here o f these M io tic explorations superfluous, heyond mentioning
that fou r o f the most ancient tombs discovered at Memphis by Lep-
sius, independently o f his vast collection o f other materials, were
taken to pieces on th e spot, with the utmost care, and became rebuilt
into the Royal Museum at Berlin.
Invited b y Chevalier Lepsius to visit,298 and inspect personally, antiquarian
treasures endeared by a lifetime’s Egyptian associations, Mr.
Gliddon was at once so struck with the ethnographic importance of
these sepulchral bas-reliefs, that he solicited paper-imprexsionsoi a few
heads for the jo int and future studies o f Dr. Morton and h im se lf; and,
on the 10th o f May, 1849, he had the gratification o f assisting Chevalier
Lepsius to make numerous estarnpages ; while, to insure perfection
and authenticity,' the paper was stamped upon the sculptures by the
Chevalier’s own hands.
One singular fact, illustrative o f the superior antiquity o f these
tombs o f pyramidal magnates to any heretofore described b y Egyptologists,
may here be mentioned. Laid bare, through excavation, at
a depth o f many fe e t below the rocky surface, and emptied o f the
sand with which they had become refilled since their desecration by
unknown hands (probably Saracenic) centuries ago, the relievos presented
themselves in colors so vivid as to appear “ fresh and perfect,
as i f painted only y e ste rda y ;” but, despite every precaution, on
removing each slab into the open air, the painted stucco-superficies
fell o ff— leaving, however, the uninjured low-relief (about the sixth
o f an inch) sculpture to endure long as time shall respect the
Berlin Museum. Mow, in the dry climate o f Memphis, Egyptian
colors known to range from 2500 to 4000 years old, where not exposed
to the dew, or to the Etesian winds, still adhere on the wall o f tombs
in their pristine freshness and brilliancy. -Well, therefore, is an antiquity
o f at least 5300 years for these now colorless relievos (imperiously
demanded also b y their hieroglyphical and other conditions)
corroborated b y their exceptional friability. 'With his wonted foresight,
Lepsius had caused the colored sculptures to be copied b y his
draughtsmen, in situ, before r emoval; and in the D e n h m a l e r their
gorgeous paintings may still be admired.
On the writer’s (G. B . G.’s) return to London, these estampages,
after b e in g outlined, were transferred upon tracing-paper b y his
wife ’s accurate pencil, in duplicate, for Dr. Morton and himself.
The originals, as acknowledged b y the Doctor in a foregoing letter
(p 232, ante), were duly passed on to his cabinet, where their inspection
completed that revulsion o f earlier views toward which his progressive
studies had lon g been leading. The second copy, shaded
and colored in imitation o f the limestone originals, has often embei-
Plate. Ill.