Tombs of the Kings at Thebes excavations have been conducted for some
years by Mr Theodore M. Davis, of Newport, Rhode Island, by special
arrangement with the Department of Antiquities of the Egyptian
Government; and as an official of that Department I have had the
privilege of being present at all the recent discoveries. The finding of
the tomb of Yuaa and Tuau a few years ago was one of the most
interesting archaeological events of recent times, and one which came
somewhere near to the standard of romance set by the novelists. Yuaa and
Tuau were the parents of Queen Tiy, the discovery of whose tomb is
recorded in the next chapter. When the entrance of their tomb was
cleared, a flight of steps was exposed, leading down to a passage
blocked by a wall of loose stones. In the top right-hand corner a small
hole, large enough to admit a man, had been made in ancient times, and
through this we could look down into a dark passage. As it was too late
in the day to enter at once, we postponed that exciting experience until
the morrow, and some police were sent for to guard the entrance during
the night. I had slept the previous night over the mouth, and there was
now no possibility of leaving the place for several more nights, so a
rough camp was formed on the spot.

Here I settled myself down for the long watch, and speculated on the
events of the next morning, when Mr Davis and one or two well-known
Egyptologists were to come to the valley to open the sepulchre.
Presently, in the silent darkness, a slight noise was heard on the
hillside, and immediately the challenge of the sentry rang out. This
was answered by a distant call, and after some moments of alertness on
our part we observed two figures approaching us. These, to my surprise,
proved to be a well-known American artist and his wife,[1] who had
obviously come on the expectation that trouble was ahead; but though in
this they were certainly destined to suffer disappointment, still, out
of respect for the absolute unconcern of both visitors, it may be
mentioned that the mouth of a lonely tomb already said by native rumour
to contain incalculable wealth is not perhaps the safest place in the
world. Here, then, on a level patch of rock we three lay down and slept
fitfully until the dawn. Soon after breakfast the wall at the mouth of
the tomb was pulled down, and the party passed into the low passage
which sloped down to the burial chamber. At the bottom of this passage
th