206 Route 18. TELL EL-'AMARNA. From Cairo
Travellers'with abundance of time may visit also Tomb 3, of Ahmose,
'fan-bearer on the ri^bt hand of the king'. The tomb is preceded by a
spacious court. Over the entrance-door is the deceased worshipping the
name of the sun; to the right and left of the door he appears praying in
his official costume (with fan and axe). On the Right Wall ot the Main
Chamber the king is represented, enthroned in his palace, handing a vase
to a courtier; above are four rows of soldiers, armed with shields and
spears, etc., marching to the temple, followed by the royal chariot (merely
sketched in red pigment). The Side Chambers, on each side of the cor¬
ridor, contain mummy-shafts, and door-shaped steles on the rear-walls.
Tomb 4, one of the largest and most interesting, belonged to
Meri-Re, high-priest of the sun. The reliefs are now rather dark
and require to be well lighted. — This tomb, like the others, is
preceded by a spacious court. The entrance-door is embellished
with a concave cornice, and on its inner side with a representation
of the deceased in prayer. It admits us to a Vestibule, on the right
and left walls of which are door-shaped steles, behind which rise
large nosegays of flowers like columns. The other walls are covered
with inscriptions. — The Main Chamber beyond was originally borne
by four columns, of which two remain. In the doorway, to the right,
is the deceased, to the left his wife, praying. Entrance Wall. To
the left is the king at a palace-window throwing down golden orna¬
ments. Left Wall. The scenes here represent the king driving in
his chariot from the palace (on the left, above) to the temple of
the sun (see below), preceded by his guards and followed by the
queen, princesses, and retinue in chariots and on foot. Rear Wall.
To the left is the temple of the sun, at the entrance of which priests
in humble attitude await the king. To the right are the barns and
other accessories of the temple, enclosed in a garden. Right Wall.
Above, the king and royal family, emerging from the palace (right
top corner), are greeted by the priests in front of the temple. Below,
the king and queen inspect the barns and stables of the temple.
Entrance Wall. To the right are the king and queen, accompanied
by their daughters, worshipping the sun; Meri-Re and another priest
stand beside the altars. Below are the royal retinue and priests;
at the bottom, two carriages and blind singers. — The two following
rooms are unfinished.
Tomb 5, of Pentu, a physician, is much damaged. In the entrance is
the deceased praying, with an inscription in front of him containing a hymn
to the sun. On the Left Wall of the first chamber are the king and queen
praying to the sun, which rises over the pylon of the temple. The statue
of Pentu, which stood in the last room, has been chiselled away. —
A little to the S.E. is —
Tomb 6, of Penehse". In the Entrance Door, to the left, are the king
and queen with three princesses praying to the sun; below is a row of
servants, fan-bearers, and other attendants; at the foot, the deceased pray¬
ing. On the right are similar scenes. The Main Chamber originally con¬
tained four papyrus-columns with closed bud-capitals, of which two still
remain. The door-stele on the rear-wall to the left has been converted
into a kind of font, probably when (he tomb was used as a church.
A flight of steps on the right leads to the sarcophagus-chamber. Entrance
Wall. To the left the king and queen hand Penehse golden ornaments
from the palace-window. To the right the deceased and his attendants
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