Jump to content

Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/340

From Wikisource
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
250
A History of Art in Ancient Egypt.

chamber, but a few have two or three. In a corner either of the only chamber or of that which is farthest from the door, the opening of a square well is found; this leads to the mummy-chamber, which is excavated at a lower level.

Fig. 166. — Façade of a tomb at Beni-Hassan.
Fig. 166. — Façade of a tomb at Beni-Hassan.

The chamber upon which the portico opens is the funerary chapel, the place of reunion for the friends and relations of the dead. As Mariette very truly remarks, from the first step which the traveller makes in the tomb of Numhotep at Beni-Hassan, he perceives that, in spite of all differences of situation, the