APEP
Douglas Smith
Copyright 2012 by Douglas Smith
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved
Before anyone decides I should be sacrificed to the gods of Archeology I would like to point out I have never studied the subject, and don’t claim any true knowledge regarding archaeological procedures. I wrote this for entertainment purposes only. I do not wish to represent it in any other way, with one exception, It is also a thank you note to all the men and women who travel the world and suffer in uncomfortable conditions and go through their lives relatively unknown to the world outside of their professional circles. These people sacrifice more then we can imagine bringing us knowledge of our shared pasts and we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
One more thing I would like to point out, although I did take certain literary license for entertainment purposes the story between Apep and Ra was presented with relative accurateness, and I would like to suggest if it has piqued your interest then by all means research the story yourself it is truly fascinating, and it is this very aspect that inspired this story.
I am saddened to report to all of my beloved readers that this will be my last entry for a while. As you all know I have been invited to help on a dig in Egypt. I board my plane tomorrow and should land in Cairo in just under a day. Unfortunately pretty much from the time I get there until I get to the dig site I will be super busy and won’t really have time to do any blogging and internet access at the site is strictly for research reasons only, Believe it or not there are still places where things such as internet access are still prohibitively expensive.
However, do not fear my loyal readers,all is not lost. My parents know how important I find relating my daily experiences to you all, especially in all things regarding Egyptology, so they were kind enough to gift me with a very nice travel journal. Personally I love this thing, it looks like one of those old school leather bound travel Journals that the archaeologists from the late nineteenth century would have used. I will be regularly chronicling my day to day life at the dig site with this and when I return home I will transcribe all of my notes into a series of entries so that you may all catch up with my adventures. But that is several months from now. For now I just want to finish up this entry and get some rest before my flight tomorrow. I want to close this entry by thanking my uncle Nick.
If it weren’t for the work Uncle Nick gave me every summer I don’t know how I would have survived college. I should also apologize for my ceaseless complaining about spending day after day working in animal feces and covered in hay. The truth is I will undoubtedly be very thankful for the time sweating and working in the sun day in and day out. In short I appreciate all you did for me Nick and I just want you to know that.
Now, with that said I really do need to get some rest, I expect the next few days to be insanely busy with very little rest to be had.
Good night loyal readers and thank you for your well wishes and support. I love you all.
Journal entry 1
On The Plane
I would like to take this time to point out that I hate airplanes. I don’t care what kind of plane it is they all suck!
Now, with that said I am currently setting on a huge jetliner of some sort, I couldn’t tell you what kind if I had to. The seating is nice, thanks to my parents again. You see, all I could afford was economy class, but my parents were kind enough to pay for the upgrade to first class.
I have to admit, I feel fairly guilty about letting them lay out that sort of money for something as frivolous as first class when they can barely pay their bills half the time, but the look on their faces when I tried to talk them out of it really left me unable to say no.
So, I’m going to clarify for my new readers. As a kid my family could barely be classified as middle class. In truth we were closer to upper low-class.
To say things bluntly, we were broke. I only managed to attend college because I happen to be a relatively intelligent young man and qualified for several scholarships. This combined with the small amount of income I managed to get from my blog advertisements and of course the job my uncle Nick gave me every summer. I managed to buy my books and feed myself from month to month.
Well, because of their financial binds my parents couldn’t really help me out that much, and I never gave a lot of thought to that fact. But, I suppose in retrospect that it must have really upset them to not be able to contribute to my education.
So, when I told them that professor Kynes had invited me to accompany him on this dig, they started saving every penny they could spare to help in any way they could. They just wanted to show me how proud they are of my accomplishments, and they told me it was important to arrive in style.
They realize of course that this trip will allow me to make some very influential contacts in the world of archaeology and Egyptology so they want me to make the best possible impression.
To be honest, and I never wanted to say this before because I know the professor reads my blog, but I think the biggest reason I got this opportunity was because the professor knew everything I had to do to stay in school. He however maintains that the only reason I got this invitation was because I graduated at the very top of my class and I deserved every opportunity the world would grant me. Either way I am thankful to both my parents and the professor.
Oh, I need to finish up here the flight attendant is going through her little speech so apparently we are ready for takeoff. I will pick back after they bring around the food and beverages.
As I said before, I hate planes, that fact hasn’t changed, but I have to admit first class has improved my attitude towards the whole flying experience. I have flown before this once or twice and honestly a pack of peanuts doesn’t exactly compare to a real meal, not to mention the complimentary drinks. I nice Jack and coke goes a long way to settle nerves jangled by takeoff.
Not to mention the very attractive flight attendant that continues making eyes at me. I wonder if the promise the professor forced me into counts before I actually land. I don’t actually remember if I mentioned that promise before,(note to self, re-read past posts before explaining).
You see, professor Kynes seems convinced that regardless of my good grades and excellent work ethics that I spend a little too much time chasing after women. So, in order for him to allow me to accompany him on the dig I had to promise to keep my hands to myself. Not a big problem there since we are going to be in the middle of the desert surrounded by stuffy old men and even stuffier ancient Egyptians.
