53 
which he had adopted in trying to find an entrance to it, the 
difficulties and disappointments which he had met with, the 
whole of the structure being apparently solid. A French explorer 
had declared it to be of Greek origin; some thought it to be an 
early convent, and all, after an extensive examination, had passed 
on and left it as valueless. It was three hundred feet long and 
thirty-three feet high, and obviously an object of much antiquity. 
The tombs of the kings of the Third Dynasty had long been 
regarded as a dust heap! For fourteen or fifteen days the lecturer’s 
men made no progress whatever in penetrating it. Every wall 
appeared to be solid; but finally, in making another effort in 
one corner, he came across the trace of a wall running to the 
interior, about a yard distant from another wall parallel to it. 
Between these was a mass of mud or concrete, of the same 
character as that of which the bricks were made. 
‘We were at the tomb of King Neter-Khet, and, as his name 
appeared in one of the panels, this was a discovery of some 
importance. He was the King of Upper and Lower Egypt; there 
were also on the panels the names of his vineyards and the offerings 
that were made to him. Lower down we came across 
the steps of a concealed stairway, and eventually, after 
many days, we reached the bottom. The scene was a 
magnificent one. On the steps were large numbers of 
offerings in alabaster and precious relics, many of which had 
been broken. The whole of the stairway was laden with vessels 
and offerings—about 800, and several hundred bowls of precious 
stones. We passed under what may be called the earliest arch 
known in the world. At the bottom of the stairway further 
progress was barred by an enormous stone. We tried to get 
round it, or above it, but it was impossible; there was a solid 
mud coating, as in the case of the stairway. Following the clue 
thus given, we found a series of wells which were obviously 
prepared for the reception of these large stones in succession. 
Our passage kept being stopped by these enormous masses, 
and {the Arabs themselves were in a state of fear, and 
would only work about an hour in shifts of four. Baskets were 
handed up by a chain of living hands, and a series of boys ran 
across to the edge of the tomb to tip them over. In this way the 
excavations went on without an accident of any serious kind. 
When we got inside I shall never forget the sight which met our 
gaze. On all sides, as far as we could see, were piled up enormous 
vessels and offerings of all descriptions. We saw again, repeated 
time after time, the name of the king. We wandered about in 
semi-darkness, exploring at a depth of 94 feet below the surface. 
The vessels which had been broken were restored by the Arabs, 
in one case 99 fragments had been collected and put together. 
The stronger vessels of alabaster had not been broken at all. 
