disclaimer: i do not own the mummy or the mummy returns....sad but true. there are some words underlined b/c this was a vocab story for school
The Mystery of Ankh-nan
So where are we going? Rick asked.
I'm going to let Evie answer, Jonathan said. According to this map, I've got some maneuvering to do to keep us heading in the right direction. Evelyn O'Connell, the famous hieroglyphics expert, her husband Rick,and her brother Jonathan Carnahan were setting out from Cairo to join a French exploration team working in southern Egypt.
It's really a long story, Evie said, settling back into her seat in the Land Rover. As they navigated through some dilapidated palm groves, she began her tale.
Saqqara is an ancient burial ground near Egypt's first capital,Memphis. It's the first place we see stone pyramids. The earliest is the step pyramid of Ankh-nan. But that's just one of the many in the middle of a profusion of royal burial mounds and tombs of other important people. One of the interesting questions is just why would this ruler,who seemingly came out of nowhere, suddenly build a pyramid when earlier kings had been content with flat mud brick buildings called mastabas. When we think of pyramids we think of the smooth sided ones like the ones at Giza. But those were a later developement. Ankh-nan's is a step pyramid- like six boxes set on top of each other.
As a matter of fact, that is only one of the many mysteries surrounding Ankh-nan. Rick, you remember the letter that Monsieur LeBrun- he's the director of the French expedition who invited us to join them- sent me? He included some photographs from the latest room that they found in the pyramid. The hieroglyphics are a little hard to read and it looks like some of them may have been chisled over. But they make me wonder whether Ankh-nan was actually a woman. It turns out that they haven't found the king's mummy yet. The main burial chamber is still undiscovered. And I'm wondering from the hieroglyphics about whether the main burial chamber is actually underneath the pyramid. It's just a hint, but it makes me wonder and maybe that is why they haven't been able to find it yet- they have been looking for years.
If Ankh-nan is actually a female, that would be an amazing discovery. As we understand the hierarchy of ancient Egypt, women, even wives of the rulers, usually existed in the background. They weren't reduced to servitude, or slavery, but as far as we know they had no real power.
My hypothesis about Ankh-nan's being a woman is pretty tenuous since it's just based on those photographs of the hieroglyphics. So I can't wait to get there, so we can start exploring!
As she finished speaking, they noticed a dark shape coming up on the star-filled horizon. As they got closer the shape slowly and discreetly revealed itself to be the famous step pyramid.
I'm always enthralled, said Evie with reverence, at the nocturnal approach to Saqqara. It seems so eerie, but it's logical to feel that way considering the mysteries surrounding the place.
At last they drew up to the expedition's encampment. Monsieur LeBrun emerged from his tent. Recognizing them he shouted, Right this way. Right this way. After greeting them, he showed them where they could set up their tent.
When I was making my dispositions for the camp, I saved this spot for you. I knew Evie would want to be as close as possible to the pyramid.
Let me go turn on some of the perimeter lights. They will give us plenty of light so we can get you set up in short order.
After the lights came on, Jonathan and Rick started pacing out a likely site. A small hole caught Rick's attention and as he poked at it with a stick, a small snake began to writhe out. Just then M. LeBrun came running with a hoe. He dispatched the snake in short order.
I should have warned you to wait for me, he apologized. We've had more trouble with those things than usual. Evie, I am desolated. I am distraught if this upsets you.
Evie is the consumate explorer, Rick interjected. She never gets hysterical about snakes or spiders or any of those creepy things. I think she actually finds them fascinating.
Well they do come with the territory, said Evie. After all, look what happened to Cleopatra.
Nevertheless it was with increased wariness that they picked a spot for their tent, dug a trench around it and finally set it up. Looming over all was the mute shape of the step pyramid.Oh, if only it could speak, cried Evie.
Finally it was done. Jonathan and Rick at least were thinking of nothing but sleep when Monsieur LeBrun returned and invited them all to his official tent to meet the expedition members.
You go, said Jonathan and then, remembering the unrelenting darkness outside the camp perimeter, he said no, maybe I will go too. I guess I can wean myself off sleep for this trip.
You'll get used to it, said Rick in a resigned voice.
Oh, don't you two go playing martyr on me, said Evie. You know you always have a good time on these expeditions,Rick. And Jonathan, you can always find solace in some of Monsieur LeBrun's fine wine.
Picking their way carefully through the rough ground, they found the main tent and joined the group inside. Monsieur LeBrun greeted everyone and loudly said I want to introduce the people we have all been waiting for.. This is my good friend Evie O'Connell who, many of you know, is one of the world's preeminent expert in hieroglyphics. This is her husband Rick who is quite an explorer in his own right. And this is Evie's brother Jonathan Carnahan who is just starting out to learn about Saqqara.
he said with elation, since I wrote to you I think we have made a major find. If we are right about its meaning, it will confound many of the current theories about life in the Old Kingdom1 . We need you to start on the new inscriptions we've found as soon as you can.
But wait,I should let one of our newest expedition members tell you about it. He actually found the pyramid room we're so excited about. Let me introduce Amir al Ali. He is a graduate of L'Ecole de Archeologie in Lyons and is on the faculty of the Archeology Institute at the University of Cairo. Besides Arabic and French, he speaks five other languages fluently, including English,so you'll have no trouble understanding him.
Modestly, the young archeologist stepped forward and in his lilting English replied Thank you, my esteemed colleague, but you are too kind. To Evie, Rick and Jonathan he said:
You need to understand, this was not my work only. A large group of us made the decision about where to begin the new dig. Most fortunately,I just happened to be in charge the day we
we broke into a new room in the pyramid. Unlike some of the earlier ones which grave robbers had discovered and pillaged over the centuries, this one appears to have been completely undisturbed since it was sealed back in the days of the Old Kingdom. You cannot imagine the elation engendered in me when I realized that I might actually be breathing the same air that the ancient kings breathed.
As you know one focus of our investigation is the gap in the list of kings between Ankh-nan and Pepi I. Our preliminary translation of the hieroglyphics we've found suggests that a civil war may have occurred. We think that an infirm king created emmity between his two principle advisors so that they would fight each other rather than unite to bring him down. We have found some evidence that citizens were making supplication for favors to both of these men at the same time. In a sense both of them- Anke-ner-re and Tut-ankah-re - were being treated as kings, but neither of them ever appeared on the list of kings. Unfortunately at this point in the story the hieroglyphs' meaning has turned- how do you say it? opaque?- so the resolution of this mystery still awaits us.
Evie,I know everyone here has been awaiting your arrival. We are hoping you will be able to help us solve this puzzle.
To Be Continued...
1 The Old Kingdom is that period in Egypt from about 2575 B.C. to
2175 B.C.
The characters in this story- Evie, Rick, and Jonathan- are based on the characters in the movie series The Mummy.
Some of the information about actual historic sites mentioned in this story is loosely based on the following article:
William, A.R. Death on the Nile. National Geographic.
Oct. 2002: 202(4)2-25.