Either way, I better not push my luck with the flight attendant, but I have to admit, she is hot, especially when she smiles and her emerald eyes start sparkling.
Well, that’s more than enough for now. I will write some more when I have something interesting to say.
Journal Entry 2
Cairo
A couple of days have passed since my last entry, it’s not that I haven’t had anything important to report but more like I haven’t had time. Almost as soon as I got off the plane Professor Kynes bundled me into a car and whisked me off to a party with barely time to change at my hotel, which by the way is beautiful luckily the school paid for it.
You see, archaeological digs are funded through several different sources. Much of the funds come from various grants and societies, but there are also a number of private individuals with a great deal of money that they like to donate to digs. They usually know nothing about archaeology and most really don’t care. They mostly want to look good and charitable in front of their rich friends. So, when they make a large donation they like to throw parties to show their charitable nature.
Personally I don’t really care. They are welcome to show off all they want and I will happily play pet archaeologist as long as the funds come in as needed. That’s the name of the game I suppose.
Either way the parties are over now, I have finally put the penguin suit away for good or at least for a long while I hope, and tomorrow we are boarding a helicopter and flying to the dig site. Personally I would prefer to ride a half lame donkey bareback with needles in the seat of my pants, but the professor told me that wasn’t an option. I suppose we take what we can get.
The professor, he insists that I call him Thomas but it feels odd, is grumbling and wants me to put out the light, and personally I am as exhausted as he is. These guys really have had us dancing like Vegas show girls, and tomorrow’s flight will come fairly early. Too early for me, so I suppose I will conclude this entry fairly quickly. I do want to say one more thing though. If you ever get a chance to travel the world make Cairo one stop. This city is beautiful and the people are amazing, they are so in touch with their history even though they don’t hesitate to plunge into the future. Americans could stand to learn a few of the lessons they have to teach here.
Journal Entry 3
Dig Site
I officially don’t care for helicopters any more than for airplanes, but I do have to say that hovering over the top of ancient walls emerging from the sands that covered them, entombing them for over two thousand years, preserving their secrets so that we may dig them up and tell the stories of the people that once lived here.
Okay, I will grant that was a bit dramatic, but it’s the impressions I had as I flew over the sands as the sun rose over the dunes. I guess that is the reason the professor scheduled the flight when he did. Even if I weren’t already completely in love with what I do, that image will never leave me.
The only image I can imagine ever trumping it was what I saw just after landing. That would of course be the image of bright red hair being blown back by the wash from the rotors. The beautiful woman beneath the hair never flinched as the sand blew over her ivory skin. The amount of which admittedly was minimal since she wore full length cotton trousers and a baggy short sleeved shirt with a very moderate neckline. Clearly she was trying to respect the local ideas of decency and to be honest my respect and admiration for her had already been raised to great heights by this one single observation, especially when one takes into consideration the oppressive heat of the desert even this early in the morning. Personally I couldn’t help but wonder cotton dresses the local females tended to wear wouldn’t be more comfortable. It definitely seemed that they would allow more breeze then even the best breathing trousers.
But, I am no fashion expert, and I can walk around in shorts without offering insult, so who am I to judge her choice in clothing? Especially since the professor forced me into that accursed promise, of which he reminded me as soon as I lay eyes on Rachel, the lovely young woman I just told you about.
I of course wanted to kick him the very second he opened his mouth. He knew Rachel would be here, he probably even invited her, which of course was the reason for the promise to begin with. Oh well, he knows me as well as I know myself, and knows I would find some way to get myself in trouble without the promise. So, I can’t really blame him for watching out for me, even though I would have preferred to be let in on the secret ahead of time. I guess it wouldn’t have been nearly so funny that way.
And I imagine my face was a sight for laughter as she approached the helicopter and held a hand out to help with our luggage, and began talking nonstop about all of the rooms they had uncovered so far, and the complete lack of pottery, or any other sort of relics that one would normally expect to find in a place so well preserved.
The professor was completely unperturbed by this fact as the dig was still fairly fresh it had only been open a couple of months at most. And to think one might actually find anything worth remarking about in such a short time was to say the least ambitious
Still, I personally found it disturbing that they hadn’t even managed to find some sort of imagery or hieroglyphs to identify the town. In fact there didn’t seem to be even a trace of paint anywhere. As if some hand had methodically and completely scrubbed every inch of this town. Wiping out every trace of it, removing any sort of identity.
This isn’t completely unheard of; such things have been done in the past to remove the memory of ancient rulers. Most famous was Tausert one of very few female Pharoses whose imagery was wiped out in order to ensure a smooth ascension to the throne by her successor.
However to wipe an entire town from memory seems a bit odd, and to be honest I’m probably just jumping to conclusions because I am easily swayed by a beautiful woman. I will try to put away all preconceptions and let the dig unveil its mysteries in its own time.
For now the professor has asked me to accompany him to a small meeting, mostly to introduce the remaining staff and further catch us up on the happening here. I will write another entry this evening and let you know what happened.
