Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/160

 128 EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE. Pakt I. 1 Now in Sir John Soane's Museum, in Lin- coln*s-Inn-Fields. The tomb thus became an index of the length of a kino-'s reio;n as well as of his magnificence. Of those in the Valley of the Kings the most splendid is that opened by Belzoni, and now known as that of Maneph- thah, the builder of the hypostyle hall at Karnac. It descends, in a slojjing direction, for about 350 ft. into the mountain, the upper half of it being tolerably regular in plan and direction ; but after progressing as far as the unfinished hall Avith two pillars, the direction changes, and the works begin again on a lower level, probably because they came in contact with some other tomb, or in consequence of meeting some flaw in the rock. It now terminates in a large and splendid chamber with a coved roof, in which stood, Avhen opened by Belzoni, the rifled sarcoph- agus ; ^ but a drift-way has been excavated beyond this, as if it had been in- tended to carry the tomb still further had the king continued to reign. The tomb of Rhamses Maiamoun, the first king of the 19th dynasty, is more regular, and in some respects as magnificent as this, and that of Ameno- phis III. is also an excava- tion of great beauty, and is adorned with i)aintin