Chapter9
Pyramids Prove to Be a Puzzle
“Pyramids were the burial places of the great pharaohs,” Salman stated, spreading his arms wide as they faced the structure.“This, the largest of all the pyramids, was built for Khufu and his queen Henutsen.Khufu ruled for twenty-six years, and this pyramid took his entire life to be constructed.”
“When was this, sir?”Helen asked.
“Ah.In your calendar, two-thousand, five-hundred, eighty-nine BC.”
“But the kings of Egypt did not expect to remain in their tombs for long.When they died, their bodies were mummified—prepared for the afterlife—which they believed would allow them to live on as gods,” he explained.
“Mummified?”Barbara repeated, her eyes widening.
“Ah.You wonder how this was done?”Salman asked.
For a moment, she looked uncertain.Will cleared his throat.“If you do not elaborate, she will pester me for the details long after you’re gone,” he teased.
“Will,” Barbara scolded.
Salman grinned.“Our ancestors were the first to develop the process of embalming a body, first by removing their organs, then drying the body with salt, followed by wrapping it in strips of linen secured with perfumed oils and resins,” he explained.“The entire process took seventy days.”He paused a moment.“You will no doubt see some mummies whilst you are shopping,”
Murmurs of surprise sounded from the group before he continued.“Then the processional would occur, when the mummy was placed in a sarcophagus—like a coffin, but highly decorated—and taken into the burial chamber, deep within the pyramid.”He waved to indicate the dark area on the face of the pyramid.
“Through that particular opening?”Tom asked, his gaze having taken in the entire side of the pyramid to determine there was only one small breach, about a third of the way up from the ground.
“Possibly,” Salman hedged.“That is where Giovanni Belzoni broke in about fifteen years ago,” he replied.“And your Colonel Vyse continued the exploration six years ago.”
“Did he find anything?”Randy asked, his eyes widening when he realized Diana was no longer by his side but had made her way to the end of the wall they faced.
“Nothing,” Salman stated.“The tomb had long ago been looted, even before the Ottoman Caliph al-Mamun forced his way inside from somewhere near the top, we are told,” he explained.“Like others, he sought treasure.”
“When did he break in?”Randy asked, his attention still on Diana.She had begun climbing the pyramid, carefully picking her way up the blocks.She carried the same satchel she had used in Athens when she was on her archaeological expeditions, the leather strap secured across her back and over one shoulder.
Occasionally she paused and seemed to study something before she moved laterally for a few feet.Once she found a negotiable path up, where the blocks were not so large, she would resume climbing but always stop as if she was examining the stone.
“It has been a thousand years and another score ago,” Salman said, his gaze following Randy’s.
“Eight-hundred twenty AD,” Tom said quietly.He knew Helen turned to stare at him, but he kept his attention on the guide.
“He was not the first, though, since we know the tomb was looted long ago.”
“What would they have found?”Helen asked.
Salman beamed at her, which had Tom bristling.“There are accounts written by Arabs describing three mummies, a ruby the size of an egg, a sarcophagus filled with gold, and a corpse in golden armor holding a sword,” he explained, using his hands to help in his descriptions.“They, of course, are lost to time, for we have not seen the likes of such since.”
His audience displayed expressions of disappointment, but Will leaned his head in Barbara’s direction and whispered, “Queen Victoria probably has it.”
“Will,” she scolded.“Her ruby isn’tthatlarge,” she said.
“And what of the other pyramids here?”Harry asked, his expression suddenly awestruck when he realized how far up the side of the pyramid Diana had climbed.
Apparently noting the earl’s concern, Salman’s attention went to where Diana was hurrying along a row of blocks towards the opening.He smiled.“It seems she will soon reach the entrance,” he said.“But she will need a lantern if she is to see anything inside.”
“She has one,” Randy said.He had watched her pack her satchel that morning, not surprised she included afanoosand the means to light it.The small lantern was probably meant to be more decorative than utilitarian, but it lit their hotel room in a pleasing light.“Is there anything she should know?Before she goes in?”
Salman lifted a shoulder.“There is a rope inside.She may need it to climb up to the chamber, for the passage is steep,” he explained.“It will be hot in there, and the passage is not large.”He angled his head and arched a brow.“But then, she is not large.”His attention was suddenly diverted, and he left Randy’s company to return to his horse.
“I’m going in,” David said to the dragoman, handing his binoculars over to Tom.
