During
the reign of Thutmose I (1500 BC) the Egyptians could with great grief
establish the fact 
that
their ancestors' graves in the pyramids had been ravaged, desecrated and
robbed. In spite of clever constructions, all the security precautions could
not prevent grave robbery. On the West Bank of the Nile, in isolated valleys,
they created the City of the Dead. The famous "Valley of the Kings"
is only a part of this great necropolis. They hoped their departed relatives
would be safe there, "where no ears may hear and no eyes may see."A
pharaoh started the construction of his grave when he had ascended the throne.
Almost every tomb has some part that is not finished. It seems they almost
deliberately avoided accomplishing their monumental resting-place. A finished
grave is a signal that the earthly life is at its end. Maybe the unfinished
grave was a vain attempt to postpone the journey to the great unknown.
First published: Monday 20th May, 1996.
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