Journal Entry 4
After the meeting
Well, that was fun and informative, so if anyone is actually interested the basic gist of the meeting was to cover procedures in case we actually make a find. You know all the different forms of properly documenting location of the relic, along with who to contact and basically ensuring that there can never be accusations of site tampering or contamination. Archaeology is all about figuring out the past through evidence found on scene. If that evidence is in question then any theory derived from it is also questionable. So, we have a very long system of checks to ensure everything is kosher. Luckily for you, I won’t go into them because they would bore you to death, and really only happen in the background unless something controversial should turn up. Kind of like when your computer is running a virus scan. It slows things down but only by such a small fraction that you almost never notice, unless some huge virus is found. Then of course you have to run a detailed scan to make sure the whole system isn’t corrupted. It’s kind of the same concept with what we do.
Ok, now that I have given you a rough analogy of the purpose behind our procedures, let me tell you about some of the people. Of course I have mentioned Professor Kynes, and there is Rachel, who is an utterly fascinating woman. Her obsession and passion about Egyptology and archeology in general is so infectious that as she performs the simple act of reading data sheets to the assembled crowd that she draws her audience in and captivates them. In short she is archaeology’s cheerleader, or rather our version of Shakespeare.
On the other end of the spectrum is Dr. Smyth, a stuffy old English gentleman that very much reminds me of the eighteenth century aristocracy. Very reserved, very dry, and very proper, honestly I am fairly sure should he ever decide to write a dissertation on the act of sex that he would make the whole thing sound so boring that our species would come to a resounding halt due to a complete disinterest in copulation.
Then, there is John Branstone, he is from the southern United States, the exact location I will keep to myself in case some of my readers should happen to come from that state. I don’t want to offend anyone should I ever have anything bad to say about the man, which at the moment I don’t. In truth he seems to be a brilliant man of science with some very interesting theories regarding the dig site. He seems to feel that some act must have been performed here that so insulted the Egyptian sensibilities that they attempted to completely erase the site from their histories. It’s an intriguing thought, and one I believe most people had been toying with, but it seemed so farfetched that it was almost laughable, until he actually spoke the words, and then presented very compelling evidence to back up the hypothesis.
My one criticism about the man, and this is simply on a personal note, is that he seems to be one of those super religious types. He even carries a bible with him everywhere he goes. Now, again I have no desire to upset anyone, but I believe you all are aware of my thoughts regarding religion, and if you’re not then allow me to summarize. It’s all hokum, it’s a series of rules and regulations set down to rule the weak minded masses, and I personally have no desire to have anything to do with it. Now, with that said, allow me to say that I will look over this small flaw for the moment as long as his beliefs don’t interfere with his capabilities. In short, for the moment I choose to reserve judgment on Dr. Jonathan Branstone.
Okay, that’s pretty much all the big people on the dig for the moment, but of course visitors could drop in anytime, especially by the Egyptian officials. The scientific community in Egypt seems to be very accepting and gracious about our presence but I get the impression that the government in general still holds some grudges about the way things were handled in the late eighteen-hundreds and early nineteen-hundreds, not that I or anyone else can really blame them. So much history was lost and the locals were treated with such disrespect. The whole thing is truly sad and disheartening.
Well, that’s enough for now, this had been a long day and I am tired. I will write some more as soon as something interesting happens.
Journal Entry 5
Something Very Interesting
Well, that didn’t take very long did it? At least not on your end, for me it has taken a little over a week, but rest assured the wait was more than worth it. The reason for that is that today my dear readers and beloved friends I have made a discovery!
And this isn’t just some small shard of pottery, or tiny scrap of papyrus, this is HUGE! Well in an Archaeological sense it’s huge. But before I go into that let me tell you exactly what happened.
Three days ago we were excavating a small building; it seems to be a residential dwelling. Anyway, I was working on one of the walls, clearing away some old debris when I heard a hollow sound. As I searched for the location, I accidentally broke through a thin layer of plaster. It was a small hole, and as soon as I broke through I called the professor, remember the checks I was talking about earlier? Well, we began the whole process and three days later we finally verified that the wall had not been tampered with, that this find is genuine. So, we officially opened it.
Behind the wall we found a small alcove, roughly thirty six inches deep, twenty four inches wide and twelve inches tall. Inside we found a solid gold statuette of Apep in laid with diamond chips to depict glittering scales and ruby chips for the eyes! What’s more she is shown devouring Ra! The Ra figure is carved of a course stone, that we believe may be lime stone, but we are not sure as of yet. This is of course very demeaning if true. But considering the overall scene it is the least of the oddities. The whole thing is setting on a base of marble inscribed with what professor Kynes believes to be instructions for spells to empower Apep, and give her strength, and being that I am the one to make the discovery I also get the honor of translating the hieroglyphs, and writing the press release and related research paper.
Okay, so I suppose that you are all wondering what the big deal is, I sometimes forget not everyone is as versed in Egyptian mythology as we Egyptologists are so please forgive me for my lapse. You see, In Egyptian mythology Ra is the sun god, and also the creator of all things. Mankind was thought to be born of his sweat and tears.
