Tutankhamun Uncovered

by Michael J Marfleet

  “Oi t’ink so, an’ roight enough, Miss,” agrees the priest. “Oh. Are y’ still ‘Miss’ Dalgliesh?”

  That embarrassed nod again. “Yes. For a while I did take another name but now I am ‘Miss Dalgliesh’ once again.”

  Adamson clicks to attention and chimes in. “H’it’s a real h’onour t’ be ’ere, Miss. World won’t see the like of ’im again, an’ that’s a fact.”

  All three look down at the grave and nod appreciatively.

  “Tell me, Father, Sergeant, why did you not come to the service?”

  “Out of d’ country. Anyway, not invited, Miss.”

  “Me neither,” says Dorothy. “Didn’t stop me, however.”

  “Well, moi dear, when all’s said an’ done, y’ can’t ’ave two priests at a funeral. T’other would feel d’ pressure of me presence, if y’ know what Oi means competition.” The priest winks.

  “H’at least we’re ’ere t’ see where ’e’s safely put away,” adds Adamson. “For ’is achievements ’e deserved a fifty-one gun salute, an’ no mistake. Grumpy old bastard forgive me language, Miss ’e may ’ave been at times, but h’I respects ’im more van any h’uver.”

  Seamus ignores the sergeant and continues, “Dere’s anoder reason why Oi’m glad Oi came across you, Miss Dorot’y. Oi’ve recently returned from Egypt and Oi am d’ bearer of a letter which Oi believe should be delivered to Howard’s niece a Miss Walker, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. Phyllis. She took care of him during his final illness.”

  “Could y’ give this to ’er, please? Oi’m gettin’ too old for foindin’ me way around big cities loike dis. Oi’m told she lives around dese parts.”

  “Marble Arch. But, to tell you the truth, although I have met her on one occasion, we are not even so close as to be called acquaintances. I’ll be glad to do it but, if it’s all the same to you, I will just pass it through her letter box.”

  “Dat’s just foin. T’ank you Miss.”

  Seamus hands her the letter.

  “Now, can Oi tempt y’ to a wee drinkie, Miss Dorot’y, before we part company? Sergeant Adamson an’ me, we feels a wee bit of a t’irst comin’ upon us. De atmosphere in cemeteries fair drois d’ trote.”

  Dorothy smiles. “Oh, that is very sweet of you, Father, but I must be getting back. I am presently living out of town and have a train to catch, and before that... a letter to deliver.” She waves the envelope at them. “I’d best be on my way.”

  Adamson calls after her, “Take care, Miss Dorofy. Don’t speak to no Germans!”

  The two men wave to her as she leaves the graveyard and then turn and walk over to the freshly turned grave. Standing on opposite sides of the low mound, they look down. The priest points to the grave with his walking stick.

  “Not much of a ‘tomb’, Sergeant.”

  “No, Father. Not much at all. All ’e would ’ave expected, though, I’ll be bound.”

  “Oi’m not so sure, Sergeant. Oi t’ink ’e would ’ave loiked to ’ave been buried in d’ bowels of d’ earth loike all dose ’e did ’is best to remove from deir place of eternal sleep. Oi t’ink ’e would ’ave wanted ’is own food, ’is Scotch an’ soda, ’is gin an’ tonic, ’is champagne, ’is smokes, ’is ’omburg, ’is tweeds, ’is suede shoes, ’is bow ties, ’is furniture, ’is car, ’is ’orse, ’is pets, ’is books and ’is notebooks, ’is memories and ’is artefacts about ’im.”

  “Per’aps. Per’aps not. Don’t forget, h’I spent dozens of days an’ nights cooped up in that ‘ole in the ground. Bloody spooky it was. Bloody glad t’ get away. ’E spent nigh on ’arf a year in h’every one of nine effin’ years in that ’ole in the ground. I don’t fink ’e wants t’ go back. No effin’ way... Yer reverent.” Adamson lowers his eyes apologetically.

  Father Seamus smiles in acknowledgement and tips his hat to the grave.

  Adamson crosses himself.

  The priest regards him for a moment. “Don’t look so forlorn. It’s not far. Oi noticed one on d’ way in about a hundret yards from d’ gate.”

