The Amarnan Kings, Book 1: Scarab - Akhenaten

by Overton, Max

  "All right," Dani said. "Let me see if I've got this straight. One--we can come clean and hope we don't get chucked out of the country. Minimum result--we never get to see this dig again. Two--we report it as an accidental discovery and never see the dig again. Three--we don't report it, try to disguise our digging and come back next year. That way we might get to see what's in the next chamber ..."

  "If there is a next chamber."

  "Agreed. Four--we don't report it, just cover it up and forget we ever saw it. Can you think of any other options?" The students shook their heads or muttered denials. "Then we need to vote on this. How many ..."

  "One moment, Doctor Hanser," Daffyd interrupted. "What do we do if there is a split vote?"

  Dani considered for a few moments. "Majority wins. We all agree to abide by the vote."

  "And if it's tied? Sorry, doctor, but it's better to sort this out beforehand rather than arguing about it later."

  "If two options are tied, we drop the other options and vote again." Dani looked round the group. "Are we all agreed on the rules? All right, then. The options are--one, own up to deliberately opening the chamber; two, own up but claiming it was accidental; three, a cover up until next year; and four, covering it up and forgetting it." She took a deep breath. "Option one?"

  Nobody put their hands up. Dani nodded. "Option two?" Daffyd and Al raised their hands immediately, followed a moment later by Dani. "Three votes. Option three?" Five hands rose. "And option four?" Nothing.

  "All right, we have a majority vote for option three," Dani said. "We attempt to cover up our find and come back next year to continue."

  "This is stupid. We'll never get away with it."

  "Al," Dani snapped. "We voted on this and the majority rules. We cover it up until next year. I want your word that you will keep this secret. Not just you, Al, everybody."

  One by one they promised. Dani nodded. "All right, we have a lot to do and not much time. It is nearly three in the morning." She stifled a yawn. "We have to be out of here by noon. They're sending a truck for us. But we need to finish the cover up by daybreak in case any of the camp crew comes snooping." Looking around at her little group, she started assigning duties. "Bob, we need a couple of bags of cement from the camp. Try not to let anyone see you. When you get back, you and Marc will fill in the hole and plaster over it. Al, you and Will see to disguising our activity around the hole. Daffyd, I want you and the girls to go back down to the dig and put it in order. Theoretically we've just spent all night packing up, so you'll have to get going." She clapped her hands sharply. "Okay, chop, chop."

  They took a last look around the chamber then clambered through the hole in the mud brick wall, the colourful scenes and glorious writing fading into the blackness as the lanterns and flashlights were passed back into the cave. Al started picking up fragments of brick from the floor and handing them through to Will, who stacked them neatly.

  "We have another problem, Dani," Marc said quietly as they stood on the muddy path leading back to the diggings. "Can we be sure they'll let us come back next year?"

  "Not for certain, but if our work is not finished here, there's no reason why not."

  "Trouble is; we didn't find sufficient evidence of Neanderthal occupancy to warrant another year. They might just tell us to try somewhere else."

  "Then I'll have to try convincing them our findings were more meaningful than they really are."

  "I hope you are not suggesting we falsify the data, Dani?"

  "God no! But I've worked over here the last five years. If there's any reluctance to let us back I'll pull in a few favors, sleep with a few ministers...joking, Marc!" She punched him playfully on the arm. "Don't worry. It'll turn out okay. I have it on good authority." Her hand found the golden scarab in her pocket and she squeezed it tightly. "The very best."

  Bob returned with the cement and the men started the reconstruction of the mud brick wall, using the fragments of the original and adding to it whatever rocks they could find in the cave.

  "Save some of the small bits," Marc advised. "And bits of the original mortar coating to grind up. We have to match the wall of the cave exactly."

  The brick wall closed slowly and just before daybreak, the men stepped back, eyeing their work critically.

  "Don't give up your day job," advised Al.

  "It'll look okay when we apply the mortar coating." Bob scooped a trowel of fresh mortar onto the wall and started coating the surface. It went on smoothly and fast and as the gray light of the new day filtered past the great rocky overhang of the cave, they cleared away their tools and stared at the wall.

