Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Go down the hall and it's the third door on the right. You can't miss it.

When I saw the picture, my first thought was that it was a Port-O-Potty.  However, I actually read the article and learned better.  This is the door to the afterlife.  It doesn't open until you are dead and need it.  If you were rich in Egypt back in the day, you had nice things like this to keep your soul from getting lost.  That reminds me, I've been meaning to do a series on Egyptian death...

Here is the entire article:

CAIRO (AFP) – A large red granite false door from the tomb of an ancient queen's powerful vizier has been discovered in Luxor, Egypt's culture minister said on Monday.
The carved stone door -- which ancient Egyptians believed was the threshold to the afterlife -- was unearthed near the Karnak Temple in Luxor and belongs to the tomb of User, a powerful advisor to the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut, Faruk Hosni said in a statement.
The door, 1.75 metres (5.7 feet) high and 50 cm (19 inches) thick, is engraved with religious texts and various titles used by User, including mayor of the city, vizier and prince, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass was quoted as saying.
"The newly discovered door was reused during the Roman period. It was removed from the tomb of User and used in the wall of a Roman structure," said Mansur Boraik, who headed the excavation mission.
Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt between 1479 BC and 1458 BC, was the longest reigning female pharaoh.

I found this on: Yahoo News

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a good thing it doesn't open till you're already dead. That could make for some awkward dinner parties as guests try to find the restroom.

Or, it could have been a handy way for Hatshepsut to get rid of enemies. "Down the hall on the right... oops, did I mean left?"

Mark Alford said...

Well, when you gotta go, you gotta go!