  Adamson’s florid face lights up and the two set off for the nearest public house.

  Dorothy takes a cab to Phyllis Walker’s address. Drawing up outside the house, she asks the cabbie to wait. She steps up to the front door, quickly pops the letter through the letter box, returns to the cab, and takes off for the station. There will be no second meeting.

  On her way to Carter’s niece’s house she noticed that the envelope was not sealed. She did not resist the temptation to read it. (The text of the letter is quoted in James, 1992).

  Flinders Petrie leans over the table in the reading room of the University College library and folds the first page of The Times back on itself. There is too much talk of warmongering for his tired eyes. He turns the pages one by one until he comes to the obituaries. The print is small and he pushes his reading glasses further down his nose so that he can focus a little better.

  He rests back in his chair. There it is a suitably brief paragraph.

  He reflects on the well publicised man he had trained all those years ago. He is proud of his younger colleague’s archaeological achievements exceptionally proud. For an individual from a working-class background, lacking in scholarly training, breeding, and every quality of etiquette and tact, he had, after all said and done, acquitted himself remarkably well in his work.

  The great Egyptologist smiles contentedly to himself. The grounding he had provided had been firm and suitably employed. Yes, he had done well by him.

  He replaces the paper in its rack, picks up his walking cane and, with some difficulty, eases himself to his feet and walks slowly towards the exit. Helped into his taxi by the cabby, he is driven off into the teeming rain of a grey March day.

  On the way home, he relaxes back into the leather rear seat and gazes unseeing through the misty window. The passing of his protégé is already a distant memory.

  Petrie’s mind turns to the sorry state of affairs in the world at large. He had weathered one world war. The thought of another is more than he cares to contemplate, let alone wish to live through.

  Thankfully, there are more pleasant things to look forward to a return to his beloved Jerusalem. But first, a neat malt whisky, followed by a hearty supper, followed by slippers, his usual armchair, a roaring hearth, another malt, and bed the seven wonders of the world!

  It does not occur to the old scholar to pay his respects at Carter’s funeral, nor will he visit the gravesite. For the lesser man, that kind of acknowledgement remains outside acceptable convention. It is wholly unimportant.

  And meantime, in his otherwise spartan afterlife, Horemheb, for his own amusement, has some time since turned his mind to the encouragement and support of one rather short and severe looking man from Austria.

  GLOSSARY

  Ab The heart. Closely associated with the soul. Essential it was kept within the body. In amulet form represented as a scarab beetle.

  Akh The resurrected body in a parallel existence; not a part of the earth of the living.

  Amulet Talisman decorative object of protection, possessing magical powers. The ancient Egyptians had no conception of repentance; rather they would in death cover their sins with as many of these objects as they felt necessary to eliminate all visible evidence.

  Amun (AmunRe) King of the Gods. Several forms. Usually represented in the form of a human male with a ram’s head and wearing a double plumed crown. Often described as ‘mysterious of form’, implying that the god’s true identity could never be revealed.

  Ankh Amulet representing ‘long’ life. Symbol most commonly associated with the Pharaoh and the Gods.

  Anubis God of the dead. Form of a black jackal. Most often associated with the embalming ritual and there depicted as a human male with a dog’s head.

  Aperu Peasant, slave (lower) class.

  Aten God of the sun. Form of a disc. In the time of Akhenaten, the ‘sole God’. Thereafter removed and replaced by Amun.

&n
bsp; Ba One of the body’s five distinct parts. Its soul. Form of a bird with human head. Able to bear the deceased from the tomb and return each night.

  Bastet Daughter of the sun god. Form of a cat. Sometimes represented as a human female with the head of a cat, particularly later; from the first millennium BC Bes Demonic protector God. Form of a dwarf with a protruding tongue.

  Burnous Long circular hooded cloak.

  Canopic jar/chest Vessels/containers for the viscera removed during mummification.

  Cartouche Pharaoh’s name. Hieroglyphs contained within a pseudo elliptical boundary representing a rope tied at one end.

  Chapters of coming forth by Day (Book of Gates/Book of the Dead) Funerary texts. Spells to help the deceased on his journey through the afterlife.

  Cubit About 0.5 metres, or 0.45 yards.

  Decauville railway Narrow gauge portable track on which the rolling stock is manhandled.

