Mystery of the Temple

by Nathaniel Burns

  “I did not realize that there were so many tombs here,” Shabaka said as they passed another rock-cut tomb, one that was considerably larger than the others surrounding it.

  Neti halted for a moment and read the inscription. “He was a vizier,” she said, before continuing towards the pyramid. She gestured with her hand as she spoke, “This was where the royals were buried before they started carving tombs out of the West Bank of Thebes.”

  “But why change burial practices so drastically?” Shabaka asked.

  “They were changed because the people of Egypt complained that pyramids were too expensive to continue building. They felt the number of workers needed to complete one, as well as the amount of food needed to support the legions of workers, was unreasonable.”

  “But even carving them from the rock takes many men. Look at the size of Deir el-Madina. It is a city on its own, not just a workers’ village.”

  “Building a pyramid often took a pharaoh’s entire reign to complete, while carving a tomb in a mountain does not require legions of men to move and place stones.”

  Shabaka for a moment looked at one of the colossal sandstone blocks. “I can only imagine.”

  The sun was well in the sky when they approached the pyramid. The sand had pushed against the one side, almost past the first two styles with heat waves visibly rising from the stones.

  Neti looked up at the colossal building and released a heavy sigh.

  “What was that for?” Shabaka asked, as he came to stand besides her.

  “Getting here is the easy part,” Neti said, turning to look at him. “Finding the entrance is considerably harder.”

  “Is there not a grand entrance as with the other tombs?”

  Neti shook her head. “The doorways would have been sealed and covered with casting stones.”

  “But if it has been disturbed, then there should be signs,” Shabaka reasoned.

  “I think it would be better if you went that way,” Neti said, pointing to the one side. “I’ll go this way, and then we can look for an entrance.”

  Shabaka looked hesitantly at her, but Neti said, “I will be fine. We will meet up on the other side.”

  Shabaka reluctantly nodded and set off.

  Neti stared checking for any signs of a passage or possible stones that could have moved indicating a doorway, but there were none. She passed one of the boat pits, its familiar markings informing her of their presence. There was still no obvious sign of an entranceway as she approached the funerary temple. It too was silent. At least the shade it provided was welcoming.

  She stopped and lifted her water skin to guesstimate its contents. It was far too empty for her liking, although enough to hold her for the remainder of the day. She knew that somewhere within the complex there had to be a pit or a well, but they could not waste any time searching for one. She took a sip of the tepid water before resealing her skin, for a moment wondering how Seota was doing. She had left everything the girl could possibly need within arms reach before they had left. They intended to only be away for the day, but the sun was already high and they had not yet entered the tomb.

  She looked about the temple, abandoned when the pharaohs ceased to build their tombs there. Knowing Shabaka would become overly concerned if she took too long, she righted herself and continued her search. Neti rounded one corner of the pyramid and came to a complete standstill. It was not an official entrance, that much she knew as she stepped closer to inspect the shattered stonework. There was a large heap of stone bits close by, enough to indicate that whomever had done it had not only had time and persistence for such an undertaking, they would also have had the manpower and skills to tunnel through the sandstone.

  She looked into the distance and saw Shabaka approach from the other end and waited.

  “I’ll give them credit for determination,” he said as he came within hearing range.

  Neti nodded. “They were obviously not in a great hurry,” Neti said.

  Shabaka looked into the passage that was only marginally larger than he. “Well that is one way of circumventing any traps.”

  “Did you see anything as you went round?” Neti asked.

  Shabaka shook his head. “I can imagine that was why they decided on this course. Do you think they actually made it to the tomb?”

  Neti shrugged her shoulders. “They may have reached one of the passages.” She lowered her satchel and extracted the lamp and flint stones.

  “You are not really thinking of going in that way?”

  “Unless you have seen the other entrance, this is the only one we have.”

  “But we don’t even know if it is safe.”

  “It was safe enough for the looters to enter. Besides, the pyramid would have shown some sort of alteration if it had caused any internal damage.”

  “Do you need the other oil?” Shabaka asked.

  Neti shook her head. “I do not know how much air there is. So for now we’ll only use the one lamp.”

  “I’ll go first,” Shabaka said, causing Neti to frown. “That way, if it gets too dangerous, I can make certain you turn around.”

  Neti made to say something but thought the better of it. Instead she handed him the lamp.

  Shabaka made his way along the crudely formed tunnel that expanded and contracted at unpredictable intervals. “You would at least think there would be some consistency in forming such a tunnel.”

  “I think the stone was easier to break in places,” Neti said having, grabbed hold of the back of Shabaka’s caftan.

  “Do you need to pull me back like that?” Shabaka asked several steps later.

  “There is not much light back here,” Neti said. “It makes it difficult to determine the footing or how far ahead you are.”

  They steadily made their way along the slight incline of the narrow passage.

  Shabaka suddenly stopped, causing Neti to bump into him. “What’s the matter?”

  “It looks like the tunnel ends up front,” Shabaka said, holding the lamp higher.

