and caught the look in his eyes.
For a moment she went still, as their gazes locked and her pretty lips parted on an intake of breath.
A flush of heat went through him.
Recalling himself, Ky began to read through her translations of some of the pieces of papyrus and his heart rate picked up for an entirely different reason.
If she wasn’t mistaken in her translation then the architect was discussing the building of a tomb out in the Gilf Kebir, translated as ‘great barrier’, a massive plateau that was the most distinctive geological feature in this remote part of Egypt, encompassing parts of Libya to the west and the Sudan to the south.
Certainly the ancient peoples knew of it, petroglyphs were etched into its rocks, the most famous of which had been used in a movie.
However, most of the Gilf Kebir gave a new meaning to inaccessible and inhospitable.
In his earliest days of study Ky had written a paper speculating that before the pyramids, the priests and priestesses of early Egypt had used the Gilf Kebir as their final resting place, unlike many who built their tombs along the Nile.
That paper hadn’t been received well.
For a moment, Ky stood frozen, staring at the papyrus.
Here in his hand was confirmation that the tombs he’d proposed might in fact exist. They weren’t just his imagination, an extrapolation, a wild fancy cobbled together from references he’d found here and there and a single statement in an early dynasty Pharaoh’s tomb.
A tomb they couldn’t even be certain was that of the Pharaoh they thought.
Narmer.
The first great Pharaoh.
“Raissa,” he said, making the effort not to get his hopes up. “Are you certain? Is this how you read this?”
Looking into the excitement in his eyes, Raissa’s smile spread and she nodded. “I was right, wasn’t I? It’s what you were looking for?”
On a half laugh, he nodded. “Part of it. It’s part of what I’m looking for.”
He almost kissed her, the impulse so strong it rocked him.
Still, with this and this alone, he had the confirmation he’d looked for, if only for himself, and possibly enough that he could get the additional funding needed to expand his search beyond the fort, continue looking further. Perhaps even into the Gilf Kebir itself, to find the tombs.
It had been Ky himself who, through research and extrapolation, through clues on papyrus, small hints, had originally discovered the remains of the early dynasty fort that even now was being uncovered out in the desert. That gave him a certain cachet, a little pull.
“Let’s get a copy of this off to Dr. Hawass immediately,” he said, to Ryan, keeping his voice even with an effort. They needed, he needed, to be sure. “We’ll get it dated for certain the next time we’re in Cairo, to be sure. Could you set that up, too, Ryan? Get us time to do the dating.”
Dr. Tareq Hawass of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was his friend, mentor and a force to be reckoned with in Egyptology. They were old friends from back in the days when they’d been Archaeology/Egyptology students. Now Tareq was head of the Museum, by virtue of his knowledge of Ancient Egypt, his skill at wheedling the necessary funds from both the government and donors, and his undeniable charm.
He would let Tareq fight this battle.
Ky’s spirits lightened. Sometimes it was a matter of who you knew. As much grief as it had caused him to be friends with the head of the Egyptian museum, this time it had paid off.
The tombs he sought were here in Egypt as far as Ky could tell and the folks at the Egyptian Museum and in the Egyptian government would very likely be more than happy to help him find them.
That would take time, though, and there was still more to discover, more clues to search for.
It was a beginning. The next step.
Contrary to popular opinion and what was depicted in the movies, there was rarely an outright AHA moment in archeology but instead a series of steps. Sometimes they led you down
For a moment she went still, as their gazes locked and her pretty lips parted on an intake of breath.
A flush of heat went through him.
Recalling himself, Ky began to read through her translations of some of the pieces of papyrus and his heart rate picked up for an entirely different reason.
If she wasn’t mistaken in her translation then the architect was discussing the building of a tomb out in the Gilf Kebir, translated as ‘great barrier’, a massive plateau that was the most distinctive geological feature in this remote part of Egypt, encompassing parts of Libya to the west and the Sudan to the south.
Certainly the ancient peoples knew of it, petroglyphs were etched into its rocks, the most famous of which had been used in a movie.
However, most of the Gilf Kebir gave a new meaning to inaccessible and inhospitable.
In his earliest days of study Ky had written a paper speculating that before the pyramids, the priests and priestesses of early Egypt had used the Gilf Kebir as their final resting place, unlike many who built their tombs along the Nile.
That paper hadn’t been received well.
For a moment, Ky stood frozen, staring at the papyrus.
Here in his hand was confirmation that the tombs he’d proposed might in fact exist. They weren’t just his imagination, an extrapolation, a wild fancy cobbled together from references he’d found here and there and a single statement in an early dynasty Pharaoh’s tomb.
A tomb they couldn’t even be certain was that of the Pharaoh they thought.
Narmer.
The first great Pharaoh.
“Raissa,” he said, making the effort not to get his hopes up. “Are you certain? Is this how you read this?”
Looking into the excitement in his eyes, Raissa’s smile spread and she nodded. “I was right, wasn’t I? It’s what you were looking for?”
On a half laugh, he nodded. “Part of it. It’s part of what I’m looking for.”
He almost kissed her, the impulse so strong it rocked him.
Still, with this and this alone, he had the confirmation he’d looked for, if only for himself, and possibly enough that he could get the additional funding needed to expand his search beyond the fort, continue looking further. Perhaps even into the Gilf Kebir itself, to find the tombs.
It had been Ky himself who, through research and extrapolation, through clues on papyrus, small hints, had originally discovered the remains of the early dynasty fort that even now was being uncovered out in the desert. That gave him a certain cachet, a little pull.
“Let’s get a copy of this off to Dr. Hawass immediately,” he said, to Ryan, keeping his voice even with an effort. They needed, he needed, to be sure. “We’ll get it dated for certain the next time we’re in Cairo, to be sure. Could you set that up, too, Ryan? Get us time to do the dating.”
Dr. Tareq Hawass of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was his friend, mentor and a force to be reckoned with in Egyptology. They were old friends from back in the days when they’d been Archaeology/Egyptology students. Now Tareq was head of the Museum, by virtue of his knowledge of Ancient Egypt, his skill at wheedling the necessary funds from both the government and donors, and his undeniable charm.
He would let Tareq fight this battle.
Ky’s spirits lightened. Sometimes it was a matter of who you knew. As much grief as it had caused him to be friends with the head of the Egyptian museum, this time it had paid off.
The tombs he sought were here in Egypt as far as Ky could tell and the folks at the Egyptian Museum and in the Egyptian government would very likely be more than happy to help him find them.
That would take time, though, and there was still more to discover, more clues to search for.
It was a beginning. The next step.
Contrary to popular opinion and what was depicted in the movies, there was rarely an outright AHA moment in archeology but instead a series of steps. Sometimes they led you down
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