  Djed pillar Amulet representing stability. The backbone of Osiris.

  Faience Ceramic material composed of crushed quartz or quartz sand with small amounts of lime and plant ash or natron. Mixed with water before moulding and fired with glazing material to form a blue glaze.

  Faiyum Lake province on the west side and fed by the Nile, situated about fifty miles southwest of Cairo.

  False door Literally that. A part of the architecture of many tombs and mortuary temples. A place to lay offerings to the dead.

  Fellah An Arab peasant/labourer.

  Foundation deposits Buried caches of ritual objects placed in the vicinity of corners, axes or gateways of tombs and mortuary temples.

  Geb God of the earth. Form of a human male; sometimes ithyphallic. Responsible for vegetation. His sister and wife was Nut. Their offspring was Osiris.

  Hapy God of inundation. Form of a fat human male with headdress of aquatic plants.

  Hathor God mother of each reigning king. Form of a bovine, or of a human female with headdress of a wig with horns and a disc held between them. Usually associated with the pleasurable aspects of life. Each evening she received the setting sun and protected it until morning.

  Heh God of infinity. Form of a human male kneeling with a palm rib in each hand. Represented longevity.

  Heket Goddess of childbirth. Form of a frog. Assisted the dead in their journey to the sky, and in the latter stages of labour.

  Henmemet Gentry, aristocratic (upper) class.

  Hieroglyph Ancient Egyptian pictographic writing

  Horus God of the sky. Form of a hawk or human male with falcon head. Protector of the Pharaoh.

  Isis Goddess of motherhood. Form of a human female with crown of cow horns surrounding a disc, identical to Hathor. Symbolic mother of the Pharaoh. She had medical powers. One of the protectors of the dead king’s coffin and viscera.

  Ithyphallic A modern term normally used to describe deities with an erect penis; in particular Amun and Min.

  Ka One of the body’s five distinct parts. The double of the dead person. Form of a male with two raised arms on his head. Could move about independently and inhabit any statuesque likeness of the king, remaining earthbound.

  Khaibit The shadow. Closely associated with the soul. Could move about independently.

  Khat The physical body.

  Khedive Premier of the turn of the nineteenth century in Egypt.

  Khepri God of creation. Form of a scarab beetle. Closely associated with resurrection.

  Khnum. God of pottery (creation). Form of a human male with a ram’s head.

  Khons. God of the moon. Form of human mummy wearing the side lock of youth. Associated with childbirth.

  Khu The spirit. Closely associated with the soul.

  Maat Goddess of truth. Form of a seated human female wearing an ostrich feather. Believed to regulate the seasons, the movement of the stars, and the relations between men and gods. Also a term used for the ‘ideal’ state for

  which the Pharaoh was the responsible keeper.

  Magic bricks. Four mud bricks placed on four sides of the tomb to protect the deceased from evil. Mahdi ‘The chosen one’ in Islamic belief. Min God of fertility. Form of an ithyphallic human male. Symbol of male

  potency.

  Montu God of war. Form of human male with head of a falcon with a headdress of a sun disc and two plumes. Moudir Regional chief. Mut God mother of each reigning king (like Hathor). Form of a human

  female wearing a vulture headdress surmounted by the double crown of

  Upper and Lower Egypt. Natron Natural evaporitic salts mined locally and used for desiccating the cadaver.

  Nefertem God of the lotus blossom. Form of a human male with lotus flower

  headdress. Neith Goddess of creation. Form of a human female with the red crown of Lower Egypt. One of the protectors of the dead king’s coffin and viscera.

  Nekhbet Goddess of kingship. Form of a vulture. Appeared on royal headdress next to the Uraeus.

  Nemes Royal. Nephthys Goddess of protection. Form of a human female with hieroglyph headdress. One of the protectors of the dead king’s coffin and viscera.

  Nomen The birth name of the Pharaoh. As used for the subject of this book:

  Tutankhamun, or Tutankhamen. Nun God of the primeval waters. Form of a bearded human male holding up the solar barque.

  Nut Goddess of the sky; the vault of heaven. Form of a naked human female. Every evening she swallowed the setting sun and every morning gave birth to the rising sun.

