CHAPTER 1

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, excavation and research into the secrets, mysteries and antiquities of ancient Egyptian civilization occupied many European missions as well as ordinary people searching for antiquities and wealth represented by mummies, artifacts and the many gold works that often accompany the tombs of kings, princes, princesses, priests, ministers and other prominent men of the ancient Egyptian state in this very advanced era of Egypt's history, rich in civilization, science, progress and secrets that still amaze the world till this day. The ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife where their souls would return to them later, which prompted them to take care of their bodies by mummifying and preserving their mummies and preparing their graves with jewelry and gold works awaiting their afterlife. Their graves contained many talismans and strange writings that threatened anyone who approached them with the aim of robbing them and seizing their property. Their curses and threats were a fortress for them from grave diggers and antiquities thieves, in their belief, but this did not prevent thieves from stealing and looting them since ancient times until now, until the antiquities trade became very popular centuries ago and is still flourishing, as it has become a dream for those who are delusional about getting rich quickly, especially since the prices of these antiquities have reached millions of dollars at the present time.

Zakaria Mamoun, Jamal Wahdan and Amer Othman are three friends since their early childhood. They lived a poor childhood like most Egyptian families in rural and Upper Egypt in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The three friends lived in Luxor in some simple mud houses that were completely empty from the inside except for some large mud seats that were used as beds for sleeping with some light wool and linen covers; their houses were adjacent and located near the temple of Khnum in Esna in Luxor city; the three children grew up as friends as they were young and knew how to dig and excavate for antiquities like many people who lived near this temple in Esna; they used to dig in these mountains and the caves that surrounded them as well as some old houses that were abandoned or whose owners had died and left them forever. The three began their work in searching for antiquities since 1890 when they were between eighteen and twenty years old; they worked as simple workers and laborers on farms and lands during the day and dug at night without anyone noticing them by the light of those small oil lamps; They searched a lot but did not find anything for twenty years, but their dream never weakened, but rather grew more when they heard that someone found a statue and sold it for hundreds of pounds, and another found a long crypt and followed it until he descended into a tunnel leading to a great tomb, but someone reported him to the police, and after a few days the Egyptian government announced in cooperation with some English scientists a great archaeological discovery of one of the kings of ancient Egypt. Their dream was great and did not leave them despite the passing of the years; The temple of Khnum was truly great as it contained great columns with wonderful crowns reaching the ceiling, which was like columns containing wonderful pictures, engravings and drawings that indicate a great civilization left to us by our ancient ancestors; The temple was located near the Nile River and the three men knew that sooner or later they would find what they were looking for. Their ancestors used to tell them that the distance between the temple and the Nile River was full of these precious things that everyone was looking for, but they did not have these tools that would help them dig the ground faster than these simple tools that they used, such as small picks and axes, which exhausted them more than they dug into the ground. Digging took them a long time to dig a few meters into a cave or a house, but their insistence was amazing. Their wishes led them without a logical reason to complete this work that had not brought them anything for twenty years. One day they had work with an engineer to do excavation work around the temple of Khnum. During a break, they heard one of the workers asking the engineer about this Khnum to whom the temple belongs. He told him that he knew little about this matter. He knew from his previous readings in ancient history that the ancient Egyptians considered this Khnum a creator god who created humans, deities, and the Nile springs in order to cause the Nile to flood every year to spread goodness and prosperity. His wife, Menhit, was also worshipped in ancient Egypt. Here, Jamal asked him: “Are we looking for antiquities here, engineer?”

The engineer laughed at Jamal’s question and said: “I wish we could find some of their antiquities. We are just reclaiming this area and building some roads to be suitable for carriages and cars. Perhaps this upcoming mission will find some tombs or secret rooms buried under this land or near the temple in a few months”.

“What if we find something important?” Another one asked the engineer again whom eyes lit up and said enthusiastically: “Just do it and I will give you a full hundred pounds in front of everyone”.

Jamal smiled and swallowed his saliva with great difficulty as he thought about how he would count this much money if he got it, and then his misery and suffering would end forever as he could buy a house and land and hire workers to work on his land and harvest his crops while he would become one of the notables who wear elegant suits and a fez and perhaps his knowledge of his tattered white galabiya tied around his waist to raise a little above his bare feet so that he would not stumble while working would end. Zakaria and Amer's eyes sparkled as well as old wishes returned to their minds and hearts as they did to Gamal; their work day with the engineer ended and they returned to their homes to rest a little before they started their work tonight in another abandoned house that they had agreed to excavate and dig in that night. Engineer Salah's talk ignited their enthusiasm and inflamed their longing to find some trace after twenty arduous years of excavating and digging in the rocks around the Temple of Khnum. The companions would sleep for three hours after dinner, then each one of them would slip away to the place they had designated and wait for the others. When they gathered, they would prepare the tools, picks, axes, ropes, oil lamps and water to help them after hours of digging, which they desperately needed. Then everyone would take off his turban and cloak, say the name of God and strike hard enough to affect the rock, taking care to be quiet so that no one would see them. These had been their customs for twenty years, and the years have passed until they reached the year 1910, when the eldest of them had reached forty years of age. They would take turns watching the road leading to the house inside which they were digging. They continued like this for ten whole days, digging and removing the rubble and dirt away from them so that they could continue digging down. After these ten days, they were unable to dig any deeper, no matter how hard they hit, their blows would bounce back without reaching a greater depth, as if the ground had resisted their reaching any deeper than this point. It was strange, so they stopped for a moment to catch their breath, and Amer went to have a look on the road leading to the place where they were digging before saying:

- No one, the road is quiet and the night hides everything.

- I feel that this time is a little different; Has the ground become so rocky that we couldn't dig any deeper?

- Previous times, we would reach any depth we wanted, and we would even leave the place because we felt that there was nothing in it, even though we were able to dig more; it's really strange.

- You're right, Zakaria... What if we were digging in something really solid?

- Something like what, Jamal?!

- Maybe the roof of one of the fortified rooms.

The three friends looked at each other with enthusiasm and excitement emanating from their hearts longing for this wealth that looms on the horizon, believing in what Jamal was saying. They looked together at the road before each of them picked up his axe and struck the ground hard in different places. The sound of the blows rang in their ears with delight, as if the ground was delighting them and increasing their wishes. At this moment, Amer, who was striking on one side, said with great joy:

- Look, this area seems less solid to me. I see that digging in it is easier.

Jamal and Zakaria approached him, hardly believing what Amer was saying. He began striking the ground harder, faster, more and more until they struck dozens of blows with him until the ground revealed small steps. Here, they began to laugh madly and dance like untamed monkeys from the excitement, enthusiasm, and joy.