by Mary Deal
“Look at these artifacts!” Chione said. Taweret, the ferocious-looking pregnant hippopotamus and goddess of childbirth, stood in one corner. “To ward off evil during childbirth.”
On an elegantly carved wooden table in another corner lay various size scarabs placed in a circle. A magical knife shaped like a boomerang lay in the middle. It would have been used to draw a line of protection around an area or a person.
“A lion, an Eye of Horus, serpent with a knife and a jackal,” Masud said, studying the carvings on the blade as he stood beside Chione.
“All those creatures gave the knife its power,” she said.
“O Little One,” Masud said. “You know.”
Several of the others laughed at Masud's understatement.
“One of our resident experts,” Bebe said. Her smile was amicable.
In the opposite corner stood another table on which lay a gilt hand mirror, face down, the backside bordered with lotuses delicately etched and one large bloom in the middle. A gilt pyramid about a foot tall and inlaid with stones, stood beside the mirror. An enormous faience ankh carved with a dog-headed scepter representing power lay nearby. The scepter was said to be the pillar of the god Osiris and held the power of a god over millions of years. On the floor near each table and between the legs, stood faience vases, jars and containers, some inlaid with gold and jewels. Several draped garlands, though withered and faded, held together and withstood time. Small stone steles with inscriptions leaned against the walls. Fragile papyri bearing more writings lay scattered.
One glorious wall was totally etched with a painted relief of a man and woman sitting facing one another. The female wore a long closely fitted, pleated white skirt. The cloak over her shoulders attached to the front of her skirt between bare breasts. The male wore only a pleated white calf-length kilt. Both sported beautifully braided wigs of differing lengths with perfumed pomade beeswax cones on top. Both faces were etched with broad lines depicting the use of kohl around the eyes, which was a decorative way of deflecting harshness of the sun's rays away from the eyes.
“Look at this,” Chione said. Her excitement brought the group around in front of the giant-sized figures. “The woman wears a sacred menat around her neck.”
“And holds a sistrum,” Bebe said. She carried a pen and notepad everywhere and had an extra pen clipped to her pocket. She began to sketch the image, perhaps to later verify it in some texts.
“Yes,” Chione said, agreeing. “A sacred rattle carried by noblewomen and priestesses.”
“She looks to be counseling the man,” Kendra said. “Could it be we've found the tomb of such an important woman?”
“Let's not speculate,” Dr. Withers said, smiling his well-known witty grin. “Let's take it one day… uh… that's one chamber at a time.”
In the mural, a five-stringed harp stood on the floor beside the woman's chair, colorfully decorated with dancers and lyre and double-flute players.
On the opposite wall, two women faced each other. One, the same woman from the first mural, appeared to be administering to another who looked to be with child. Her face was painted black.
“The black woman, a Nubian, perhaps?” Bebe asked. “A lady from Punt?”
“Not when she's dressed like an Egyptian,” Chione said, studying hieroglyphs bordering the scene. “The rest of her skin is pale.”
“Check the woman's expression,” Bebe said. “She looks committed to what she's doing.”
Chione wanted to offer a bit of information, hesitated, then decided no reason existed to withhold from this group if she had something solid to consider. “The ancients believed the heart was the center of their being. They thought with their hearts.”
“No kidding,” Ginny said. She listened and spoke, all the while doing what she did best. The camera eye was seldom more than an inch or so away from her eye, if not pressed against it.
“So it's my guess ancient Egyptians were a very emotional people,” Chione said, “by the look on this woman's face.”
Ginny had great curiosity and learned a lot during her shoots. She had worked all over the world until Dr. Withers nabbed her for the Institute. Though she, at times, dressed like a man and was husky, the sparkly earrings she wore, a diamond studded pinkie ring, and her dainty perfume told a different story. Still, she was wondered about. She could shoulder a heavy camera like any man and compete with the strongest of them.
Wadjets, Eyes of Horus the Hawk God, occupied both reliefs. Bowls, vases, winged scarabs and other amulets filled the spaces. The spell caster also carried a long incense burner with a head of the Hawk God on one end.
