all. The intense eagerness to know what was beyond,
and, at the same time, the feeling that it was almost desecration to
climb into those halls which had stood silent for thousands of years,
cast a spell over the scene and made it unforgetable.

This aperture had once been blocked up with stones, and the paintings
had passed across it, thus hiding it from view, so that a robber
entering the tomb might think that it ended here. But the trick was an
old one, and the plunderers had easily detected the entrance, had pulled
away the blocks, and had climbed through. Following in their footsteps,
we went up the ladder and passed through the entrance into the pillared
hall. Parts of the roof had fallen in, and other parts appeared to be
likely to do so at any moment. Clambering over the _debris_ we descended
another sloping corridor, which was entered through a cutting in the
floor of the hall, originally blocked up and hidden. This brought us
into a chamber covered with paintings, like those around the well; and
again we were brought to a standstill by the amazingly fresh colours
which arrested and held the attention.

We then passed on into the large burial-hall, the roof of which was
supported by crumbling pillars. Slabs of limestone had broken off here
and there and had crashed down on to the floor, bringing with them
portions of the ceiling painted with a design of yellow stars on a black
ground. On the walls were unfinished paintings, and it was interesting
to notice that the north, south, east, and west were clearly marked upon
the four walls for ceremonial purposes.

The main feature towards which our eyes were turned was the great
pink-granite sarcophagus which stood in the middle of the hall. Its
sides were covered with well-cut inscriptions of a religious nature; and
at the four corners there were figures of Isis and Nephthys, in relief,
with their wings spread out as though in protection around the body.
Looking into the sarcophagus, the lid having been thrown off by the
plunderers, we found it empty except for a skull and a few bones of more
than one person. The sarcophagus stood upon the limestone floor, and
under it small holes had been cut, in each of which a little wooden
statue of a god had been placed. Thus the king's body was, so to speak,
carried on the heads of the gods, and held aloft by their arms. This is
a unique arrangement, and has never before been found in any burial.

In all directions broken f