  "It's bloody obvious there's something there."

  "Jeez, Al, it's still wet. Look at that bit where we started. It's almost dry and blends with the rest much better."

  "Perhaps we could put a bit of mud around as if it was still clinging to the wall where this lot came down?" Marc pointed at the great wash of mud that flowed out from the wall and over the path.

  "Couldn't hurt."

  Mud-slinging occurred and by the time Dani came back from helping Daffyd, Angela and Doris clear up the official dig, the section of wall that hid the chamber was covered in mud that matched the spill of debris on the cave floor. She eyed their work judiciously.

  "What do you think, Dani?" Marc asked. "Does it pass muster?"

  "It'll do." Dani grinned and shrugged. "It'll have to do; we're running out of time." She led her exhausted team out of the cave and down to the little camp where they washed up and ate a huge breakfast before joining the Syrian workmen dismantling the camp.

  The trucks to transport the expedition back to Damascus arrived just before noon together with a ministerial car carrying the under-minister of National History, Ahmed Bashir. His purpose was to inspect the site before the expedition was allowed to leave, to check for any damage to what could be an important historical landmark.

  Dani and Daffyd led the under-minister down to the dig, passing the covered up wall as they went. They pointedly did not look at the wall and attempted to distract the man but they need not have bothered. The under-minister was concerned only with the mud on his expensive Italian shoes and paid only cursory attention to his surroundings. He signed the requisite forms and Dani and the others boarded the truck for Damascus. Members of the Syrian support crew accompanied them so the conversation on the trip back was inconsequential. Most of them slept, having spent an exhausting night.

  Dani was not alone with her team until the airport. She gathered her students into a quiet part of the terminal for goodbyes. "It's been great, guys, quite apart from...you know. I'll see you all again next year?"

  "Hell, yes. I wouldn't miss it." Al said.

  "We'll be here, Dani." Marc smiled, his freshly shaven face making him look like a high school kid rather than a post-graduate student.

  Nods and brief affirmative remarks came from the rest.

  "I think I'm going to be doing some Egyptian research before next year," Daffyd said quietly. "It seems to me we need to get familiar with the eighteenth dynasty."

  Dani saw them all off on their flights and sat down alone in the departure lounge to wait for her own. She pulled out the gleaming gold scarab with its spiky Aten and stared at it, turning it over in her hands.

  "So it's true, grandmother," she whispered. "All the old tales you used to tell me of Scarab. But now I know who she was--Beketaten, princess of Egypt."

  The story of Beketaten, princess of Egypt, will continue in

  "Scarab-Smenkhkare: Book 2 of the Amarnan Kings"

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  The Main Characters in Scarab-Akhenaten

  The pronunciations given below are hardly definitive. As vowels are unknown in ancient Egyptian, we can only guess at the proper pronunciation. I have tried to select spellings and pronunciations that are common among English speakers. If you prefer another form, please feel free to use it.

  Aanen (Air-nen) - second prophet of Am
un, brother of Ay

  Ahhotep (Ar-hoe-tepp) - a glass maker of Waset

  Akhenaten (Ar-ken-ar-ten) - the heretic king

  Amenemhet (Ar-men-em-het) - first prophet of Amun, high priest

  Amenhotep III (Ar-men-hoe-tepp) - king, father of Amenhotep IV and Beketaten

  Amenhotep IV - king, son of Amenhotep III, later changed his name to Akhenaten

  Ankhesenpaaten (Ank-kess-en-pah-ar-ten) - third daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

  Ankhkheperure (Ank-kep-er-oo-ray) throne name of Smenkhkare

  Ay (Eye) father of Nefertiti and brother to queen Tiye, holds title of Divine Father, Tjaty to Akhenaten, priest of Amun and later of Aten

  Aziru (Azz-ee-roo) - king of the Amorites

  Bakt (Back-th) - third prophet of Amun

  Beketaten (Beck-ett-ar-ten) - youngest daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye

