inished as it progressed, till the hand
of death ended the King's reign, and simultaneously the works of his
tomb. The tomb thus became an index of the length of a King's reign as
well as of his magnificence. Their entrance, carefully closed, was
frequently indicated by a facade cut on the side of the hill. A number
of passages, sometimes intersected by deep wells and large halls,
finally led, frequently by concealed entrances, to the large chamber
where was the sarcophagus, generally of granite, basalt, or alabaster.
The sides of the entire excavation, as well as the roof, were covered
with paintings, colored sculptures, and hieroglyphic inscriptions in
which the name of the deceased King was frequently repeated. We
generally find represented in them the funeral ceremonies, the
procession, the visit of the soul of the deceased to the principal
divinities, its offerings to each of them, lastly, its presentation by
the god who protected it to the supreme god of the Amenti, the
under-world or Hades. The splendor of these works, and the richness
and variety of their ornamentation, exceed all conception; the
figures, though in great number, are sometimes of colossal size;
frequently scenes of civil life are mingled with funeral
representations; the labors of agriculture, domestic occupations,
musicians, dances, and furniture of wonderful richness and elegance,
are also figured on them; on the ceiling are generally astronomical or
astrological subjects. Several tombs of the Kings of the eighteenth
dynasty and subsequent dynasties have been found in the valley of
Biban-el-Molouk on the western side of the plain of Thebes. One of the
most splendid of these is that opened by Belzoni, and now known as
that of Osirei Menepthah, of the nineteenth dynasty. A sloping passage
leads to a chamber which has been called "The Hall of Beauty."

[Illustration: EGYPTIAN TOMB.]

Forcing his way farther on, Belzoni found as a termination to a series
of chambers a large vaulted hall which contained the sarcophagus which
held the body of the monarch, now in Sir John Soane's Museum. The
entire extent of this succession of chambers and passages is hollowed
to a length of 320 feet into the heart of the rock, and they are
profusely covered with the paintings and hieroglyphics usually found
in those sepulchral chambers. The tombs of the other Kings, Remeses
III. and Remeses Miamun, exhibit similar series of passages and
chambers, covered with p