Now, Apep, on the other hand was the chief enemy of Ra. She is a giant snake that encircles the world, and attempts to inhibit his travels through the underworld where in the west he dies every night and in the east he is reborn every morning.
Normally to any statues of Apep would have Ra standing over her with a weapon in hand, in a pose of triumph. These statues would be used in spells to give Ra strength, then in some way the image of Apep would be defiled, such as spitting on her, and then destroyed.
There were detailed instructions in The Book Of The Dead as to the accomplishment of these rituals. So, to find a statue which clearly sends the opposite message, essentially Ra in defeat, is to say the least astonishing. It suggests that at least a small portion of this community were essentially in today’s terms, “Devil worshipers”. If this is truly what was happening, that would explain expunging this town from history. Such a thing would have been not only completely abhorrent during the time, but would have been considered among other things sedition. Since the Pharoses was considered the embodiment of Ra.
All of the people thought to be in this sect would have been killed and their bodies would have been burned. With their bodies destroyed their souls would be lost for eternity, and they could never enter the afterlife. This of course would be the ultimate punishment, and then scouring the place where these seditious practices took place would be the ultimate deterrent to any possibility of resurrecting the worship.
Okay, this has been a long entry and I still have a lot of work to do on this statue, not to mention my regular responsibilities here at the dig, so I really need finish up here and get to work. I will update as soon as I learn anything new about this mystery.
Journal Entry 6
A little confirmation and another unexpected event
Well ladies and gentlemen; we stumbled across what seems to be an entry into the town here. As of this moment we still don’t have any sort of name for the town, but what we did find lends credence to the theory that this place once was home to a cult. Engraved into a stone pillar that appears to have been a support beam for a gateway we found a message. Loosely translated is said “This is the place of the forgotten, do not enter this place death walks here.”
This corroborates the idea at least that this place was deliberately forgotten, or more accurately expunged from memory. The idea that the reasoning has something to do with the statue has yet to be confirmed.
However, hopefully I will be able to answer a few questions on that front, with the help of Rachel. She approached me earlier today and offered to help me translate the inscriptions on the base of the statue. She is supposed to come by my tent after dinner this evening. Who knows maybe I can make some strides in a more personal arena. I don’t think it would be a breach of my promise if things just happen to fall out that way. I didn’t go after her after all. I will keep my fingers crossed.
I need to go for now, dinner will be starting soon and I am covered with dust and I have sand in places that sand should never enter.
Journal Entry 7
Crossing your fingers is useless
Well, Rachel appeared immediately after dinner concluded, in fact she almost beat me to my own tent. We immediately began pouring over the photographs and sketches of the statue, because of the obvious scandal that will occur when the news of the statue is finally released the actual relic has remained under close guard both by dig personnel and local authorities. No one gets close to it without close scrutiny. This is the only way to ensure there can be no accusation of tampering later. So, photographs are simply the easiest way to go about the translations. We got about halfway through the entire inscription and just as professor Kynes predicted it is a spell of sort. But not to empower Apep, instead it appears to be instructions for a ritual to open the base of the statue. Also, there are strict warning that should “The vessel of the Goddess Apep be opened without completing the ritual, then any who looks upon what lays inside will suffer the wrath of all of the underworld.” This is again a loose translation; the ancient Egyptians were very fond of saying things in a mystical and poetic way. In short, the exact translation is vague and hard to understand.
Now, you might be asking yourself how we managed to get so much work done so quickly. The answer to this mystery is simple really. Neither of us spoke unless the conversation related directly to the work at hand. I still don’t even know where she attended school. The only time I asked a question about her life before the dig, she answered in a manner that made closed the conversation immediately. By the way she is from Florida.
Well, it’s been a long day and I need some sleep. She wants to finish the inscriptions tomorrow night. So, I don’t plan on getting much sleep for the next few days.
Oh God I’m tired. I don’t see any point in starting an entirely new entry since this is basically an extension of the one I started yesterday. We finished the inscription; I’m not going to give a full explanation of the ritual that is supposed to be completed before the actual opening of the base here. If anyone is really interested I am going to be writing publishing a paper that will fully describe the ritual as well as the significance of each step. I will say that the ritual is so intricate that to perform it would take three full days and three more of fasting previous to uttering the first incantations. This is to cleanse and purifies the body. Also, and this is another oddity, it requires actual human sacrifices. I have never heard of any other ritual throughout the entire belief system that requires such a sacrifice. I personally believe that since we are all supposed to be part of Ra’s body, remember we came from his sweat and tears, so to take a human life would be sacrilege. Again that’s a personal belief, either way, one thing is definite, the Egyptians held life as precious and holy.
I will tell you though that the actual process of opening is a simple one. All one needs to do is turn Apep from west to east, “Where she will be born into the world of men to reign eternally in the place of Ra, and bring with her the holy darkness of the underworld.” That was part of the actual inscription, sounds very ominous doesn’t it?
Well, Rachel and I plan to approach professor Kynes tomorrow and arrange an opening ceremony. Hopefully by the end of the week we will know what mysteries this little box conceals.