  Djeserkheperu (Jess-er-kep-er-oo) - throne name of Smenkhkare

  Heqareshu (Heck-ah-resh-oo) - overseer of nurses in the royal palace

  Horemheb (Hore-emm-heb) - general of the eastern borders, later of all armies during reign of Akhenaten

  Ineb Hedj (Eye-nebb Hedge) - Memphis, the old capital city of Egypt

  Iset (Eye-set) - daughter of Amenhotep III, mother of Tutankhaten

  Iteru (Eye-teh-roo) - The Great River, the Nile

  Iunu (Eye-oo-noo) - Heliopolis, centre of worship of the Great Ennead

  Jebu (Jeb-oo) - an Amorite captain

  Kemet (Kem-et) - The Black Land, Egypt

  Kensthoth (Kens-thoth) - high-ranking scribe of Waset

  Khabiru (car-bee-roo) - a tribe from the north; the Hebrews

  Mahuhy (Ma-hoo-hee) - businessman of Waset, a pimp

  Meketaten (Meck-ett-ar-ten) - second daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

  Meryetaten (Merry-ett-ar-ten) - eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

  Mutaril (Moo-tar-rill) - councillor and ambassador for the Hittites

  Nakht (Nark-th)- apprentice to Ahhotep, glassmaker of Waset

  Nebhotep (Neb-hoe-tepp) - court physician in Akhet-Aten

  Nebmaetre (Neb-my-tree) - throne name of Amenhotep III

  Neferkheperure (Neff-er-kep-er-oo-ray) - throne name of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)

  Neferkhepruhersekheper (Neff-er-kep-roo-her-say-kepp-er) - mayor of Akhet-Aten

  Neferneferouaten-tasherit (Neff-er-neff-er-oo-ar-ten-tash-er-rit) - fourth daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

  Neferneferoura (Neff-er-neff-er-oo-rah) - fifth daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

  Nefertiti (Neff-er-tee-tee) - daughter of Ay, wife and queen of Akhenaten

  Paatenemheb (Pah-ar-ten-emm-heb) - name that Horemheb took to please Akhenaten

  Pa-it (Pah-eet) - farmer of village of Akhet-Re (also his youngest son)

  Paramessu (Par-ram-ess-oo) - son of Seti, a friend of Horemheb, becomes an army commander

  Scarab - nickname of Beketaten

  Sebtitis (Seb-tie-tiss) - a minor noblewoman of Waset

  Sepat (See-path) - Nome, province

  Setepenra (Setter-pen-rah) - sixth daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

  Shubbiluliuma (Shoe-bill-ool-ee-oo-ma) - king of the Hittites

  Sitamen (Sit-ah-men) - daughter of Amenhotep III, mother of Smenkhkare

  Smenkhkare (Ss-men-kar-ray) - son of Amenhotep III by his daughter Sitamen

  Ta Mehu (Tah-Meh-oo) - Lower Egypt (the northern Kingdom)

  Ta Shemau (Tah-Shem-oh) - Upper Egypt (the southern Kingdom)

  Tiye (Tee) - wife and queen of Amenhotep III, sister of Ay

  Tjaty (Jar-tee) - Vizier

  Tutankhaten (Too-tank-ar-ten) - son of Amenhotep III by his daughter Iset

  Tuthmosis (Tuth-mo-siss) - eldest son of Amenhotep III, dies young

  Waenre (Wah-en-ray) - throne name of Amenhotep IV (Akhetaten)

  Waset (Wah-set) - Thebes, the City of Amun

  Yuya (Yoo-yah) - Khabiru Tjaty of Tuthmosis IV, father of Ay, Tiye and Aanen

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  Gods of the Scarab Books

  Amun (Ah-moon) - the hidden one; a sun god, lord of the sky and king of gods; became increasingly powerful during the eighteenth dynasty; worship was centered on Waset.

  Asar (Ah-sar) - (Osiris); god of the dead; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Aten (Ah-ten) - the sun as a disc, distinct from Re; elevated from a minor god in the eighteenth dynasty; became the supreme god during Akhenaten's reign.