  Neti moved to one side and peered past him. She thrust her hand out past him, pointing to one side, “Try and get closer.”

  Shabaka stepped forward. The light from the lamp cleared the shadows to the left. “Looks like they changed direction suddenly.”

  Neti placed her hand on the stone, gliding it over its smoothed surface. “It is a passage stone, they would not have been able to move it.”

  “So what now?” Shabaka asked. “It feels as if we have been here for most of the day already.”

  “We continue along the passage. They must have opened it to one of the tunnels.”

  Shabaka turned into the left passage, with Neti following.

  Some time later the tunnel suddenly opened up into a larger one. Shabaka held the lamp ahead of him in an attempt to orientate himself within the larger space. He moved into the other passage, carefully placing one foot on the floor before climbing free of the restrictive passage.

  Neti followed, but the dark passage made any sight difficult. She said a chant before asking Shabaka to take out the other oil.

  “But the lamp is still fine,” Shabaka reasoned.

  Neti held up her hand. “Feel that? There is airflow in here, which means that there should be torches along the corridors.”

  She heard Shabaka’s pack touch the floor and how he sorted through its contents before she felt a skin brush against her hand. She took the lamp from him for a moment, first looking upwards then downwards. “This is an ascending passage. They usually lead outwards.”

  “Outwards is good,” Shabaka said.

  “But it is not in the direction we have to go in,” Neti said, before starting off in the opposite direction.

  “Hey, I said I’m to go first!” Shabaka called after her.

  “In the tunnel, but we are now in the passage,” Neti said as she stopped several paces from him and took a torch from the wall. She added some oil and set it alight before returning it to its holder. �
�A few more of these and we may even be able to see the structure of the passage.”

  “And possibly run out of air,” Shabaka deadpanned.

  “There are air shafts into the tomb. They were needed for the artists,” Neti said as she made her way to the opposite side of the passage, taking down the next torch and lighting it.

  She lit several more and then stood back to look at the wall. “That is strange,” she said and then stepped closer to the wall, smoothing her hand over it.

  “What?” Shabaka asked.

  “The wall is bare. There is no indication of it ever having been painted. There are no marks, not even marks that could indicate it had been carved.”

  “Does that mean we are in the wrong passage?”

  “It could just mean that the paintings are incomplete. It could also mean that Khufu died before the pyramid was completed.”

  “What should have been here?”

  “Well if this does lead to the burial chamber, I would expect some depiction of the pharaoh’s life, or at least a section from the Book of the Dead…but then their artwork could also vary greatly from current practices.”

  “I’m hoping for the latter,” Shabaka said as they restarted their journey.

  The silence was overwhelming. Every scrape of their sandals, every breath, even the sound of the torches being lit and the flickering of the flames could be heard.

  They entered a chamber, and Neti again halted.

  “Any ideas?”

  “I’m just trying to estimate where we might be.” She lowered her lamp to the ground and looked about.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Traces of footprints,” Neti said, but shook her head. “The dust has not been disturbed here.” Neti stood up then moved to light another torch. Again the chamber was devoid of any inscriptions. Neti looked towards the other passage, then back the way they had come. There was a third passageway that, from the light, indicated an ascent. Neti looked at Shabaka, “This is one of those moments you wish you had a casting lot.”

  “You have no idea where we are,” Shabaka said skeptically.

  Neti shook her head. “By all logic, the burial chamber would be situated lowest. The passage we came along could therefore be the passage connecting the queen and pharaoh’s chambers. And if so, that one would lead to the entrance and this one to the pharaoh’s chamber.”

  “You really want to go to the pharaoh’s chamber?”

  “If I am to learn of the curse or this strange sickness, it would most likely be within the burial chamber.”

  Shabaka nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

  “Why are you so reluctant?”

  “Because, unlike the other tombs we have seen, we know nothing of this one. I have lived long enough to learn of traps and misguiding corridors that lead nowhere and we have no idea where we are going.”

  “But we know which way we came,” Neti said, pointing to the lit torches. “When robbers come they do not light the torches, and it is easy for them to wander along the same passage thinking it is different, especially if, like this one, there are no paintings.”

  “But you are not afraid of the curse?”

  “Why should I be? I do not intend to disturb the pharaoh. I light the torches as one of his servants would. I bring him fresh bread. I also know the chant that is to be spoken to calm his shabaties. There is no reason for me to fear anything.”

  Shabaka again nodded and they started their descent.

  “Is it just me or does this passage feel longer than the other?”

  “It is,” Neti said, placing another torch in its holder. There are also more paces between torches.”

  Not much farther on the passage leveled and Neti held up her lamp.

  “What is it?” Shabaka asked.

  “We should be approaching the burial chamber.”

  “And you are checking for?”

  “The door,” she said, turning to look at him. “You really think there are traps?”

  Shabaka nodded.

  She turned and continued along the path, which suddenly gave way to a large chamber.

  Neti stopped where she judged to be the middle of the room, lifted her lamp, and said, “If there was something here it is here no longer.”

