D'Athanasi, Giovanni; Salt, Henry [Hrsg.]: A brief account of the researches and discoveries in Upper Egypt: To which is added a detailed catalogue of Mr. Salts collection of Egyptian antiquities (London, 1836)

128

INTERIOR OF THE TOMBS

A circumstance which I regard as peculiarly
interesting with respect to the tombs at Abydos, is
that all the mummies are embalmed after the
same manner, and with one kind of balm, instead
of different materials as is the case at Thebes.
At Abydos the bodies are universally found pre-
served with the black balm which I have already
mentioned; at least, in the course of all our
excavations we did not find one of any other
kind. This would lead one to believe that the
black embalmment was the first in point of anti-
quity of all that the ancients adopted. Mr. Salt's
opinion, which is also concurred in by Mr. Wilkin-
son, was that the city of Abydos was more ancient
than Thebes. Independently of this circumstance,
I have always held the opinion that the black
method of embalmment was the most ancient,
which being found almost exclusively at Abydos,
would come to support, or at least to concur in,
the belief that the city of Abydos is of superior
antiquity to that of Thebes.

With respect to the tombs at Memphis, I am
unable to give any particulars from personal obser-
vation, never having made any excavations in that
city. I believe I may state, however, that all the
tombs are in the form of square wells, cut out of