home in the western desert.

The grave itself was a little stone room in the sand of the desert or a
cave in a hill-side.

After the coffin had been placed in the center the little room was well
supplied with cooking utensils and weapons and statues (of clay or wood)
representing bakers and butchers who were expected to wait upon their
dead master in case he needed anything. Flutes and fiddles were added to
give the occupant of the grave a chance to while away the long hours
which he must spend in this "house of eternity."

Then the roof was covered with sand and the dead Egyptian was left to
the peaceful rest of eternal sleep.

But the desert is full of wild creatures, hyenas and wolves, and they
dug their way through the wooden roof and the sand and ate up the mummy.

This was a terrible thing, for then the soul was doomed to wander
forever and suffer agonies of a man without a home. To assure the corpse
all possible safety a low wall of brick was built around the grave and
the open space was filled with sand and gravel. In this way a low
artificial hill was made which protected the mummy against wild animals
and robbers.

Then one day, an Egyptian who had just buried his Mother, of whom he had
been particularly fond, decided to give her a monument that should
surpass anything that had ever been built in the valley of the Nile.

He gathered his serfs and made them build an artificial mountain that