Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

658 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
discover the name of their builder. In the spring of 1894,
however, De Morgan attacked the northern and southern
brick pyramids anew. Having first examined the private
tombs, which were situated around about the northern pyramid,
he discovered that the material of which the pyramid
consists corresponded to that of the tombs to
the north of
the pyramid, and that as the tombs, according to their inscriptions,
belong to the period of the Middle Empire
(about 2200-1800 b.
a), the pyramid must have been built
at the same period. As, moreover, the entrance to the burial
chamber of these sepulchres was not in the sepulchral building
itself as in the more ancient periods, but outside of it,
De Morgan came to the conclusion that the entrance to
the pyramid must be looked for between its base and the
surrounding wall. Following this idea, he discovered in
the ground to the north of the monument a shaft leading to
a number of underground chambers which were all
situated
in one passage. Further systematic examination led to the
discovery of a second gallerv. The subterranean tomb chambers
were half filled with rubbish and ruins. The coffins had
been opened and ransacked by thieves in ancient times.
The remains of the skeletons were strewn about upon the
floor amid broken alabaster and terra-cotta vases.
De Morgan gave orders to remove the rubbish and dust
of the rooms and to lay bare the naked rock. Through
these troublesome labors it was possible to discover two
hollows in the floor of one of the galleries in which a treasure
of gold and jewels was found, the finest which the art
of the Egyptian gold-workers could produce.
These valuables
had been originally deposited in a wooden box, inlaid
with gold. The box was destroyed, as the wood was rotten,
and the treasure lay in the sands. Breastplates of gold and
precious stones, golden necklaces, bracelets, shells made of
gold, which were strung on chains, were mixed with scarabasi
of amethvst, lapis lazuli or enamel, which were set in golden