Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/269

The Tomb under the Ancip:nt Empire. 179 which they both contained were in continual danger from care- less or malicious hands. It was to guard against such chances as these that the inventive architects of Egypt contrived a safe retreat in the heart of the massive structure which should provide a reserve of statues against every contingency. When all those which were exposed to accident should have perished, these would still survive and would furnish to the double the material support, - , — .^-i/ Fig. 118. — Transverse section through the chamber. the tangible body, to which that phantom was obliged to attach himself unless he wished to perish entirely. These precautions were not ill conceived. The serdab kept efficient guard over its deposit ; the museum of Boulak con- tains at least a hundred statues from the ancient empire which were found at Sakkarah, and nine-tenths of them were found in the serdabs. We have now described all those parts of the tomb which were above ground. We have not been content with visiting the chamber only, which was freely left open, we have pene- trated into the farthest recesses, and have discovered those secrets of the massive walls which their constructor thought to hide for ever from the eye of man. But even yet we have not arrived at the actual place of burial ; we shall reach it, however, through our third internal division, the well or pit. " The well is an artificial excavation, square or rectangular in plan, never round, at the bottom of which is the chamber in which the mummy is deposited. " To arrive at the opening of the well, we must mount to the F"iG. 119. — Transverse section through the serdabs.