When
planning what to include in the "Hidden Treasures" exhibition in the basement of
the Cairo Museum, now open to the public, I thought it might be time to put on
view some of the remarkable artifacts I have discovered in my excavations at
various sites throughout Egypt -- in the priests' and private tombs west of the
Great Pyramid, in the tombs of the Pyramid Builders themselves, in the Valley of
the Golden Mummies at Bahariya Oasis, and during my excavation at Saqqara.
I remember the first two statues that I found west of the Great Pyramid, that of the priest Kay and the dwarf who danced for the Pharaoh. The former was found in a shaft behind the false door of the most beautiful tomb at Giza, and its colour was well preserved. It is a seated statue of a priest called Kay and, by his right leg, his son is standing naked with finger to mouth, while his daughter is seated on the other side with her arm affectionately wrapped around Kay's leg. The inscription at the entrance to the tomb reads: "It is the tomb makers, the draughtsmen and sculptors, who built my tomb. I paid them beer and bread and they took an oath that they were satisfied." Kay in fact built three tombs at Giza, in the reigns of the Pharaohs Seneferu, Khufu and Khafre respectively. One was discovered by the German Egyptologist Herman Junker, and the other two by myself at Giza.
Next to these beautiful tombs another, in mastaba style, was found; inside the burial shaft we found the skeleton of a dwarf. When I looked through the aperture of the small chamber, which we call serdab in Arabic, I could hardly believe my eyes. There was a statue with eyes and body beautifully carved, as if for a Pharaoh. In fact, in the darkness of the chamber I thought it was a royal statue. But it proved to be a marvelous basalt statue, the left leg of which showed evidence of elephantiasis, and it was clear from the quality of the work that a sculptor at the royal workshop of Khafre made this excellent piece. The statue bore an inscription on his right leg reading: "He who pleases his majesty everyday". It would appear that this individual used to dance for the Pharaoh and make him laugh, which is why he was given the privilege to be buried beside him.
It is a rare statue because carving basalt is a highly sophisticated technique and usually reserved only for royalty. The statue reveals several deformities associated with dwarfism -- in the carving of the shoulders and legs. When compared to the skeleton found in the burial shaft, the statue reveals a realism in sculpture common to the period.
We established that my "dwarf that danced for the Pharaoh" was the father of the dwarf Seneb, whose famous statue is in the Cairo Museum and whose tomb was earlier found next to this tomb.
Four other statues were found in a single niche among the tombs of the Pyramid Builders, and these were also put on show. They represent one person at various stages of his life. The discovery was interesting because when I entered the tomb I found an area of the wall had been covered from the top to bottom with mud brick. I managed to peer through a part that was damaged with a flashlight, and was surprised to see, in a niche, the captivating eyes of a statue. Underneath it were two blocks of limestone. A greater surprise awaited me when I removed all the mud brick to reveal the full head of the statue and then, when I took away the limestone blocks, I found four statues staring back at me.
The cemetery of the workmen -- which provides proof that the Pyramids were built by Egyptians not slaves -- contains many beautiful tombs. Among the most interesting is the one that has a curse at the entrance. It is the tomb of the artist Petty, and he wrote: "Anyone who does anything evil to my tomb will be eaten by a crocodile, the hippopotamus and the lion."
From my excavations at Saqqara, where I found the tomb of the son of the Pharaoh Teti and the Pyramid of his primary queen Khuit, two items were discovered in the burial chamber that are now on display in the basement area of the museum. One is a fabulous alabaster headrest and the other a tablet for the seven sacred oils, both used during mummification and afterwards for ritual purposes. The oils used to help congeal the linen wrappings played a part in the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony.
From the Valley of the Golden Mummies, where we found 234 mummies, I brought two back for exhibition. They are of children with their faces covered with gold. The reason that people could afford gold for their mummies was that they traded all over the Nile Valley. I also chose for exhibition a life-sized statue of the god Bes, the ancient Egyptian god of laughter, joy and pleasure worshipped especially at Bahariya Oasis,
Among the most important objects now on display are 16 statues found in 1963 by Abdel-Moneim Abu-Bakr of Cairo University. When the statues were discovered at Giza they were placed in a rock-cut tomb for storage and never published. Nor have they been seen, either by scholars or the public. One is a seated scribe with a moustache, holding in his hand a papyrus roll with an inscription. When Farouk Hosni, the minister of culture, saw the piece prior to the opening of the basement museum, he was most impressed and told me that the scribe looked as if he were dreaming, unlike the one in the Louvre who looks like a philosopher, or even the one in Cairo Museum.
To be continued........