DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9059#0322
298
APPENDIX.
was soft. The pyramid is now little more than
a heap of rubbish. The masonry is visible only
in one place on the south face. It seems to have
been built in degrees, or steps.
Prof. Maspero's efforts to open this pyramid
were begun on the 18th of April, 1881, and were
concluded on the 29th of the following May.
It had previously been plundered by thieves.
They first attempted the south face, then dug a
hole about eight feet deep on the summit, and
finally succeeded in forcing an entrance from
the north. They did not try to demolish the
sarcophagus, but broke off one corner, and,
through the aperture thus made, extracted the
mummy. Prof. Maspero found only one shoul-
der and an arm.
The comparison of the texts of these three
pyramids proves that the scribes were accus-
tomed to have a copy with a place for the king's
name left blank—a sort of standard copy —
according to which, with slight variations, texts
were inscribed on all the walls. A cartouche
here and a pronoun there filled the blanks ; but
sometimes the scribes forgot to omit the pro-
noun, and so we occasionally have two subjects
or two objects of a verb, both referring to the
same person.
APPENDIX.
was soft. The pyramid is now little more than
a heap of rubbish. The masonry is visible only
in one place on the south face. It seems to have
been built in degrees, or steps.
Prof. Maspero's efforts to open this pyramid
were begun on the 18th of April, 1881, and were
concluded on the 29th of the following May.
It had previously been plundered by thieves.
They first attempted the south face, then dug a
hole about eight feet deep on the summit, and
finally succeeded in forcing an entrance from
the north. They did not try to demolish the
sarcophagus, but broke off one corner, and,
through the aperture thus made, extracted the
mummy. Prof. Maspero found only one shoul-
der and an arm.
The comparison of the texts of these three
pyramids proves that the scribes were accus-
tomed to have a copy with a place for the king's
name left blank—a sort of standard copy —
according to which, with slight variations, texts
were inscribed on all the walls. A cartouche
here and a pronoun there filled the blanks ; but
sometimes the scribes forgot to omit the pro-
noun, and so we occasionally have two subjects
or two objects of a verb, both referring to the
same person.