The majority of the tombs—­those which were distributed over the plain or on the nearest spurs of the hill—­were constructed on the lines of those brick-built pyramids erected on mastabas which were very common during the early Theban dynasties.  The relative proportions of the parts alone were modified:  the mastaba, which had gradually been reduced to an insignificant base, had now recovered its original height, while the pyramid had correspondingly decreased, and was much reduced in size.  The chapel was constructed within the building, and the mummy-pit was sunk to a varying depth below.  The tombs ranged along the mountain-side were, on the other hand, rock-cut, and similar to those at el-Bersheh and Beni-Hasan.

[Illustration:  018.jpg painting in the fifth tomb of the kings to the right]

The heads of wealthy families or the nobility naturally did not leave to the last moment the construction of a sepulchre worthy of their rank and fortune.  They prided themselves on having “finished their house which is in the funeral valley when the morning for the hiding away of their body should come.”  Access to these tombs was by too steep and difficult a path to allow of oxen being employed for the transport of the mummy:  the friends or slaves of the deceased were, therefore, obliged to raise the sarcophagus on their shoulders and bear it as best they could to the door of the tomb.

[Illustration:  019.jpg the farewell to the mummy, and the double received by the goddess]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the paintings in the Theban
     tombs.

The mummy was then placed in an upright position on a heap of sand, with its back to the wall and facing the assistants, like the master of some new villa who, having been accompanied by his friends to see him take possession, turns for a moment on the threshold to take leave of them before entering.  A sacrifice, an offering, a prayer, and a fresh outburst of grief ensued; the mourners redoubled their cries and threw themselves upon the ground, the relatives decked the mummy with flowers and pressed it to their bared bosoms, kissing it upon the breast and knees.  “I am thy sister, O great one! forsake me not!  Is it indeed thy will that I should leave thee?  If I go away, thou shalt be here alone, and is there any one who will be with thee to follow thee?  O thou who lovedst to jest with me, thou art now silent, thou speakest not!” Whereupon the mourners again broke out in chorus:  “Lamentation, lamentation!  Make, make, make, make lamentation without ceasing as loud as can be made.  O good traveller, who takest thy way towards the land of Eternity, thou hast been torn from us!  O thou who hadst so many around thee, thou art now in the land which bringest isolation!  Thou who lovedst to stretch thy limbs