Journal Entry 8
Don’t forget to keep the boss in the loop
Well, we told professor Kynes what we discovered, and he nearly passed out. Apparently both became so involved with our duties along with translating the inscriptions that we both forgot to mention our preliminary findings to anyone.
After he recovered from the initial shock he quickly went over our translations and agreed to organize a sort of opening ceremony. He believes that it will take about a week to organize the whole affair, since so many people including certain top level officials as well as news groups will need to be notified, and schedules will need to be changes. Basically a great deal of uproar will be going on throughout a number of important circles over the next few days. Also, we will need to prepare a clean room in case something that could degrade, like papyrus is contained inside.
Also, he wants both me and Rachel to prepare a joint speech since we collaborated in the translation of the inscriptions. Needless to say there will be little time for any more entries over the next few days. I doubt seriously that I will be able to make any entries until after the opening.
I will however insert a copy of my speech immediately after I post this entry to my blog.
Journal Entry 9
I’m famous!
It’s true ladies and gentlemen; I am now a person of fame. My picture will be posted in just about every influential publication in the world. I was even asked if about publishing parts of my blog. Luckily I didn’t publish anything that will cause me any embarrassment. But, all of that pales in comparison to what we discovered in the base of the statue.
Okay, indulge me here. The statue was placed into a small glass case, surrounded by a number of instruments to allow us to retrieve anything that could possibly be contained within. The actual retrieval would be accomplished by a remote controlled arm similar to the kind that performs delicate surgeries; however the actual opening was to be accomplished by human hands, to be specific, mine and Rachel’s.
This was accomplished by inserting one hand each into a pair of gloves set into the sides of the box, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
The statue was setting in the special box, immediately after the placement, the box was sealed and an air pump was immediately engaged. Now, please understand this pump is whisper quiet; however in the expectant silence of the room; it seemed as loud as a raging thunderstorm.
As soon as the box was in a complete vacuum the hiss of an inert gas filling the vacuum could be heard. Also, at this very moment all the lights were dimmed and special filtered lights illuminated the darkness. This is all a matter of precaution with one intention in mind. DON’T DAMGE ANYTHING!
There is a camera suspended directly over the clear acrylic top, as soon As Rachel and our hands into the special gloves, it begins transmitting images to huge video screens so that all the guests can view the opening. These screens are as close as anyone not directly involved in the study and preservation of whatever may be inside will ever come to the contents of the this unintentional time capsule.
Slowly, carefully we work in unison to manipulate the locking mechanism. It moves smoothly and easily. So much so that had we not went through so many stringent checks to verify validity of the find I would have begun to worry that the site had been tampered with.
To be honest I was a little worried, in truth at the last moment I glanced briefly at the professor, he nodded reassuringly and actually shrugged a little as if to say “In for a penny, in for a pound.” It’s one of his favorite saying when it’s too late to back out.
Suddenly a loud click sounded in the chamber, and both Rachel and I jumped simultaneously. We both checked the box, to ensure that we had not broken anything. We were so much in unison that even our laughter at our own jumpiness due to the obvious tension in the room was perfectly in sync.
That very same laughter seemed to break the spell that had fallen over the room as everyone audibly let out the breath they had been holding. “It’s okay” Rachel announced to the gathered spectators, “this lock hasn’t moved for over two thousand years, a little click is the least we could have expected.”
As expected the crowd laughed. It’s amazing, had I made the exact same statement, using the exact ironic tone I would have been lucky to get a smile. The way the woman works a room, guiding them exactly as the wants baffles me.
Still, I am getting away from the point. Together, we lifted, and the lid didn’t budge. Rachel smiled at the crowd, “See what I get for opening my mouth? Now the damn thing is stuck!” Again laughter erupted from the crowd. This time I had to disagree with her, I leaned in and quietly whispered in her ear. “It’s not stuck, it’s sealed. Fresh air hasn’t touched whatever is inside since before this thing was stashed in its hiding place!”
“Are you sure?” She asked excitedly, I nodded and told her to look closely; the lid had risen slightly when the locking mechanism was released and a ring of black resin was clearly visible.
Professor Kynes approached us as we stood there whispering to one another. “Is something wrong?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words again; I simply nodded towards the container. Professor Kynes gasped and directed the camera operator to focus on the ring. Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to witness one of the most significant archaeological events to take place since to discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. That black ring you are now looking at is a seal of pitch that hasn’t been broken for over two thousand years. Whatever is contained inside may well be the most complete ancient document ever seen by modern eyes.”
Professor Kynes the directed his attention towards myself and Rachel, “Rachel, would you would be so kind as to take a firm grip on the base?” She immediately complied, “Now Michael, gently but firmly pull steadily upwards. Kindly take care to wiggle or twist the statue. We would prefer not to dislodge it from the lid.”
I did as instructed, it seemed that Rachel and I stood motionless for an eternity, although it couldn’t have been more than twelve seconds. Then, just as I began to quiver from the controlled exertion there was a sudden slipping sensation as the ancient seal was finally broken.
