"The things of greatest importance at Sakkara are the tombs. They cover an area nearly four miles long by a mile in width, and there is little doubt that the necropolis of Sakkara is the most extensive in all Egypt. Many tombs that were opened have been filled up again by the sand; at present there are only two which are shown to visitors, but they are so large and interesting that nobody misses the others. One is the tomb of Tih, a priest of Memphis, who lived during the fifth dynasty, or about five thousand years ago; its walls are covered with inscriptions showing the manners and customs of the time, and it is said that we have learned more from this tomb than from any other about the life of the ancient Egyptians.
"The sculptures show the owner of the tomb, Mr. Tih, in a great many occupations. According to the custom of the period, he built the tomb during his lifetime, and made it all ready for use after death. An ancient writer says, 'The Egyptians call their houses hostelries, on account of the short period during which they inhabit them; but they call their tombs eternal dwelling-places.' This tomb was built in Tih's lifetime, and made ready for his long occupation by representing the scenes of his terrestrial existence.
A HUNTING SCENE.
"We have the priest of Memphis engaged in agriculture, or, rather, he is present while his men are in the fields ploughing, sowing, harvesting, thrashing grain, driving oxen, donkeys, and other animals, and performing other ordinary work. We see him hunting, fishing, sailing in boats, listening to music, witnessing dances, and otherwise amusing himself; and we see him worshipping in the temple, and superintending sacrifices of oxen, according to the religious practices of his day. The sculptures are so numerous that it would take a ream of paper to describe all of them; they show that the artists knew their work, and many of them had a sense of the ridiculous that would secure them good situations on the comic papers of to-day.
BRONZE FIGURE OF APIS.
"After seeing the tomb of Tih we went to the Apis Mausoleum, or tombs of the sacred bulls. You know that Apis, or the sacred bull, was worshipped as a divinity at Memphis; he was kept in a temple during his lifetime, and a magnificent tomb was given him after his death. The site of the Apis Mausoleum was unknown for many centuries; it was found by Mariette (in 1860) through the writings of one of the Greek historians. While clearing away the sand in a certain place he found a sphinx, and he then remembered a passage in Strabo, which says: