The Book of the Dead Multi-cache

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therapaint: The pharaoh thanks all who sought this cache and now bestows some good real estate to his caching brethren

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Hidden : 2/15/2011
Difficulty:
4 out of 5
Terrain:
4.5 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:


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The Book of the Dead


Ancient Egyptian culture was full of beauty and mystery and has captivated the world's imagination for centuries. The ancient Egyptians had incredible skill in building and farming; their art and use of language was exquisite, and they had plenty of time to achieve near-perfection in every aspect of life along the great river. The riches of the Pharaohs was immense, and the treasures from ancient Egypt on display in the world's finest museums speaks to this incredible wealth. Just as it took time and effort to build this nation's great wealth, it took the same effort to maintain and expand it.

Most people look upon ancient Egypt as isolated from the rest of the world, but the Egyptians had ties to many neighboring countries and used trade routes to secure goods to bolster the kingdom. The Red Sea gave the Egyptians access to Africa and the Far East; the Mediterranean Sea gave them access to counties in Europe - even to northern Europe and to the Americas. We think of the gold rush in our part of the Carolinas as fairly recent, but there is much evidence showing that there were others mining gold in this area to fill the coffers of kings thousands of years ago.

The ancient Egyptians needed to travel to the far reaches of the globe to support their kingdom, but this posed a big problem for those chosen to go abroad. Most Egyptians did not like to travel for fear that they would die in a foreign country and receive an improper burial which would hinder or prevent their journey to the afterlife. The Pharaohs began sending cadres of priests with their treasure hunting crews and by about 1500 BC, the priests were carrying valuable copies of The Book of the Dead. A vast collection of spells and rituals, The Book of the Dead was the instruction manual for a successful journey to the afterlife. The manuscripts took the scribes many years to produce, and they were illustrated by the finest artists of the Pharaohs' courts. Today copies of these books are extremely rare and of course, priceless.

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In 1946, Egyptologist and archeologist Dr. Wade N. DeNile began a series of excavations in areas around Matthews, NC believing that ancient Egyptians sent several teams of miners and priests to this area to search for gold. He unearthed what appeared to be makeshift tombs in a place that resembled the Valley of the Kings, and based on the symbols discovered there, hypothesized that these ancient travelers must have carried a Book of the Dead with them. Dr. DeNile spent the next several years searching fervently for this ancient text but eventually ceased due to lack of funding, alcoholism, and whispers of an ancient curse.

Some say he actually found the Book of the Dead but discerned that the power within the pages was too much for the modern world to have, so he hid it away along with the rest of his secrets. Recently a dusty old journal turned up at an estate sale, and it appears to have belonged to Dr. DeNile. After careful research by several local and national experts, it has been determined that Dr. DeNile may have left a some clues behind that would point others to his discoveries. There is much excitement in archeological circles about the information this journal contains and there are well-funded teams gearing up for expeditions that will hopefully bring ancient mysteries to light. Dr. DeNile's journal has been made public and there are no hindrances to those amateur archeologists who want to make a run for The Book of the Dead.

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A good place to start is at the site of the Pyramids located at the listed coordinates. From that point, try and follow the clue left by Dr. DeNile: Look around. There is no need to touch or open anything at this sacred site. The seeker must locate one of the most famous silhouettes in ancient history. Count the letters in this person's name and subtract two - this number will guide you northerly. What color is the silhouette? The number of letters in the color will guide you westerly. Solve the following set of hieroglyphics and use the two numbers to complete the coordinates.

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Once solved, the seeker will have the coordinates to find the Valley of the Kings and the entrance of the first tomb.

Proceed carefully and search for the first symbol necessary to locate the next tomb - note the number of stars you see along the path of your journey - the total number of stars in each tomb should be used to solve for each coordinate.

The coordinates for the second tomb are: N35 07._80 W080 43._67

If a hippo = 5 minus the number of stars
If a cobra = 6 minus the number of stars
If a crocodile = 7 minus the number of stars

Use your answer for the north coordinate

The number of stars minus one is the solution for the west coordinate

Tomb one contains just the one symbol; locate it and go back the way you came.

The second tomb contains two symbols that the seeker will need to find the third tomb - again, note the total number of stars you see in the tomb. The coordinates for the third tomb are: N35 07._31 W080 43._54

For the north number:

If the ankh = 10 minus the number of stars
If a sundisk = 11 minus the number of stars
If the eye of Horus = 8 minus the number of stars

For the west number:

If an ibis = 12 minus the number of stars
If a lion = 8 minus the number of stars
If a scarab = 7 minus the number of stars

Once solved, these coordinates will lead you to the third and final tomb. Consisting of a dual burial chamber, this tomb will provide clues to hopefully locate the Book of the Dead - note the total number of stars in the tomb once more. The final coordinates are: N35 0_._51 W080 4_._40

For the north numbers:

If Horus and a baboon = 11 minus the number of stars
If Sobek and a crocodile = 9 minus the number of stars
If Anubis and a vulture = 10 minus the number of stars
The number you have will go in both spaces of the north coordinate

For the west numbers:

Count the total number of stars you have noted in your entire journey and subtract eight for the first space. For the second space take the total number of stars noted in your journey and subtract three.

At this point in your quest, viewing a priceless copy of the Book of the Dead may become a reality for you.

Note the attributes, and please use caution as you tread these passages where others were laid to rest over 3500 years ago. Be stealthy, silent, and respectful as guardians of the tombs may still exist even today, and remember the curse...

FTF prize is a small, silver cartouche purchased at the Khan el Khalili market in Cairo, Egypt back when pharaohpaint and his queen were young and fabulous.

Congratulations to TermiteHunter, the first to uncover the Book of the Dead!

Enjoy your quest for the Book of the Dead, and good luck!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fgntr 1 Uvagf: Rtlcg'f zbfg ornhgvshy; bccbfvgr terra ba gur pbybe jurry

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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