Our efforts were so controlled, and our concentration was at such heights that the box moved barely an inch from the lid before both me and Rachel locked our muscles and stopped all movement.
Again, we locked eyes and smiled encouragingly to one another as we slowly separated the lid and base, and carefully laid each is position for observation.
What was inside was astounding. Twenty sheets of perfectly preserved papyrus. Each one covered in hieroglyphs so vibrant that they could have been penned only days before. This was a thought that apparently occurred to someone other than me since professor Kynes asked that the person controlling the machinery to manipulate the contents take a scraping of the pitch from the interior of the box. This was accomplished with expert care and the scrapings were deposited into a vial to be shipped to a local lab for radio carbon dating. Even if someone could manage to muddle the tests with the papyrus, something like pitch couldn’t be faked, and besides, most people wouldn’t even think to try.
After the taking of samples, the top sheet was meticulously photographed; then a pair of extremely long tweezers was carefully slipped between the first and second sheets. Again the entire room held its breath as we all expected to watch the sheet crumble to dust instead it lifted as if it were sealed just yesterday. Next a special spatula slipped beneath the sheet and carefully removed it from the base. The sheet was then moved to the side and placed face down to ensure that no writing was on the backside. It was blank, this procedure was carefully repeated twenty times, and each time the same result.
Currently we have enough data to keep me busy translating for the next two months, and that is with Rachel’s help. Which she literally twisted my arm to accept, which wasn’t necessary of course, but she gets very excited.
Also, I should mention that because of the importance of this recent data, along with the huge jump start the associated publications will give our careers the professors, along with the enthusiastic agreement of the remaining leaders of the dig, has given both of us a pass on our regular labors so that we can both focus our time on translating the documents found in the base of the statue.
However that doesn’t mean that will be willing to spend day after day setting in our tents in the sweltering sun digging in the sand. But that is just exactly what we spent several years of our adult lives training to do.
Besides, how could either of us possibly pass up every opportunity to share in a new find, which is exactly what we are doing when we are setting in our tents? The simple truth is every archaeologist is a treasure hunter at heart. Yes, the treasures we find are displayed in museums, and no we normally don’t get rich, but that isn’t the point. It never really has been, no, the point is that moment when you first pull out that tiny shred of pottery, or uncover a faded hieroglyph. The point is the thrill of discovery, and feeling that is worth a mountain of gold and a sea of jewels.
So, no, there is no possible way we can spend the entirety of the rest of this dig inside a tent translating hieroglyphs, Even if this too offers its own rewards and thrills. No, at some point we will be back out there with our tiny picks, and dust brooms toiling away in the desert sand hoping to tease just one more gift from the ancient sands.
Well, I have went on long enough, and I am starting to sound a bit like one of those classical writers, maybe I have been reading too much Melville, I don’t know. I do know that this entire even has both excited me and exhausted me, and tomorrow morning will begin another round of interviews and we hope to begin translating the documents. Again I doubt making any entries any time soon. But, I will definitely make one when I have some idea of what exactly it is we found.
Journal Entry 10
This is not what I expected
Just to catch everyone up, a little over a week has passed since my last entry, and the following day was just as I expected it would be, professor Kynes had scheduled a number of interviews for both myself and Rachel. We spent almost the entire day answering the same questions over and over again. I was beginning to that that perhaps all the reporters hired the same guy to write the questions for them. But I can’t prove that, still the whole thing ended quickly enough and we still actually had time to get some real work done. The first page was a pretty big surprise all by itself. It was a fairly short message and I will give it in its entirety.
We are discovered, betrayed by one of the faithless that dwell in this accursed place, may the dark lady swallow their souls. The fate of all the true faithful in this place is sealed. Surely none will survive but the true faith must not be forgotten. To any true believer that finds this take what is here and let the world remember she who came first, she who brings eternal night. May Apep reign forever in her rightful place in heaven!
This of course clears up a great deal of questions, and definitely corroborates our original a theory of why we haven’t found another single marking anywhere in the town. There is no doubt now, that a large number of the towns folk must have been followers of Apep, however the majority must have been followers of the state sanctioned belief system. Someone somehow, probably a person of authority, and most likely a priest belonging to one of the other gods, came found out about the sect, probably from an active member or someone who had been approached by member. Either way, the authorities in the Cairo were alerted and Pharos guard was sent to wipe out the seditious religion. Those found to be innocent of the crimes committed would have been ordered or more likely caged and transported from the town. The remaining would have been executed summarily, and of course the town itself was expunged from memory.
At this point I want to point out this is all pure conjecture, and I would never publish any of this in a real paper without a great deal more proof but since this is a private journal, and even if I do actually add any of this to my blog that is no more than a sounding board for my favorite theories then I feel perfectly confident in writing my thoughts freely.
I mentioned my theory to professor Kynes and he agrees that the scenario definitely seems to be the most likely. However he wants to discuss it further with Dr. Branestone, when he returns from Cairo. Which reminds me, I intended to mention this before but other things took precedence. The day we were to open the statue Dr. Branestone left for Cairo. Apparently he had not been feeling very well for a little over a week, so, as one of the chartered helicopters returned to the city to pick up more guests Dr. Branstone hitched a ride.
