| stretched far away over the low plain, of which there is a fine view
from the summit of the pyramid. But the city was all built of sun-baked
brick and wood, and it has therefore vanished. It extended far southward
from Gizeh and was later called Memphis
The city of the dead, — the pyramids and the tombs clustering around
them (Figs. 39
and 42), — being built of
stone, has fortunately proved more durable. Hence it is that from the summit
of the Great Pyramid there is a grand view southward, down a straggling
but imposing line of pyramids rising dimly as far as one can see on the
southern horizon. Each pyramid was a royal tomb, and for us |
|
FIG. 40. COLLECTION
OF TAXES BY LOCAL TREASURY OFFICIALS IN THE PYRAMID AGE
The clerks and scribes are in two rows at the right. All
squat, and write on the raised right knee, except the two who have desks.
The left hand holds a sheet of papyrus; the right, the pen. The taxpayers
are delinquent village officers brought in (at the left) by deputies with
staves under their arms. The inscription above reads, “Seizing the town
rulers for a reckoning.” The clerks had records of the taxpayers names
and how much they owed; and they issued receipts when the taxes were paid,
just as at the present day. Such arrangements did not arise in Europe until
far down in the Roman Empire (§§ 1026-1027)
|
