.

  “Well, if you happen to find it, please show it to me. It would be the find of the millennium!”

  “We sure will,” replied Anna, collecting the papyruses.

  “Wait,” David said, picking up the papyrus with the etching on the back. “Would you mind if I got a copy of this? I would love to take a longer look at it.”

  “Certainly,” Anna agreed.

  “Thank you! This is very exciting!” David hastily opened his office door and walked over to a copier, carefully placing the papyrus on the glass.

  David’s secretary suddenly appeared from around the corner. When she saw him, her eyes widened, and she started scolding him in German.

  “I’m sorry,” he looked apologetically at Anna and Michael, “but I need to run.” He pulled out a business card from a holder on his secretary’s desk, writing something on the back. He handed it to Anna, along with the papyrus. “If you need anything, here’s my cell phone number.”

  Grabbing the copy of the papyrus, he strode quickly into his office, hastily scooping up some files from his desk. Putting his arm around Anna in a fatherly manner he said, “Please, again, accept my deepest condolences.”

  Anna quietly responded, “Thanks,” giving David a hug. Meanwhile, Michael retrieved the papyrus from the copier, put it with the others inside the bag and tucked it back inside his jacket. “David, who are the Medjay?” Anna asked quickly.

  “The Medjay?” David looked at her curiously, “They were a group of elite warriors in ancient Egypt, guardians sworn to protect the pharaoh’s tombs and temples.”

  “Do they still exist?”

  “I believe so,” David said, slowly walking away from them. “I’ve heard stories that they still exist today,” he paused. “Why do you ask?”

  “I believe I met one today.”

  David and Michael stared at her in bewilderment.

  “I’m sorry, I’m late for this teleconference,” David starting jogging away, “but please call me.” He disappeared around the corner.

  “Michael, what’s a stele?” Anna asked again as they walked back to the staircase leading down to the lobby, “Do you happen to have a PhD in Egyptology that I don’t know about?”

  “What do you mean, you know a Medjay?”

  Anna chuckled. “Well, oddly enough, you know him as well.”

  He stopped, looking at her strangely.

  “The tribesman.”

  Michael’s eyes opened wide. “He’s a Medjay?”

  Anna nodded, “I had forgotten that part. Do you know much about them?”

  “Oh, man,” he paused heavily, “we’re screwed.”

  “Not yet. We’ve got something he wants. As long we keep it with us, we’re guaranteed he won’t touch us,” she said, attempting to be reassuring. “Now, tell me about this stele.”

  “Well, it’s a bit like a tombstone. It’s made of stone or wood and has a message carved or painted onto it. In ancient times it was used to give laws or a message.” Michael paused, “There is something you should know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Gravely he put his hand on her arm, causing her to stop and look up at him. He leaned toward her, speaking softly, “Your father is accused of stealing something in Egypt. That something is an ancient stele.”

  Anna stared at him.

  “The Police Inspector in Cairo told me.” He sighed deeply, “But I don’t believe it and that’s why I’m here.” Astounded, Anna stood shock still, her mind racing.

 
; Chapter 24

  German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany

  Thursday, September 21

  1:37 p.m.

  “How did they find us?” Anna asked, stunned to find herself hiding behind a column. Anna and Michael had just left the building and were discussing their lunch plans when Michael shoved her behind a column without warning. He crouched behind her.

  “Shush!” he commanded, discreetly pointing at the menacing, black Volvo parked a few lengths down their side of the street. Noticing the car’s open windows, Michael was afraid that any noise would alert the driver.

  Anna murmured, “Do you really think it’s them?”

  “It looks a lot like the Volvo from this morning.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right.” Anna was squinting her eyes, trying to see into the vehicle. “I see Seth behind the wheel,” she sighed deeply. “So, it means the person in the back seat is the Medjay.” She shook her head, “I can’t believe they found us.”

  “Well, the stakes are high. We are talking about a missing, priceless ancient stele,” he glanced at Anna. “They’re getting desperate and think we know where to find their stele.”

  “But we don’t know or have anything. All we have is a cheap, imitation papyrus with a pencil rubbing,” she replied despairingly.

  “Well, there may be more to that pencil rubbing than we know. I think the best thing is to not to let them get their hands on it.”