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</span></span><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span style="font-size: 15px"><i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4d4d">"In his chief cult temple at Karnak in Thebes, Amun, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, ruled as a divine pharaoh. Unlike other important deities, Amun does not seem to have been thought of as living in some distant celestial realm. His presence was everywhere, unseen but felt like the wind. His oracles communicated the divine will to humanity. Amun was said to come swiftly to help Egyptian kings on the battle field or to aid the poor and friendless. When he was manifest in his cult statues, Amun periodically visited the necropolis of Thebes to unite with its goddess, Hathor, and bring new life to the dead." ~ </span>King of the Gods </i>- <i>Dr. Geraldine Pinch</i></span></span><br/>
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<br/>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span style="font-size: 15px">A farmer and his two sons were clearing one of their fields for the summer crop of cotton near Karnak, Egypt, when one of them made an accidental discovery with their tractor. The farmer's son picked up an intact artifact called a <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ucl.ac.uk%2Fmuseums-static%2Fdigitalegypt%2Fgurob%2Ftombs%2Ftomb82scarabs.gif&amp;hash=a1d6cd80cd9f780478f4015a7965d735" href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/gurob/tombs/tomb82scarabs.gif" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">faience plaque,</a> made of crushed quartz and coated with a soda-lime-silica glaze that turned the artifact a bright blue-green color due the presence of copper.<br/>
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It wasn't the faience plaque's properties that were significant. It was the fact that it was found in undisturbed soil and modern day Luxor and Karnak occupied the site where ancient Thebes was located. Thebes covered 36 square miles and was located approximately 419 miles south of modern Cairo. The faience plaque found by the farmer dated back to the 18th Dynasty, and was stamped with the name of King Ahmose I, who ruled Egypt during the period of the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE). <br/>
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The land area surrounding Mr. Mamoud's farm featured some of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt such as the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Ramesseum (temple of Ramesses II), the temple of Ramesses III, and the grand temple complex of Queen Hatshepsut. Thebes itself was thought to have been formed by the hands of <i>Amun</i>, drawn up from the Nile's waters, just as the primordial mound of the <i>ben-ben</i> rose from the swirling waters of chaos at the creation of the world. In the original creation story, the god <i>Atum</i> or <i>Ra </i>stood upon the ben-ben and began the work of creation.<i> Amun </i>was a combination of <i>Atum</i>, the creator god, and <i>Ra,</i> the sun god, and this supreme lord stood on the first dry earth at the beginning of creation. <i>Thebes</i> was considered his sacred place on earth and perhaps, the original ben-ben on which he stood at the beginning of time. <br/>
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<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">Translation:  Benben was the mound that arose from the primordial waters Nu upon which the creator god Atum settled in the creation story of the Heliopolitan form of Ancient Egyptian religion. The Benben stone (also known as a pyramidion) is the top stone of the Egyptian pyramid. It is also related to the Obelisk.</div>
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Once the significant discovery had been made, the <i>Department of Sociology, Egyptology and Anthropology at the American University of Cairo </i>were asked by <i>The Ministry of Antiquities</i> for their assistance with investigating the findings. <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F564x%2Ff4%2F63%2Fa2%2Ff463a2d9ac50963ffb3eb66c18d3b084.jpg&amp;hash=6fd9019e51fe66d6d66100c7198692fa" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f4/63/a2/f463a2d9ac50963ffb3eb66c18d3b084.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Dr. Cassian Beckett</a> was one of the leaders heading the expedition. So far, several artifacts including human remains had been found. While several archaeologists on the team felt that <i>most impressive</i> find was a mummy decorated with a bronze collar with blue and red beads and amulets made of semi-precious stones, Cassian begged to differ.<br/>
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Four alabaster <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ucl.ac.uk%2Fmuseums-static%2Fdigitalegypt%2Fburialcustoms%2Farchive%2Fuc16125.jpg&amp;hash=4981b918f0846e73ac2a932efff863a8" href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/burialcustoms/archive/uc16125.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">canopic jars</a> with Amun's name had been carved onto the lid. The jars contained the internal organs of the tomb's mummy. A pair of daggers with jeweled hilts had also been discovered in a nearby trench, along with 1,000 <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ucl.ac.uk%2Fmuseums-static%2Fdigitalegypt%2Fsedment%2Farchive%2Fuc28415.gif&amp;hash=f111af2a86e254fbfdce7f87b98364f8" href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/sedment/archive/uc28415.gif" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">ushabti figurines.</a> The small blue-green figures were commonly placed in the tombs of the deceased and were thought to represent workers in the afterlife. Cassian and his team found several different burial sites within the temple complex. It was theorized that some of the burials were associated with human sacrifice to the ancient Egyptian god Amun.<br/>
