Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/272

 l82 A History of Art in Ancient Egypt. Marietta found none at Sakkarah with inscriptions. On the other hand we find them upon the sarcophagus at Khoo-foo-Ankh, which was discovered at Gizeh and belongs to the fourth dynasty (Figs. 123, 124). " The Egyptians did not always trust to the mere size and weight of the lid for the secure closing of the sarcophagus. The under-side of the cover is made with a rebate at its edo^e which fits into a corresponding groove on the upper edge of the sarcophagus, and the two edges were bound still more tightly together by a I'k;. 122. — Double mastaba at Gizeh, transverse section (from Lepsius, t. i., pi. 22). very hard cement. Finally, as if all these precautions were not enoueh, wooden bolts were affixed to the under-side of the lid which fitted into slots in the sarcophagus and helped to render the two inseparable." So far as we can judge from the few human remains which have been gathered from these ancient tombs, the process of embalm- ment was then carried on in simple and elementary fashion, and it was this imperfection that the Egyptians attempted to neutralize,