“Listen,” Chione said. “I'm not going to interpret every glyph right now, but I'll give a few English interpretations, okay?” All nodded eagerly. She began by pointing to a cluster of glyphs. Bebe stepped up beside her, ready to write. Having studied ancient pronunciation, Chione sounded out a few glyphs phonetically in the old language, and then pointed as she translated.
Blacken your face
with Hapi's mud
like farmer's fields
new life will bud
“A spell!” Kendra said.
Chione's better judgment told her not to describe the thick earthy odor of Hapi's mud she just inhaled.
“But wait,” Ginny said as she relaxed the camera on her shoulder and pointed. “Why did you begin reading from the right? The next row, you read from the left.”
“See this?” Chione asked, pointing to a bird figure. “When any figure of life faces left, you begin reading from the left. Facing right, begin right and read left. Up or down, whichever way the live figure faces, start from that direction.”
“I knew that,” Ginny said, teasing to hide embarrassment.
“What the spell implies,” Clifford said. “Is that the tomb's occupant believed in the magic of the times, such as it was.”
In both murals, a sun disk with long beaming rays and hands at the ends holding ankhs pointed toward the woman's face. “This tomb is from Akhenaten's era,” Chione said. “The main god is Aten!”
“Would you look at that,” Dr. Withers said. He had a playful way of acting surprised at times, though he had probably already seen the symbols, having been in the chamber a while. He never missed much.
“God Aten, as opposed to…?” a technician asked.
“You can answer that, Bebe,” Chione said, gesturing for her to speak.
“Thank you, Chione,” she said, turning to address the group. “When Akhenaten became Pharaoh, he banished all other gods, especially Amon-Ra. Amon was divine protector, principal god of Upper Egypt, Thebes, and toward Africa. Ra was the sun god of Lower Egypt toward the Mediterranean.”
“Amon by itself stood for the midnight sun, the hidden mysteries,” Clifford said. “Ra represented the sun's life-giving rays.”
“Aten represented the sun itself as a disk in the heavens,” Bebe said, motioning upward to the brilliant golden orb in the murals. “This is the Aten symbol!”
“Go-o-od, good, good, good!” Dr. Withers said, dancing around. “So if this is Akhenaten era—”
“And worship of the Aten was banished during the reign of Tutankhamon,” Bebe said and waited.
“Then we've narrowed down our time frame,” Dr. Withers said with joy. “So let's review our information.”
Bebe agreed. “Tutankh-Amon's name was first Tutankh-Aten.”
“I remember reading that,” a technician said.
“If I may, O Teacher,” Masud said to Dr. Withers and nodded to the others. He paused for any objections to him speaking. Everyone waited so he continued. “King Tutankhamon's full name was first Neb-Kheperu-Ra Tutankh-Aten,” he said with a heavy accent. “He married a niece, maybe half-sister, named Ankhesenpa-Aten. Older than him, she was believed to be the third daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.”
“I remember,” Aaron said. “It's not known for sure if Tutankhamon was Akhenaten's youngest brother or a son by Akhenaten and his minor quee
n Kiya.”
“They sure knew how to complicate their lives, didn't they?” Ginny asked.
“Actually, they simplified it,” Clifford said. “Or tried to. Intermarriage assured the kingship would remain a family matter.”
“How does this narrow down our time frame?” Another technician asked.
“Speculation has it,” Chione said. “Though reared in the Aten tradition, King Tut changed his name to Amon, restored Amon worship, and wiped out the religious dogma established by Akhenaten.”
“Why would he wipe out his father's traditions?” Someone asked. Everyone had become enthused. “Or a brother's, if that's what he was?”
“That's what I've always asked,” Bebe said. “I speculate that since King Tut assumed the throne at age nine, presumably advised by Aye, Nefertiti's father. who could have been Tut's grandfather. It was Aye who forced Tut to change his name and restore Amon.”
“Tut, being a child, had no real choice,” Dr. Withers said thoughtfully.