He has kept in fairly constant contact via V.O.I.P and instant messages, so he is fairly up to date about what has been happening here, but of course there are certain things that we like to play fairly close to the chest about when it comes to unsecured networks.
As to when he will return, he seems to be fairly confident that he should be able to return within two weeks. On a personal note, he grumbled quite a bit about the statue since it was found. I often heard him mumbling about “That accursed thing” being evil.
Personally I think his sudden departure having more to do with religious superstition then actual problems with his health, especially when his projected return date coincides perfectly with the day that the statue is to be transported to the National Museum in Cairo where it will go on display. That is of course assuming that the RCD comes back with no anomalies and our find it finally proven beyond a doubt to be genuine and that no one has tampered with it.
Now, that I have covered all of the side information, allow me to continue with what I have discovered regarding the papyrus in the base of the statue.
The remainder seems to be a counter to the Book of the dead’s instructions on empowering Ra. Of course this is only a preliminary examination, and there are a lot more pages to go through. There are also hints of furthering the story between Ra and Apep.
It has long been thought that Apep as a snake was the original corporeal form that Ra had taken. He cast off this form for reasons unknown up until this point. Somehow the form retained sentience and took on a personality of its own, one that carried a grudge against Ra for his disdain and rejection.
According to the story contained here there is a bit more to the story. Apparently Apep was a demon and Ra’s original lover. She was his counterpart in the underworld. As Ra brought light to the world during the day, Apep brought darkness during the night. But in her original form, a non-corporeal spirit she was much weaker then Ra and he spurned her. He left the underworld completely and trapped her there.
Eventually she came across Ra’s off cast body and took it over. The body still retained a certain amount of Ra’s power along with some of his consciousness and knowledge, especially the knowledge of creation.
In secret she began to fill the underworld with other demons, and swore her creations into her service, and each was enlisted in her plan to take vengeance against Ra for his betrayal.
Over time she began to stalk him as he traveled the underworld, following him in silence as he traveled the underworld from his point of death in the west to his point of re-birth in the east.
Once she approached him humbly, entreating him to join again with her again, as they were once joined. The body ached for her original master, and to consciousness yearned to feel Ra’s love again, but instead of offering sympathy or love he laughed at her. In her anger she lashed out and struck Ra.
Surprised by the suddenness and viciousness of the attack Ra could not defend himself, and he was devoured. (This is thought to be an explanation for a solar eclipse.) Eventually he managed to cut his way from Apep’s belly and return to the sky, but not before she could absorb some more of his knowledge and power.
The hope was that one day she could devour and absorb (digest) him completely and force his spirit to merge again with the body, essentially making a more pure and perfect god, one balanced by both the male and female egos
There is more of course, a great deal more, but that is the basic story, and one can understand why the followers would sympathize with Apep, especially when they are governed by an oppressive Pharos that is supposed to be the human embodiment of Ra. Most common people would want a god that is more balanced, and possibly more sympathetic to the common people’s needs.
Of course they realized this was a gamble, as Apep was also known to be full of rage and hatred for all of Ra’s creations, their hope was that through unfaltering devotion and human sacrifice they could endear themselves to her, above all other humans.
Fascinating isn’t it? Again, there is a good deal more work to be done, and personally I can’t wait continue work tomorrow. Unfortunately because of the daunting work to be done here I can’t offer a blow by blow update of discoveries we make. But, I will offer a detailed synopsis of my work pulled from both memory and notes in about a week.
Oh, and on a more personal front, myself and Rachel are getting to know one another better on a personal level. My fingers are crossed again that she will show signs of wanting to pursue a more romantic relationship. I really want to give Kynes a good hard kick for forcing me into that promise now. There is no possible way for me to show more than a professional or at most friendly interest in her, and still keep to the promise, and I don’t break promise!
He knew that of course, blast him! Well, that’s enough ranting for now, I am exhausted and I need sleep.
Journal Entry 11
Ha I Won
I know I said that I would wait for a while before my next entry, but things have taken a drastic change in a couple of areas. First, I want to tell you about what happened when I woke up this morning.
Actually it happened before I awoke, you see apparently Rachel had trouble sleeping due to some very disturbing dreams that I will discuss in a moment. So, she decided to take advantage of her wakefulness and cram in extra time on translating the hieroglyphs. Now, normally we do this work in my tent because I purchased it out of pocket so it’s roomier, and less crowded since I didn’t have much money to buy anything else after such a pricey purchase. So, all of the pictures of the documents we found are in my tent on the foldable table that the dig was kind enough to provide me with. I also do all of my journal entries while setting at this very same table.
Well, last night, instead of putting away my journal I simply left it opened to my last entry and went to bed, intending to deal with it this morning. Well, since it was open, and Rachel is a fairly curious woman, she began reading my last entry.
Apparently it intrigued her so much that she went back to the very beginning and read all of my entries, so I awoke to her lips pressing lightly against my own. “Is that enough for you to keep your promise?” She asked as my eyes flew open.
