Belzone made a close investigation of these tombs, discovering various points of interest which had escaped the notice of earlier explorers. The tombs were cut in the face of the limestone rock, with passages, steps and doorways, and a pit at the end, probably to discourage intruders. He broke through a wall which gave a hollow sound when struck, and discovered several more pillared halls and passages. The body, which, by embalming, was converted into a mummy, was, especially in the case of royalty and other distinguished people, most carefully preserved. First placed in a casket of cedar or other wood elaborately painted with figures of the gods, this again in an outer casket of wood, more roughly decorated, and finally in a stone sarcophagus.
Reference has been made before to a sort of court or trial which was held at the entrance to the grave to decide if the deceased was worthy to enter the presence of Osiris.
In a modern Arab funeral a number of men walk first, chanting a ritual. The bier, with a high peak in front, like the prow of a Nile boat, is carried by friends and comes next, and upon the bier a tin horn is placed if the corpse is a man, a shawl and jewelry and other ornaments, if a woman, and a red shawl indicates youth. A more minute description of this is given by Pollard, in the “Land of the Monuments.” The funerals take place within a few hours of death. Different from the old Egyptian custom, the body in its winding sheet is covered with shawls, and the procession is closed by the chief mourners, followed by friends, sometimes walking hand in hand.
Details as regards the tomb of Tausert and Siptah are to be found in the guide books, but the passing traveller will probably glance hastily at pictures and inscriptions and hurry on; only the student has leisure or inclination for minute or accurate investigation. The tomb represents the royal couple absorbed in religious exercises, offering to the various gods and goddesses their prayers, praises and gifts. The queen stands before Harmachus, “god of the morning,” and Anubis, “the god of the dead,” and Ne-fer-tum-Hor, and again before Ptah, “the Opener,” and Ma, “goddess of Truth.” All representations of this last goddess are said to be “refined, calm and peaceful” in expression and worthy of the character of the goddess of Truth.
Then the king stands before Isis, “the mother,” and Horns, “the son,” and in other pictures the royal consorts are together before some god, perhaps carrying or crowned with flowers. And again the queen before Harmachus, Hathor, the Egyptian Venus, and Nepthys, “lady of the house.” The sarcophagus of Tausert bears her likeness, between Isis and Nepthys, a conventional idea of what a goddess was or should be, setting the pattern.
The tomb has also other pictures of some of the lesser gods, armed with knives, keeping guard over a chapel, to ward off evil ones, Hathor standing in the doorway. Again the king and the high priest, sacrificing to Osiris and the winged goddess Ma in the doorway of a chapel, signifying that only Truth may enter. Here is what is called the act of opening the mouth of the royal likeness in the Hall of Gold. The high priest appears with his staff and panther skin, the Kereb and lower priests, who take part in the ceremony, and the people as “those who come to the tomb,” offering incense. Various rooms are carved and ornamented with pictures of numerous gods, Thoth with the moon upon his head, Ma with outspread wings, serpents, boats and other symbols.
Mrs. Stevenson, who has made an especial study of Egyptian symbols, says that most of the Egyptian goddesses may be said, broadly speaking, to represent either luminous space, or the activity of the god with whom they are associated, and their common attributes make it easy for the Egyptians to reduce them to one type. Sekhet, “the striker”; Neith, who “shoots”; Hat-Hor, meaning “the home of Horus,” the mother of Horus; one of those designations is “the mighty striker,” son of Hat-Hor, and who, at Dendereh, where she was especially worshipped as the “holy one,” is expressly called Sekhet-Neith, while all are called “Eye of Ra.” “There are,” she continues, “exceptions, such as Maut, who represents abstract truth and justice, Safekh, etc.; and in certain localities where the goddess stood alone, like Neith at Sais, she included all the attributes of divinity, but her place in the local triad is as indicated above.”
But to return to the tomb. One hall with seats seems to suggest that another sarcophagus rested there. So we spell out, read and speculate over these monuments of long ago. This king and queen were doubtless buried with great honors; which was it, love or ambition, that ruled their lives and stamped with its signet even their tomb? Could it be said of them that “they were lovely in their lives and in death they were not divided”? Evidently they did not wish to accept the common lot of man, to pass away and be forgotten.