“King Tut was reputedly deposed,” Clifford said.
“That's only theory, O Professor,” Rashad's cameraman said, stepping close. “His mummy does have a hole in the side of his skull from some sort of a blow perhaps. The resultant bone fragment lies deeper inside. There are also bruises on his temple. Close up pictures and x-rays are on file at Madu Museum.”
Chione hugged herself listening to the conversation. At the mention of the blow to King Tut's head, she moaned quietly, then heard…
“All must change. It's the new order.”
The warning echoed through her mind as if she had heard it many times. A feeling of urgency overtook her as if so little time remained, but for what? Again she looked at the others. They had not heard. No one heard the words or saw the pictures that appeared inside her mind.
“The theory of murder is only speculation,” Dr. Withers said, reminding everyone to remain open-minded.
8
“What is it, Chione?” Kendra asked, coming to her aid. “You look pale.”
“I-I'm just too close to this, can feel it all, but I-I'm okay.”
“So, after that?” Dr. Withers asked, waiting for a response. He had a way of denying any reason that disrupted progress, even Chione's frailties. “After that… no other Aten worshipers?”
“Correct,” Clifford said. “All of Akhenaten and Nefertiti's temples and artifacts at Akhetaten were abandoned, destroyed or defaced. Even the Aten symbol.”
“Wait a minute,” Ginny said. “Akhenaten named a town after himself?”
“Not really,” Bebe said.
“But, Akhenaten or Akhetaten? What's the difference?”
“I see why you're confused,” Bebe said. “It's like this. In any Egyptian name, remove the prefix or suffix `Aten' or `Amon' which signifies the god the person worshipped.”
“I get it. The basis of Akhenaten's name is Akhen. The town is Akhet.”
“Ahken meant, He who serves the sun,” Masud said.
“And Ahket meant, Horizon of the Aten,” Clifford said. “Based on how the sun rose over the distant hills as seen from El Amarna, Ahkenaten's town.”
“We've got it,” several in the group said. Their excited voices filled the small chamber.
“Oh, yes,” Dr. Withers said. “We're such a team.”
“So what we have here,” Chione said. “Is a tomb constructed sometime between the reign of Akhenaten and possibly through that of Tutankhamon. Not very long.”
“Definitely from the Aten era,” Bebe said. She had studied and learned well, easily making the switch from South American to Egyptian archaeology.
“How'd you figure?” Ginny asked.
“Because Aten era tombs have side chambers, like this one. Amon worshippers carved the rooms of their tombs straight in.”
The Egyptians listened as the Institute's group of professionals proved their knowledge.
“Who ruled during that time?” Ginny asked.
“Akhenaten for seventeen years,” Bebe said. “Then as speculation has it, possibly Smenkhkare, his younger brother, for about three years; then Tutankhamon succeeded by his wife, Ankhesenpa-Aten who became Ankhesen-Amon, who married her grandfather Aye.”
Kendra continued to study the walls. “By that latter marriage,” she said, “Amon was restored.”
“Somewhere in a period of about twenty to twenty-nine years,” Bebe said.
“I'm sure this tomb is going to clear up a lot of speculation,” Aaron said as he studied the murals.
“I can feel it in my bones,” Dr. Withers said.
The other walls contained hieroglyphs and more reliefs. Rows of spectacular lotuses bordered the panels in bright blues, reds, and greens. Brilliant yellow hues glowed as if freshly painted.
“Work your magic for us, Chione,” Dr. Withers said, directing his light to the hieroglyphs.
She moved slowly around the chamber, forcing herself not to contaminate the paintings by touch, which she really wanted to do; touch, feel, and perceive ancient history in one of the best ways only she knew, with psychometric impressions. But body oils, carbon dioxide from breath, photography lamps, exhaust fumes, and fresh air could begin deterioration of tomb art.
Chione stopped suddenly, gasped and could say nothing. Everyone as well seemed suspended in anticipation.
Finally, totally out of character when addressing her, Aaron said, “Don't keep us waiting.”
