tes of divinities, mystic eyes,
scarabs, and, above all, cords tied round the neck, arms, limbs, or
waist, to keep off, by their mystic knots, all malign influences.

The whole population of the necropolis made their living out of the
dead. This was true of all ranks of society, headed by the sacerdotal
colleges of the royal chapels,* and followed by the priestly bodies, to
whom was entrusted the care of the tombs in the various sections,
but the most influential of whom confined their attentions to the old
burying-ground, "Isit-mait," the True Place.**

* We find on several monuments the names of persons
belonging to these sacerdotal bodies, priests of Ahmosis I.,
priests of Thutmosis I., of Thut-mosis II., of Amenothes
II., and of Seti I.

** The persons connected with the "True Place" were for a
long time considered as magistrates, and the "True Place" as
a tribunal.

It was their duty to keep up the monuments of the kings, and also of
private individuals, to clean the tombs, to visit the funerary chambers,
to note the condition of their occupants, and, if necessary, repair
the damage done by time, and to provide on certain days the offerings
prescribed by custom, or by clauses in the contract drawn up between
the family of the deceased and the religious authorities. The titles of
these officials indicated how humble was their position in relation to
the deified ancestors in whose service they were employed; they called
themselves the "Servants of the True Place," and their chiefs the
"Superiors of the Servants," but all the while they were people of
considerable importance, being rich, well educated, and respected in
their own quarter of the town.

[Illustration: 032.jpg PAINTINGS AT THE END OF THE HALL OF THE FIFTH
THE TOMB]

They professed to have a special devotion for Amenothes I. and his
mother, Nofritari, who, after five or six centuries of continuous
homage, had come to be considered as the patrons of Khafitnibus, but
this devotion was not to the depreciation of other sovereigns. It is
true that the officials were not always clear as to the identity of the
royal remains of which they had the care, and they were known to have
changed one of their queens or princesses into a king or some royal
prince.*

* Thus Queen Ahhotpu I., whom the "servant" Anhurkhau knew
to be a woman, is transformed into a King Ahhotpu in the
tomb of Khabokhnit.

[Illustratio