December 20, 2005 By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD Photo: Since the
4,300-year-old tomb was discovered outside Cairo in 1964,
Egyptologists have known the names of the two men buried there
-Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep- and their occupation, manicurists
to the king. But why were they embracing? (Courtesy of Dr.
Violaine Chauvet) When Egyptologists entered the tomb for the
first time more than four decades ago, they expected to be
surprised. Explorers of newly exposed tombs always expect that,
and this time they were not disappointed - they were confounded.
Since the 4,300-year-old tomb was discovered outside Cairo in
1964, Egyptologists have known the names of the two men buried
there -Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep- and their occupation,
manicurists to the king. But why were they embracing? One expert
was struck by the similarity to Chang and Eng, above, conjoined
twins born in Siam, shown with their families. It was back in
1964, outside Cairo, near the famous Step Pyramid in the
necropolis of Saqqara and a short drive from