“Some of you know what's being told by these glyphs,” she said, teasing and drawing out the moment.
“Bits and pieces,” Clifford said. “Chione, please!”
Methodically, she examined one row of hieroglyphs. “Beware,” she began, pointing her way along.
Beware, and be ready
Two who would enter
The spell is cast
to last
till all of time has passed
“Magic!” Kendra said again. “But that sounded like a warning.”
Chione looked away quickly. “Guess in time we'll find out. Magic and spells were common.” For some reason, Chione felt utterly triumphant, as if having completed one of the most important acts of her life.
“ `Two who would enter,' ” Aaron said. “Pretty specific.”
“Tombs weren't built with the expectation others would enter,” Kendra said. “ `Till all of time has passed' suggests—”
“Maybe this priestess, if that's what she was,” Bebe said, “saw into the future to a time when two people would come here for a purpose.” She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Could these reliefs be showing us the two specific people?” Kendra asked.
“I doubt it,” Chione said quickly. Drawing quick conclusions was not her habit. She hoped that no one noticed, and then wondered why she responded in such an abrupt manner. “These are probably scenes from her life and work.”
Aaron had learned much about glyph interpretations from her. What little the others knew was learned from their experiences. They spent a few minutes deciphering the overall message of the chamber. Quiet mumbling filled the room as each sounded out different symbols, like subdued repeating of chants and prayers. When Dakarai and Masud joined in, the team members trying to emulate their accents and pronounciation made the hum of voices sound ancient.
“The mummy in the burial chamber,” Clifford said finally, “was either of royal personage, maybe a royal relative, or high courtier.”
“Almost certainly a female,” Kendra said. “Judging by these murals.” The Egyptians expected to take their lives with them into the Afterlife. Decorating their tombs was a way to assure that their earthly lives went along.
“So which great women are not accounted for among the Eighteenth Dynasty?” Bebe asked.
They looked to one another, searching memories for any royal female mummies not found during the decades of discoveries.
“Some of the queens,” Clifford said. “Specifically, Ankhesenpa and many minor queens and daughters. Nefertiti's tomb was found recently.�
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“And her mummy,” Dr. Withers said.
“Nefertiti vanished two years before Akhenaten's demise,” Kendra said.
“There's a rumor that Nefertiti became Smenkhkare, the so-called brother of Akhenaten,” Clifford said. “In order to accede the throne.”
Dakarai and Masud exchanged curious glances, seeming surprised by the vast amount of knowledge shared by the team members.
“All speculation,” Dr. Withers said. “Let's not get our hopes up. From this chamber, it's my guess we've not discovered a queen's tomb.” He rubbed his stomach. “For now, let's go topside for lunch,” Everyone concurred. “You folks,” he said to the two filming teams, “can complete your video documentation of the room and contents without us being in the way.”
After lunch, they re-entered the tomb and took another peek into the wondrous First Chamber.
Kendra and Clifford's tasks, along with clerks supplied by the Madu Museum, would be to tag and number each artifact. Photographs would be taken to document placement within the room. Once artifacts in the front were removed, any concealed behind those would be identified in place. Such procedure provided a permanent record of the placement and condition of each artifact. Between various steps of the procedure, film would be developed to assure information was factually captured before another layer of artifacts could be moved from its resting place. Cleaning and preservation would begin on site should some pieces begin to deteriorate in the fresh air and sunlight.
After again viewing the First Chamber, they quietly began to leave when suddenly a low moaning resounded. Kendra grabbed onto Aaron. Bebe seemed more interested in seeing to whom Kendra would turn in a time of distress. The groan was so stunning, Dr. Withers placed a hand on Clifford's shoulder. Both Aaron and Chione looked to each of the others to determine who was playing a joke.
Then it came again. A low muffled tone, almost like someone calling out for recognition. This time, all had heard. No one moved or said anything. Finally, Chione said, “That's not the same sound I've been hearing. A male voice? Which one of you guys is trying to pull one over?”