The Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty, 1900-1901 Volume 21, PT. 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 Excerpt: ...even by men, at this period. 3. The upper half of a wooden tablet was so darkened (by oil and smoke?) that scarcely anything could be discerned. Neither spirit nor benzol would clean it; but a strong soap lather rubbed hard upon it disclosed gradually the signs here shown. The medium of the inks, both red and black, was so firm that nothing was lost from the signs. This is one of the most valuable pieces recovered, as it shows the free-hand drawing of signs at the finest period of the early kingdom. The firmness and regularity of the lines and the free sweep of the handling are unsurpassed in any writing. It might have been attached to the statuette just noticed, as it seems to name "the standing image of the ka of king Zer of the palace Qed hotep." The name of the palace is the same as that of king Merpaba (R.T. i. vi. 8). The form of the sign ha explains the meaning of the small enclosure in the corner; that is not an inner chamber as generally supposed, but it is the fortified gateway, as in the Shuuet ex Zebib at Abydos, and elsewhere. This was suggested by Maspero in J'roc. Soc. Bib. Arch. xii. 247. 4. A part of a very thick tablet of ebony shows traces of signs in red and black. the tomb of Qa, has the remains of the inkwritten inscription on it, alternately the shrine of Anpu and the king's name. It was a funerary model of an incised cylinder for sealing. ivory tablet drawn here is that 6. The 5. A wooden cylinder, found last year near already mentioned in the account of pl. viii. 3. CHAPTER IV. THE SEALINGS AND STELES. 26. Pl. XIII. The numbers of the sealings are continuous from those described in Royal Tombs, Part I.; thus the number alone suffices to distinguish any published sealing. 89. Only a single impression of the seal of King Ka ...