‘He doesn’t look so great,’ Eddie commented. The body had been preserved in the ancient Egyptian manner, mummification, but was not wrapped in bandages. Instead the wizened figure was clad in silk robes of deep Tyrian purple, with parts of a suit of scale armour covering the shoulders and lower body. The corpse’s hands were crossed over its stomach, gold rings visible upon the fingers.
Nina saw Greek text upon the frame of the glass sarcophagus. ‘“A tomb now suffices him for whom the world was not enough”,’ she translated.
‘Oh, he was a James Bond fan?’
So thrilled he struggled to speak, Banna gestured for Schofield to film the coffin’s occupant. ‘The… the breastplate is gone, just as the records said — stolen by Caligula. And look, look — the nose is missing.’ He pointed at the dead king’s face, below the golden band encircling the forehead. Even through the lid’s distortions, a dark hole was clearly visible.
‘Broken by Augustus when he bent down to kiss the body,’ said Nina. Banna looked at her in mild surprise. ‘I did my research too.’
The young archaeologist was too enthralled to continue his rivalry, at least for the moment. ‘The coffin, glass, just as was written — the original golden coffin was melted down by Ptolemy IX Lathyrus.’
‘Why did he do that?’ Macy asked, torn between fascination and distaste at the sight of the eyeless, shrivelled corpse.
‘To turn into coins,’ Nina explained, gazing at the king’s remains. ‘However much they venerated Alexander, the rulers who came after him still needed money, wherever they could get it.’
Eddie surveyed the rest of the room. A selection of treasures, even more impressive than those in the chamber below, surrounded the dais. ‘A lot of this other stuff’s gold, as well as everything outside. Why’d he leave all this alone?’
‘Ptolemy Lathyrus ruled until 81 BCE,’ said Banna, reluctantly turning away from the coffin. ‘But the tomb remained open for centuries after. These tributes must have been placed here later.’
Macy was keen to look at something other than a dead body. ‘Hey, Nina. There’s another statue of Alexander’s horse here.’
Nina’s interest was immediately drawn by the statue. It was about two feet long, sculpted so that the horse appeared to be in mid gallop, with its head held high and proud. Even from across the room, she could tell that the workmanship and detail were exquisite.
That was not what had caught her attention, though. It stood out because of its lack of ostentation. The other tributes around it dripped with gold, silver and gemstones, but this was content to be merely a beautiful piece of art rather than an extravagant display.
‘Let me see,’ she told Macy. Dina took her place to film the coffin as she joined her friend.
‘You found something?’ Eddie asked.
‘I’m not sure.’ Nina knelt, bringing her light to the statue. It was made of fired clay or ceramic, the surface delicately painted and then glazed to seal in the colours. Threads of gold picked out the animal’s tack, but beyond that it was unadorned…
She squinted, leaning nearer. There was something written on the tack, Greek text inscribed in tiny letters along the bands of the bridle and reins.
Macy peered over her shoulder. ‘What does it say?’
‘It’s really hard to read, especially in this light… Has anyone got a magnifying glass?’
There was a faintly embarrassed silence from the other archaeologists. ‘Seriously?’ said Nina. ‘Nobody’s brought a basic toolkit with them?’
Assad chuckled. ‘It would be a good idea to edit this from the video, yes?’
Habib headed back to the tunnel. ‘I will bring one from the cabin.’
‘No, it’s okay,’ said Nina as an idea came to her, but he had already gone. She took out her phone. ‘This can magnify, hold on…’ She activated the camera and zoomed in until the text on the screen became legible. ‘Here, I can read it.’
‘Well, what’s the story?’ Eddie asked after a few seconds.
‘Jeez, give me a chance!’ Nina moved the phone slowly over the statue’s surface. ‘It says, near enough, “No one could hope to match the sagacity and bravery of Alexander…”’
‘Whoever made that had a pretty high opinion of him.’
‘They wouldn’t be the only one. Although I wonder if it says who did make it?’ She checked the rest of the statue.
‘Why are you so fascinated by that one piece, Dr Wilde?’ asked Banna. ‘Alexander the Great himself is here, in this room, but you are more interested in his horse!’
‘I’m interested in his horse because the guy who tried to kill me was interested in it too,’ Nina said. ‘Okay, here’s another line… “The riddle of the Gordian Knot outwitted all, until Alexander’s wisdom found the answer.”’
‘The Gordian Knot?’ said Eddie. ‘That’s the one where he couldn’t unfasten it, so he just chopped it in half, right?’
‘That’s right,’ Nina answered, reading on. ‘“Only such great wisdom will solve the riddle of Bucephalus and reveal that which leads to the Spring of Immortality.”’ That aroused intrigued looks from the others.
Most of them, at least. ‘I shall continue to examine the body of Alexander the Great,’ Banna announced huffily and to nobody in particular. ‘Keep the camera on me!’ Dina, who had turned to watch Nina, hurriedly brought her phone back to the expedition leader.
‘Where’s this riddle?’ asked Eddie.
Assad joined Nina. ‘There must be more text.’
She reached for the statue, then hesitated, looking at the Egyptian for approval. He nodded. As carefully as she could, she lifted it. ‘It’s really heavy,’ she reported.
Assad supported the statue’s underside with one hand. ‘Fifteen kilograms, at least. It must be solid.’ He tapped softly on the horse’s flank with a knuckle, producing a dull clonk.
‘Sounds that way,’ Nina agreed. ‘Okay… I can’t see text anywhere except on the reins. Let’s see what the rest of it says.’ They lowered the sculpture, and she brought her phone back up.
It did not take long to read the rest of the inscriptions. ‘Well, that’s a little weird.’
Eddie came over. ‘What is it?’
‘You remember the story in the Alexander Romance, where Andreas the cook accidentally discovered the Spring of Immortality?’
‘Yeah?’
‘According to the text, this statue was made by Andreas. He put it in the burial chamber to honour his king.’ Now even Banna looked up from his examination of the coffin to listen. ‘It also says that when he did that… he was over three hundred years old.’
‘Impossible!’ Banna snapped.
‘I’m just reading what it says. Andreas found the Spring of Immortality again after Alexander died. The statue can show the way to it — if you solve its riddle.’
‘But what is the riddle?’ asked Macy.
‘I don’t know.’ Nina checked the horse’s belly, but found no more text.
‘On the feet, perhaps,’ Assad suggested. He and Nina gently turned the statue over. Again, there was nothing visible, even on the underside of the hooves. ‘Or hidden in the hairs of the tail?’
‘What are you doing?’ hooted Banna. ‘Ismail, this is the greatest find in years, and you are ignoring it!’
‘No, I am not ignoring it,’ Assad told him as he put the equine sculpture back on its feet. ‘But I am paying more attention to a threat to it. This statue must be the one Dr Wilde’s attackers plan to steal. So, to ensure the safety of the rest of the tomb, we need to take it to a secure location.’ He straightened. ‘I will return to the antechamber and bring the ASPS so that—’