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Cassian believed the mummy could have possibly been one of the High Priests of the Cult of Amun.  Among the ancient culture's deities, <i>Amun</i> was considered the King of the Gods. Known as <i>The Concealed God, or he whose nature could not be known but associated with air or the wind which could be felt but not seen or touched.</i> He was also the Creator God who originally stood on the first dry ground at the beginning of time and created the world by mating with himself.  <br/>
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The ominous booming sound of his startled scream shook Cassian out of another abysmal nightmare. His forehead and bare torso were bathed in a cold sweat. A single white sheet had become twisted around his limbs from thrashing in his sleep. Jolted awake and breathing heavily, Cassian sat up abruptly upon his cot. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer inside his chest, both arms and legs trembling while he sat there trying to catch his breath. He studied the inside of his tent in a still semi-coherent state, discerning that it was still night outside his tent because there was no light anywhere in the desert unless the moon was full, and it wasn't. Cassian had been having the same lucid dream for almost a week since finding a deeper single shaft tomb beneath the temple with the mummy. <br/>
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The shaft tomb held a single desiccated corpse. The corpse appeared leathery, and it had not been preserved in the style or tradition that Egyptians were known for. The most memorable thing about the corpse was its face and Cassian would never forget the image. It was frozen in a rictus of agony, long dark strands of hair covered with age, dust and decomposition still clinging to its skull. While the others moved on to better discoveries, Cassian had remained in the earthen pit with the corpse in a moment of silent reverence as he took preliminary measurements. He tried to not disturb the remains in any way, because they would need to be reburied as per protocol.<br/>
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The remnants of his nightmare still clung to his mind, haunting him. The repetitive dream had replayed itself over and over again whenever the exhausted archaeologist had the opportunity to get some much needed sleep. He would drift into REM sleep and the dream always began with the image of a man, not one of weakness or trite politeness, but one of great spirit and nobility.  He was handsome, though his warm brown eyes were a close second. Yet his would be beautiful in any shade, and projected from them was an intensity, an honesty, a gentleness. Whatever he was, whatever was beautiful about him, came from deep within. It made Cassian want to feel how his lips moved in a kiss, how his hands could follow the curves of his body. <br/>
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It should have been that as each year passed in his life, the lines would deepen upon his face. He would be more handsome still, as if his soul were shining through his skin. But he was trapped in the darkness of the dank earthen chamber, chained there until the sinewy strength of his body began to waste away, corded muscle digested by his own metabolism to be used for sustenance. Until the other men arrived and the nightmare worsened. The unknown man imprisoned in the walled chamber seemed to beseech him for help in desperation, although Cassian couldn't hear the sound of his cries for help. <br/>
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The men were dressed in bronze collars, decorated with colorful stones, and cotton tunics with elaborate headpieces, each wielding a dagger with a jeweled hilt, set with semi-precious stones. In utter desperation, the shackled man seemed to extend his arms towards him, in a last ditch effort to be saved from the death that was approaching him. The man that had blossomed with youth and vitality, transformed into a rail thin skeletonized, bruised object. He was crushed and stabbed repeatedly, his blood flowing like a crimson river away from his fallen corpse as it lay on the floor. <br/>
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Never to breathe again, his existence and his horrible ending was only witnessed by one person during a brief moment of time, becoming part of his nightmares.<br/>
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<i>Dr. Cassian Beckett.</i><br/>
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Although DNA from the body along with the other human remains found had yet to be analyzed in the lab, careful measurement of the pelvic bones made it certain that the body was that of a man, and from the incisive cuts to the bones of his neck and chest, he had been murdered, probably as a sacrificial offering. Further forensic study was needed however to prove his hypothesis wrong. Cassian comforted himself by drinking a cool dredge of icy water from his canteen, before settling back down on his cot to try and resume a normal sleep pattern.  Morning came early, and so did cataloging every shard and artifact that had been found by himself and the team from the American University of Cairo. </span></span>