through the Pharaoh, that the Aten watch over the child on his journey to the afterlife.”
“That was Dr. Harrison Stanley’s interpretation,” Summer said. “He indicated that the image on the right depicts a royal daughter imparting something called the Apium of Faras before fleeing Egypt.”
“Yes, that is my translation of the hieroglyphic panel as well. The image appears to show dying children along the Nile, behind the royal daughter.”
“Is any other information apparent?” Dirk asked.
The portion of the mural was instantly enlarged on the video board behind Max. Though her back was to the screen, she relayed the information as if she had studied the image.
“There are two small inscriptions faintly visible under enlargement,” she said. “The woman on the boat passing the bag ashore has a cartouche on her bracelet.” She hesitated as the photo enlarged again and focused on her wrist. “The hieroglyphics on the cartouche read ‘Meritaten.’”
“Meritaten again, as on the tablet,” Summer said, surprise in her voice. “Is there any identification on the two men near her?”
“None that can be seen. Their attire is that commonly depicted on laborers.”
“This Princess Meritaten seems to have had a notable presence in Amarna,” Zeibig said.
“Max,” Hiram said, “you indicated you found two small inscriptions. What was the second?”
“It is a marking on the bag carried by Meritaten,” Max said. “It is labeled ‘Faras.’”
“The Apium of Faras,” Dirk said. “Does that mean anything to you, Max?”
“There are references to it as a powerful curative. Faras was an administrative center in the Nubian region of Upper Egypt. An important temple existed in the city, contained within a walled fortress. The priests of Faras were known for their medicinal powers. King Tutankhamun dedicated a shrine to them and their famed herbal medicine. In later centuries, an important Christian cathedral was built in the city, which was excavated in the 1960s before the area was flooded by the construction of the Aswan High Dam.”
“Was the Tutankhamun shrine removed before the flooding, like some of the other Egyptian monuments?”
“No, the temple and its shrine were not recovered ahead of the flooding, presumably due to their deteriorated condition.”
“Max, would you have a precise location of the temple?” he asked.
“Yes, I can interpolate from the report of a British excavation performed there in 1903.” She provided a GPS coordinate. “Just watch out for crocodiles.”
“Thanks. And thanks again, Hiram. You preserved some valuable information for Egyptian archeologists everywhere.”
“No problem. I’m here if you need me.”
Max and Yaeger disappeared from the screen as Summer disconnected the call. She opened her email and pulled up Zeibig’s photo of the undamaged mural.
“It’s a remarkable image,” she said, “of an interesting woman.”
“I’d like to know her full story,” Zeibig said.
“Something just doesn’t make sense,” Dirk said. “I can understand the interest by antiquities thieves in the Amarna tomb, and also tossing our boat for more artifacts. But why risk additional exposure by stealing Rod’s phone?”
“Maybe it was exposure that they feared,” Zeibig said. “Perhaps they thought I had taken pictures of them at some point.”
“Could be,” Summer said. “I think it was the unaltered mural they were really worried about.”
“Maybe so,” Dirk said. “What self-respecting tomb raider would leave behind a solid gold chariot?”
“Then the question is, what’s so important about this image of Princess Meritaten in the mural?” Summer enlarged the photo’s lower corner, highlighting the princess on the boat.
“Maybe it’s not the princess,” Dirk said. “Maybe it’s what she’s holding.”
“The Apium of Faras?”
Dirk nodded.
“It just looks like an herb of some sort,” Zeibig said. “What could it possibly represent?”
“Maybe nothing,” Dirk said. “There’s one way to find out.”
Summer frowned. “Max said the temple is buried at the bottom of Lake Nasser.”
Dirk gave his sister a smile. “Since when are you afraid of a little water?”
29
A little water, in the case of Lake Nasser, amounted to nearly thirty cubic miles’ worth. Created by the construction of the Aswan Dam in 1902, and supplemented by the Aswan High Dam in 1971, Lake Nasser is one of the world’s largest man-made bodies of water, extending over three hundred miles, from the Upper Egypt city of Aswan to the northern Sudan desert.
Summer glanced out the window of a propeller-driven commuter plane and studied the expanse of dark water. The lake’s shoreline was a jagged line of capillary-like intrusions into the desert sands. The harsh and empty wasteland that surrounded the lake offered few signs of life.
She leaned over to Dirk. “This lake is huge. We’ve been flying over it for half an hour.”