In spite of the plundering of the tombs in various ages, the work of the Egypt Exploration Fund was so thorough that not a few gold objects have been found in the course of recent excavations.  By far the most important discovery of recent years was that of some jewelry in the tomb of King Zer.  The story of this find is so entertaining, and illustrates so admirably the method of the modern scientific explorer, that we give the account of it in Professor Petrie’s own words: 

“While my workmen were clearing the tomb, they noticed among the rubbish which they were moving a piece of the arm of a mummy in its wrappings.  It lay in a broken hole in the north wall of the tomb.  The party of four who found it looked into the end of the wrappings and saw a large gold bead, the rosette in the second bracelet.  They did not yield to the natural wish to search further or to remove it; but laid the arm down where they found it until Mr. Mace should come and verify it.  Nothing but obtaining the complete confidence of the workmen, and paying them for all they find, could ever make them deal with valuables in this careful manner.  On seeing it, Mr. Mace told them to bring it to our huts intact, and I received it quite undisturbed.  In the evening the most intelligent of the party was summoned as a witness of the opening of the wrappings, so that there should be no suspicion that I had not dealt fairly with the men.  I then cut open the linen bandages, and found, to our great surprise, the four bracelets of gold and jewelry.  The verification of the exact order of threading occupied an hour or two, working with a magnifier, my wife and Mr. Mace assisting.  When recorded, the gold was put in the scales and weighed against sovereigns before the workman, who saw everything.  Rather more than the value of gold was given to the men, and thus we ensured their good-will and honesty for the future.”

The hawk bracelet consists of thirteen gold and fourteen turquoise plaques in the form of the facade with the hawk, which usually encloses the ka name of the king.  The gold hawks have been cast in a mould with two faces, and the junction line has been carefully removed and burnished.  The gold was worked by chisel and burnishing; no grinding or file marks are visible.  In the second bracelet, with the rosette, two groups of beads are united at the sides by bands of gold wire and thick hair.  The fastening of the bracelet was by a loop and button.  This button is a hollow ball of gold with a shank of gold wire fastened in it.  The third bracelet is formed of three similar groups, one larger, and the other smaller on either side.  The middle of each group consists of three beads of dark purple lazuli.  The fastening of this bracelet was by a loop and button.  The fourth bracelet is fashioned of hour-glass beads.

In this extraordinary group of the oldest jewelry known, we see unlimited variety and fertility of design.  Excepting the plain gold balls, there is not a single bead in any one bracelet which would be interchangeable with those in another bracelet.  Each is of independent design, fresh and free from all convention or copying.