Beaufort, Emily Anne: Egyptian sepulchres and Syrian shrines: including some stay in the Lebanon, at Palmyra and in Western Turkey ; in 2 vol. (Band 1) (London, 1862)

382

THE TOMBS.

The arrangement of the excavated Tombs is simply
that of a passage or passages, with a tunnel vault over-

head, usually four cells on each side, and three at the
end of the passage. The whole of this hill may be
honeycombed with these Tombs, concealed in the long
accumulation of sand; those that are known have been
discovered by such accidents as that of a camel falling
into a hole, which proved to be the hollow before the
entrance, or gazelles escaping into the Tomb from,
the chase of the hunter ; many of the Tower Tombs are
full of gazelles' bones and horns strewn on the ground.
In all the Tombs we saw heaps of human bones, but
tossed together — thrown away after the mummy-cloth
had been unrolled from the bodies; for the Bedoueens
set great store by this gummy cloth, with the old
spices still adhering to it, to use as plaisters for their
sick horses. We saw no bodies yet lying there, but
the Sheikh told us he had seen many; and there is no
question but that in numbers of the upper stories, now
inaccessible from broken staircases, or in the Tombs
below the present surface of the ground, vast numbers
of mummies must still lie untouched. The Sheikh
mentioned having seen some in perfect condition with
bronze lamps on their bosoms; and many gold orna-
ments have been found in them, some of which are now
worn by the Bedoueen and Tadmor women; we remarked,

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ENTRANCE