Note 247 — Chapter III · (continued 3)

When Belzoni's workmen found the entrance to the tomb of Seti, they declared that they could not advance any farther, because the passage was blocked with big stones to such an extent as to be impracticable (Narrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, &c., in Egypt and Nubia, 1820, 4to.). Mariette also believed that as soon as the mummy was in place, the external door was closed and earth heaped against it in such a way as effectually to conceal it. It is thus that the clashing between the tomb of Rameses III. and another is accounted for. The workmen did not see the entrance of the latter, and were, in fact, unaware of its existence until they encountered it in the bowels of the rock. (Voyage dans la Haute-Égypte, t. ii. p. 81.)