y.

Professor Maspero's last official act as Director-General of the
Excavations and Antiquities of Egypt was his examination of the mummy of
Ramses II. found in 1884, in the presence of the khedive and other
high dignitaries. The mummy of this great conqueror was well preserved,
revealing a giant frame and a face expressive of sovereign majesty,
indomitable will, and the pride of the Egyptian king of kings. He
then unbandaged the mummy of Nofritari, wife of King Ahmosis I. of the
eighteenth dynasty, beside which, in the same sarcophagus, had been
discovered the mummy of Ramses ITT. The physiognomy of this monarch is
more refined and intellectual than that of his warlike predecessor; nor
was his frame built upon the same colossal plan. The height of the body
was less, and the shoulders not so wide. In the same season Maspero also
discovered an ancient Egyptian romance inscribed on limestone near the
tomb of Sinuhit at Thebes. A fragment on papyrus had been preserved at
the Berlin Museum, but the whole romance was now decipherable.

Professor Maspero resigned his office of directorship on June 5, 1886,
and was succeeded in the superintendency of excavations and Egyptian
archeology by M. Eugene Grebault. In the same month Grebault started
upon the work of unbandaging the mummy of the Theban King Sekenenra
Ta-aken, of the eighteenth dynasty. It was under this monarch that a
revolt against the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings, had originated, in the
course of which the Asiatics were expelled from Egypt. The history of
this king has always been considered legendary, but from the signs of
wounds present in the mummy, it is certain that he had died in battle.
In the same season the mummy of Seti I. was unbandaged, and also that of
an anonymous prince.

The next season the work of clearing away the sand from around the Great
Sphinx was vigorously prosecuted by Grebault. In the beginning of the
year 1887, the chest, the paws, the altar, and plateau were all
made visible. Flights of steps were unearthed, and finally accurate
measurements were taken of the great figures. The height from the lowest
of the steps was found to be one hundred feet, and the space between the
paws was found to be thirty-five feet long and ten feet wide. Here there
was formerly an altar; and a stele of Thutmosis IV. was discovered,
recording a dream in which he was ordered to clear away the sand that
even then was gathering round the site of the Sphinx.

M.