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Groundbreaking discovery of high priest's tomb confirms Czech Egyptologists as kings of the ancient desert By Felice Wilson Inti was a high priest and judge 4,300 years ago, at the beginning of the sixth and last dynasty of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. Soon after Inti's ceremonial burial, grave robbers disturbed his peaceful afterlife. They looted his mummy, scattering his shredded remains across the burial chamber. Czech Egyptologists, who in November uncovered Inti's tomb, are now piecing together the priest's long-buried secrets. While their latest discovery is groundbreaking, it is not the nation's first.
They are among about 300 foreign teams working in Egypt. The most conspicuous, typically, are American, British, French and German. But lately, the biggest breakthroughs have been Czech. "In the last few years I have not heard of the others making any significant discoveries," said Mohamed Eldiwany, Egypt's ambassador to Prague. Filling in the details of Inti's life is a priceless exercise. Hieroglyphics and scenes depicting Inti in official and family settings decorate the tomb walls. His name and titles cover a well-preserved false door carved into a limestone monolith, as well as his sarcophagus. "We hope the inscriptions in Inti's tomb help us understand the Old Kingdom better, especially the end of this period," said Miroslav Verner, of the Czech Egyptology Institute at Charles University, noting that Egypt's Old Kingdom collapsed at the end of the Sixth Dynasty -- roughly 2258 B.C. -- under still-unclear conditions. Verner, 59, retired as the institute's director last month after 26 years. The institute was founded in 1958, and its Cairo branch opened a year later. Inti's tomb was found in a cemetery of mastabas -- oblong aboveground structures, usually with chapels and courtyards -- dating from the 28th to 23rd centuries B.C. Deep below, five burial chambers are carved from underlying bedrock, accessible only through shafts. Five years ago, the Czech team uncovered Kar, Inti's father and priestly predecessor, in the same cemetery. "We can now follow the family of judges from the beginning of the Sixth Dynasty," said Bretislav Vachala, who led the excavation of Inti's tomb and succeeded Verner as Egyptology Institute director. Treasure field In the morning, when the fleeting humidity dampens the sands, Verner can see Egypt's buried secrets. "If you have experience, you can see the contours of the monuments in the surface of the desert," he says, sitting in a Prague office layered with scholarly books. Verner's history in Egyptian studies very nearly parallels that of the Egyptology Institute. The Moravian from Brno enrolled soon after it opened. He began fieldwork in 1960 when the institute joined the UNESCO campaign to save Nubian monuments. At that time, construction of the Aswan Dam threatened to flood and destroy undiscovered and undocumented structures. At that time, the Czechs began surveying and eventually uncovered the tomb of Ptahshepses, who was the son-in-law of Fifth Dynasty Pharaoh Neuserre, during the era of great pyramid builders. It is the largest and most architecturally complex, non-royal mastaba excavated so far. The discovery should have won global acclaim, but the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia and the "normalization" that followed almost strangled the institute. For 19 years, from 1970 to 1989, to get a degree in Egyptology was nearly impossible. "There was a big effort to destroy the institute," said 1994 institute graduate Jaromir Krejci. "Everything was focused on the study of the modern history of the proletariat movement, of the Communist International." Krejci, 29, developed a passion for Egyptian history after reading popular history books by Slovak author Vojtech Zamarovsky. He said the institute "survived thanks to the work of Verner." The institute not only survived, it flourished. In the mid-1970s, soon after Verner became director, the Egyptian Antiquities Organization granted the Czechs exclusive permission to explore Abusir's south field, south of the Giza pyramids. "They have this concession free of charge, reflecting our appreciation for the help and support we received from the Czech Republic," Eldiwany said, referring to Czech work on the UNESCO campaign. The Czechs may also keep some of their findings, displayed in the Naprstek Collection in the National Museum in Prague. In addition to the mastaba cemetery, Czech Egyptologists work in a Fifth-Dynasty pyramid field and a cemetery of shaft tombs from the first millennium B.C., when the Persians invaded Egypt. Two years ago, this shaft cemetery yielded one of history's great finds. Led by Verner, a Czech team found the resting place of the priest Iufaa, the first discovery of an untouched tomb since 1941. The most famous intact tomb yet discovered belonged to King Tutankhamen, unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922. The discovery set off an Egyptian craze across the globe, making a celebrity of King Tut even in Czechoslovakia. Iufaa's tomb "may not be as rich as Tutankhamen's," said Eldiwany, "but it's as valuable. Untouched tombs tell more than any other." The Abusir cemeteries promise many more discoveries. "There are more than 20 great tombs here dating back to the Old Kingdom, to the era of the granite builders. The work will take generations," said Vachala, referring to the mastaba field. "Every year brings an important discovery of an unknown tomb." Scandal and love Above one of Verner's beloved bookshelves hangs a portrait of a white-bearded man. His arm rests on a sphinx and his left holds a papyrus manuscript. The father of Czech Egyptology, Frantisek Lexa began lecturing at Charles University in 1919. By that time, because of his private studies of Egyptology, he was an internationally recognized expert in ancient Egyptian religion and language. Lexa's passion helped fuel King Tut fever in Czechoslovakia. In 1923, director Karel Anton filmed the comedy Tu Ten Kamen, a play on words that means "this here stone" in Czech. The plot, predictably for the time, weaves scandal and love. The archaeologists who discover Tu Ten Kamen's tomb take his mummy home to the fictive town of Zelena Lhota. Thieves steal the mummy, replacing it with stinky Olomouc cheese. In the end, the archaeologists triumph, but not without a pretty assistant breaking some hearts. While Carter was digging up King Tut, Prague established a consulate in Cairo, marking the beginning of official Czech- Egyptian relations. It was the year Egypt gained independence from Britain. In 1925, Egypt founded its embassy in Prague. But Egyptians were no strangers to Bohemia. In the early 20th century, the royal family vacationed each year in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad). "It was a very famous city for Egyptian nobles," Eldiwany said. Czech Egyptology has provided the foundation for a strong cultural relationship between the countries. A university exchange program has been in place since 1957. In November, the Czech Philharmonic played in Cairo, and Egyptian groups will perform in Prague in the coming months. "Successes in the field of culture will be reflected in the political and economic side," said Eldiwany. The current trade balance between the countries is currently about $100 million (4 billion Kc), "which is not up to our abilities and expectations," he said, "but it is not bad." Czech Egyptologists have a wealth of archaeological treasures yet to discover in Abusir, but the future of Egypt's monuments is unclear. Acid rain and water pollution threaten to etch into and eat away at ancient history. "We can see limestone monuments literally falling apart before our eyes," said Verner. "That's why more and more attention is being paid to restoration and reconstruction, not excavation." It is a sad possibility, especially for this Czech man whose life is tied inextricably to the desert. "I don't exactly know where home is," he says wistfully. "When I'm here in Prague I feel homesick for Egypt, and vice versa, but especially for the Egyptian desert and monuments."
Felice Wilson may be reached at fwilson@praguepost.cz |
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