  Opening of the mouth Ritual by which the deceased and the funerary statuary were brought to life. Usually carried out by the dead king’s heir, ritually touching all the sensory parts of the mummy with an adze like instrument. Transforms the mummy into a vessel for the Ka.

  Osiris (Osiride) God of death, resurrection and fertility. Form of a human male mummy with hands projecting through the wrappings holding the royal crook and flail. Unlike Ptah, the mummy wears the tall white crown of Upper Egypt flanked by two large feather plumes on its head. One of the most important deities of ancient Egypt. The Osiris legend is perhaps the most bizarre of all Egyptian stories of murder, dismemberment and dispersal, collection and reconstruction of the remains, ultimately returning the body to life.

  Ostraca Limestone chips used for recording notes. Perfume cone Coloured cone of incense mixed with fat worn by ladies on top of their wigs to improve their odour and keep insects at bay. During the heat of the day these would gradually melt down and mat the entire wig.

  Prenomen The throne name of the Pharaoh. As used for the subject of this book: Nebkheperure.

  Ptah God of creation. Form of a human male mummy with the hands protruding through the wrappings holding a staff. Unlike Osiris, the head is shaven and covered with a skullcap.

  Ra God of the sun. Form of a human male with the head of a hawk wearing a sun disc headdress.

  Reis Workers’ supervisor.

  Rekhit Artisan, learned (middle) class.

  Ren The name of the king. If not preserved he would cease to exist.

  Renenutet Goddess of protection and fertility. Form of a cobra, or human female with a cobra head.

  Reshef God of war. Form of a bearded human male wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt with the head of a gazelle on the front and a ribbon hanging down the back.

  Sahu The spiritual body. The habitation of the soul.

  Satet Goddess of southern Egypt. Form of a human female wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt with antelope horns on either side. Wife of Khnum.

  Scarab Dung beetle. Since the beetle’s young were observed to emerge from the ball of dung nothing more than body refuse the beetle was believed to have the power of creation.

  Sed festival Usually held on completion of the first thirty years of the Pharaoh’s reign to renew the ageing Pharaoh. Celebrated at least every three years thereafter to continue the Pharaoh’s revivification.

  Sekhem The vital force of the king. Closely associated with the soul and the spirit.

  Sekhmet Goddess of femini
ne power. Form of a human female with the head of a lioness.

  Selket Goddess of magic. Form of a human female with scorpion headdress. One of the protectors of the dead king’s coffin and viscera.

  Seshat Goddess of writing and measurement. Form of a human female clad in a long panther skin dress and wearing a headdress of a sevenpointed star and a bow.

  Seth God of chaos and confusion. Form of a human male with the head of a mythical animal, longnosed, with square ears and bared canine teeth, or as a hippopotamus, pig or donkey. He was the son of Nut, brother of Osiris, and the evil side of the Osiris legend. Physically manifested in storms and bad weather.

  Shu Son of Re. God of the air and sunlight. Form of a human male wearing a plume or sun disc headdress.

  Sistrum Handheld musical instrument similar to a rattle.

  Sobek God of the sun. Form of a crocodile or human male with crocodile’s head wearing a headdress of the horned sun disc and upright feathers.

  Sokar God of the necropolis at Memphis. Form of a mummy with the head of a hawk.

  Solar barque The deceased was carried on this on his journey through the netherworld.

  Soped God of eastern Egypt. Form of a crouching falcon.

  Sukh Market. Taweret God of protection. Form of a female hippopotamus. Protected women during childbirth.

  Tefnut Goddess of moisture. Form of a human female with the head of a lioness.

  Toth God of writing and knowledge. Form of either a baboon or an ibis or a human male with the head of an ibis.

  Unguent Ointment.

  Uraeus Rearing cobra. Symbol of kingship. Normally adorning the headdress.

  Ushabti Mummiform figurine, usually small. Placed in tomb as servants to the dead. There were 413 found in the tomb of Tutankhamun a worker for every day of the year, a supervisor for every ten workers, plus one senior supervisor for every month of the year.

  Utchat Eyes of Horus; the sun and the moon.

  Vizier Governmental official with responsibilities and powers similar to those of a modernday Prime Minister as he relates to the Queen but under the orders of the Pharaoh and without any military power.