Apparently the look of utter confusion on my face was completely hilarious as she laughed uproariously and held out my journal which she had been clutching to her chest. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself. I have seen the thing lying about this tent so often and was always curious about what you wrote in it.”
I took the journal and laid it to the side, then set up and kissed her again. I won’t go into further detail, but needless to say she quickly realized that I forgave her curiosity.
Now, as to why she was awake in the first place, which I eventually thought to ask her about, it seems she has been having some very disturbing dreams involving Apep. Mostly she is either demanding that the ritual be completed and that she be shown proper respect, but also she is devouring the sun, or the world. The entire feel of the dream is dark and menacing, so much so that Rachel decided to put off sleep and simply get back to work.
The really strange part is that I have been having similar dreams, except in mine she is demanding that I bow down and give myself to her. The whole feel is more sensual, almost erotic, then Rachel’s dream’s. The main thing is that both of us have been having the dreams with increasing frequency and intensity since we began studying the statue.
After discussing it for a while we decided that we both have been devoting way too much time to this particular aspect of our work. So, were going to take a little break, and instead return to the dig for a few days. Hopefully the change will help us clear our heads a bit, and give us a fresh view when we return to the work. Needless to say it was a bit of a surprise when we came to the dig site ready to start digging, but when we explained our decision professor Kynes agreed with our thinking.
Just one more thing and I need to go have lunch; before I actually got to work professor Kynes drew me to the side. “What happened to our deal? I thought you promised to keep your mind on your work, and your hands off of the women.”
Apparently we somehow managed to give ourselves away. Which with professor Kynes is an easy thing to do, the man is extremely observant, and very in touch with other people. I couldn’t possibly deny the truth behind the accusation, I can’t lie I’m terrible at it. Instead all I could do was tell the truth, the entire truth about her finding and reading my journal and her very aggressive way of waking me up.
Happily the professor is also an understanding man, personally I think he realizes that when Rachel decides she wants something there is not telling her no, especially when you don’t want to do so to begin with. Instead of giving me the reproving speech that I deserved, he simply gave me a rueful, indulgent smile and told me to get to work.
Well, Rachel and I have a lunch date, and then we will be headed back to the dig. I will let you know if we find anything, but honestly all the evidence so far is leading everyone to believe that doing so is unlikely. Still, just the excavation of the buildings is important. We can learn a great deal about people from the dwellings they lived in.
Journal Entry 12
Another Dream
It’s about one in the morning, I worked so hard yesterday and was so exhausted after all of my labors that I was certain there was no way I would dream tonight. I was wrong. Not only did I have another dream it was the most intense and terrifying one so far. I was standing alone in a place that seemed extremely vast, and completely empty. There was a part of me that realized that I had to be dreaming, but still I accepted what was happening as perfectly normal.
Suddenly the empty space seemed to be filled to bursting, though there was nothing visible, and I was completely alone I still felt very crowded. Then I was staring into a pair of blazing red eyes. I knew immediately I was in the presence of Apep.
I will tell you everything verbatim since I am fresh from the dream and still remember it clearly.
Her presence was overwhelming, and her voice seemed to issue from everywhere at once. “Why do you resist me? I was stayed my hand when you defiled the resting place of my followers, and held their angry spirits at bay. I could have crushed you when you refused to heed the warnings and ignored the blood sacrifice that is my due. I delivered into your hands that one which you most desired. And for my kindness and tolerance you turn your back to me, you spurn me and resist my will. Bow to me, or I will take what is owed.”
That is when I awoke. Now, I am not a superstitious person, nor am I prone to belief in anything I can’t touch, see, smell, measure, weigh or in some other way quantify, but what I experienced tonight goes beyond denial. I believe in the depths of my heart that I have experienced something that I cannot explain, and it terrified me.
I don’t know what to do with this; honestly I wish that John Branestone were here right now. This is something more in his realm of expertise. Since he isn’t here I think the best thing I can do is talk to the only other person that can understand what I am going through, and for some reason I have no doubt she is awake. I will let you know Rachel’s thoughts on the matter later but for now please forgive me. I simply need time to gather my thoughts and figure out a way to deal with everything that doesn’t involve me joining a cult that worships a giant snake.
Journal Entry 13
The Loss of an Icon
Today, not only the Archaeological world, or the Scholarly world, but the world in general has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known. He was a man of brilliance and wisdom, who would reach out a hand to those in and guide them to sustenance rather than simply tossing a crust of bread. His kindness and understanding knew no bounds, and though he bore no offspring, in his mind he had thousands of children. To him each and every one that ever passed through class room was one of HIS CHILDREN, not just students who he was paid to teach, but members of a huge family that he loved with all of his heart, and anyone of them could come to him for guidance, even if they had not seem him in twenty years.
Today, Professor Thomas Kynes, my teacher, mentor, and friend was found dead at the age of sixty-three in his tent at 7:45 by me. I went to check after his health when he failed to show at any of the settings for breakfast, which is completely out of character for him; he usually likes to make an appearance even if it is just for a cup of coffee and to say good morning to everyone.
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