Mariette, Auguste; Dickerman, Lysander [Editor]: The monuments of Upper Egypt (Boston, 1890)

34

THE MONUMENTS OF UPPER EGYPT.

by a stone which hides its aperture, or by mate-
rials of all kinds heaped up there. Ropes are
necessary for the descent.

The vault is cut into the rock, and so disposed
that the sarcophagus is placed right under the
principal chamber of the building, the one where
the survivors assemble.

The traveller who visits the tombs of Sakkarah,
of Beni-Hassan, of Goornah, and of El-Kab,
must therefore understand that the chamber
into which he will first enter, whether built of
stone or whether hollowed in the rock, is the
accessible chamber reserved for the relatives.
The mummies are in a vault under ground, to
which access is obtained by a narrow passage,
which we call a well.

The decoration of the tombs is in accordance
with certain laws, which vary according to the
period or according to that part of the tomb
which is to be ornamented. The well, the vault,
and the serdab, are always without inscription.
The stone sarcophagi and the wooden coffins of
the mummies are often adorned with a vast
amount of texts, interspersed with illustrations.
All splendor of ornamentation was reserved for
the chamber of the outer building.