  Shabaka came to stand besides her. “You do not think it could be a false chamber?”

  “It could be, to discourage robbers,” she said, walking towards one of the walls, again smoothing her hand over the stone. “No. It was never finished.”

  “How do you know?”

  “My father once told me that the pharaohs of old used to line their tombs with granite. These walls are made of the same stone as the others.”

  “So what do you think this is?”

  “This could have the same function as a side room in a modern tomb,” Neti said moving on. “And possibly has. There is another passage leading from it.”

  Shabaka said nothing, causing her to look back. “Are you coming?”

  Shabaka only grunted before she could hear his footfalls behind her.

  She looked along the wall for a torch, but there was none. “That is strange,” she said, again holding her lamp overhead. The limited light only lit the most immediate area.

  “I hope that is not what I think it is,” Shabaka suddenly said, reaching for her hand and shifting it towards one part of the wall. There were numerous holes along it.

  “They look like snake holes,” Shabaka said. “Why did it have to be snakes?”

  Neti stepped closer, “I do not think snakes would have remained here long after the robbers opened it.”

  Shabaka grabbed her arm. “I would prefer it if you did not test that by being so close.”

  “Snakes do not like fire,” Neti said as she held the lamp closer to the hole. “These also look too big to be snake holes.” Neti stood closer to the wall and peered into the hole, suddenly exclaiming, “That is ingenious!” The sudden outburst caused Shabaka’s heart to race.

  “What is?” he demanded.

  She reached into the hole, which was slightly wider than her hand, and carefully withdrew the rolled scroll it contained. “No one would think to look within such a hole for anything.”

  She pulled out the entire length of the scroll, handing Shabaka the lamp before she carefully placed it on the floor, and unrolled it. It was brittle like the ones the keeper of the scrolls had shown her, the paper cracking in places as she smoothed it. She held up her hand for the torch and brought it down to give light to the papyrus. The writing was still clear, with the hieroglyphics similar to the ones they used. She read part of it before Shabaka asked, “What is it?”

  “It’s notes from the pharaoh’s court, possibly written by a court scribe. It states the names of all in attendance and the matter brought before the pharaoh.” Neti looked up at Shabaka “These must be the records of the pharaoh’s rule. What a treasure!”

  “Not the kind of treasure the robbers would be after,” Shabaka flatly replied.

  “I could just imagine the excitement it would create in the Keeper,” Neti said, as she again handed the lamp back to Shabaka and then carefully rolled up the scroll, placing it back where she’d found it. Taking the lamp from Shabaka she moved it along the wall. “They are fragile, but being in the dark like this would have safeguarded them.”

  “Do you think there might be something of the illness in any of these?” Shabaka asked, although he had not moved.

  “There might, but it will take more than an entire moon’s turn to read through all of these.” Neti said moving back towards him. “And even so, they may only be the records of his court.”

  “What do you want to do?” Shabaka asked.

  “I think we should go back.”

  “I’m all for that.”

  “I think the burial chamber is higher up, and that Khufu indeed planned his differently.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  They made their way back along the passage, their ascent faster than their
descent had been. It was not long before they returned to the point where the entrance tunnel opened up into the passage.

  “You want to come back tomorrow to see what is that way?”

  Neti shook her head. “We’re going that way now.”

  “What!” Shabaka called after her as she started along the passage again.

  “By Ra!” she exclaimed several moments later, causing him to rush after her. “You have to see this!” Neti said as she held the lamp overhead, the limited light doing little to light the great passage. But from the meager light, the paintings were obvious. Neti moved along the passage. It had a ledge on either side of it. She climbed onto one of the ledges and lit the torch there. Neti gasped at the vividness of the colors, the way they seemed to come alive in the flickering light. She moved to light all the other torches, taking several moments to draw in the effect of the passage.

  Shabaka stood in the middle of the passageway and looked about him, awestruck.

  “I can understand the claims of an elaborate passage,” Neti said as she came to stand besides him. I do not even think Nefertari’s burial chamber has as elaborate paintings.

  “But what do they mean?” Shabaka asked.

  “They are accounts of his life,” Neti said, and then pointed to one. “His marriage to the queen.”

  Neti looked to the one side, “And that possibly leads to one of the burial chambers,” she said, pointing to a passage that had become visible with the lit gallery. Shabaka approached it, then held out his hand towards Neti, gesturing for her to give him the lamp. He took it and held it towards the narrow passage.

  “It’s a tight fit, and I cannot tell you how long it is.” He then turned to look at her. “We will have to walk hunkered down.”

  Neti nodded. “You want to go first?”

  “It’s all the same,” Shabaka said before entering the passage.

  Neti followed behind. There were only glimpses of light passing alongside Shabaka, but it was enough for her to catch glimpses of the artwork along the corridor. They were a chapter from the Book of the Dead, the passage to the afterlife.

  A moment later Neti’s nose twitched and her arm shot out to grab Shabaka’s caftan again. “Something has died here.”