AN ANCIKNI' KiiYI'l'lAX COFKIN KMlWR, 181 



(5) " The devotee before the Great Company of Gods, Neter-Nekht, 

 whose word is riwlit and ti-ne ;" (0) "The devotee before Neith, Neter- 

 Nekht." 



Explanations — (4) Nephthys, another great goddess of the Other 

 World, was the sister of Osiris and Tsis. (5) The " Great Company of 

 Gods " consisted of between ten to thirteen deities. (6) Neith person- 

 ified the place in the sky where the sun rises. In one form she was the 

 goddess of the loom and shuttle, and also of the chase, while in another 

 aspect she appears in tlie likeness of a cow. 



Lid : — This contains a single line of hieroglyphs which I'eads : — (7) "May 

 the king give an offering ! The god Auubis, the lord of the town of Sepa, 

 the dweller in the divine house ; may he grant that thou may traverse 

 heaven, and that thou may be united to (i.e., arrive at) the double-staircase 



of the Great God, the lord of heaven, Neter-Nekht, son of ti." 



Explanations — (7) The words " May the king give an offering " are 

 written at the commencement of most ancient Egyptian sepulchral inscrip- 

 tions. When we recollect that the king was considered a god, and 

 worshipped as such, we are not surprised when we read that every pious 

 Egyptian prayed to him for an offering, just as he prayed to Osiris and 

 Ra, or to the other deities who dwelt in heaven. Anubis, who was a god in 

 jackal-form, presided over embalmment ceremonies ; the phrase " divine 

 house " doubtless refers to the tomb-chamber wherein the god was supposed 

 to dwell. The " gi-eat god, the lord of heaven " was Osiris, who was 

 believed to sit on a throne at the top of a flight of stairs. 



Western end : — This contains one horizontal line and four perpendicular 

 lines of text : — Horizontal text — (8) " May grant a royal offering Anubis, 

 he who is upon his hill, the dweller in the mummy chamber, the lord 

 of the Holy Land, and a beautiful burial in the Mountain of the West 

 [so that] he (i.e., the deceased), may journey in peace, in peace, to his 

 tomb-chamber in Neter-Kher. Neter-Nekht." Perpendicular texts — (9) 

 " Devotee before Hapi, Neter-Nekht ;" (10) " Devotee before Geb, Neter- 

 Nekht ;" (11) "Devotee before Nut, Neter-Nekht;" (12) "Devotee 

 before Qebhseunuf, Neter-Nekht." 



Explanations — (8) The god Anubis has already been described. 

 The " Mountain of the West" was a common name for the whole region 

 containing the abode of the dead, which was situated in the high hills on 

 the western bank of the Nile. " Neter-Kher " was the name for the 

 cemeteiy itself ; it means, literally, "Divine Subterranean Place." (9) 

 Hapi, a dog-headed god, protected the small intestines of the deceased 

 which were removed in the process of embalmment. (10) Geb, a goose- 

 shaped deity, was the god of the earth. (11) Nut was the great goddess 

 of the sky. (12) Qebhsennuf, a hawk-headed deity, pi'otected the liver 

 and gall bladder of the deceased. 



Eastern end : — One horizontal line and four perpendicular lines of text : 

 — Horizontal text — (13) "May the king give an offering; and Osiris, 

 the lord of the town of Busii-is, the great god, the lord of the town of 

 Abydos, may he grant sepulchral offerings of cakes and ale, oxen and geese, 