  Atum (Ah-toom) - Creator god; the unified light; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Auset (Ow-seth) - (Isis); goddess of family love and loyalty; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Djehuti (Jeh-hoot-ee) - (Thoth); god of the moon and of wisdom; patron deity of scribes and knowledge

  Geb (Gebb) - god of the earth and growing things; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Hapi (Hah-pee) - god of Iteru (the Nile River)

  Heru (Heh-rue) - (Horus); a sky god; the Ascending Light

  Het-Her (Heth-her) - (Hathor); goddess of love, beauty and fertility

  Inpu (In-poo) - (Anubis); god of death

  Khepri (Kepp-ree) - an aspect of the sun god epitomized by the actions of the sacred scarab beetle which rolls balls of dung (representing the ball of the sun) containing its

  eggs; the Dawn Light.

  Khnum (Kh-noom) - god of the source of the Nile; the Divine Potter;

  creator of human children

  Min (Minn) - fertility god.

  Nebt-Het (Nebb-tt-heth) - (Nephthys); goddess of secrets and mysteries; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Nekhbet (Neck-beth) - vulture goddess of Ta Shemau

  Nut (Noot) - goddess of the sky and direction; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Ptah (Tar) - god of craftsmen.

  Re (Ray) - one of the sun gods; the Mid-day Light; also Ra.

  Satet (Sah-teth) - goddess of the inundation of the Nile

  Set (Seth) - god of the desert and destruction; associated with the colour red; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Sobek (Sob-eck) - the Crocodile god

  Shu (Shoo) - god of air and dryness; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Tefnut (Teff-noot) - goddess of moisture; one of the Nine of Iunu

  Wadjet (Wah-jeth) - cobra goddess of Ta Mehu

  Wepwawet (Wepp-wah-weth) - Opener of Ways; the god of war and funerals

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  * * *

  About the Author

  Max Overton has travelled extensively and lived in many places around the world--including Malaysia, India, Germany, England, Jamaica, New Zealand, USA and Australia. Trained in the biological sciences in New Zealand and Australia, he has worked within the scientific field for many years, but now concentrates on writing. While predominantly a writer of historical fiction (Scarab: Books 1-6 of the Amarnan Kings; the Scythian Trilogy; the Demon Series; Ascension), he also writes in other genres (A Cry of Shadows, the Glass Trilogy, Haunted Trail, Sequestered) and draws on true life (Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica, We Came From Königsberg). Max also maintains an interest in butterflies, photography, the paranormal and other aspects of Fortean Studies.

  Most of his other published books are available at Writers Exchange Ebooks, http://www.writers-exchange.com/Max-Overton.html and all his books may be viewed on his website:

  http://www.maxovertonauthor.com

  Max's book covers are all designed and created by Julie Napier, and other examples of her art and photography may be viewed at www.julienapier.com

  If you enjoyed this author's book, then please place a review up at Amazon and any social media sites you frequent!

  If you want to read more about books by this author, they are listed on the following pages...

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  * * *

  Other Books By This Author

  A Cry of Shadows

  {Paranormal Murder Mystery}

  Australian Professor Ian Delaney is single-minded in his determination to prove his theory that one can discover
the moment that the life force leaves the body. After succumbing to the temptation to kill a girl under scientifically controlled conditions, he takes an offer of work in St Louis, hoping to leave the undiscovered crime behind him.

  In America, Wayne Richardson seeks revenge by killing his ex-girlfriend, believing it will give him the upper hand, a means to seize control following their breakup. Wayne quickly discovers that he enjoys killing and begins to seek out young women who resemble his dead ex-girlfriend.

  Ian and Wayne meet, and when Ian recognizes the symptoms of violent delusion he employs Wayne to help him further his research. Despite the police closing in, the two killers manage to evade identification as the death toll rises.

  John Barnes, the detective in charge of the case, is frantic, willing to try anything to catch his killer. With time running out, he looks desperately for answers. Will John get them before it's too late?

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/A-Cry-of-Shadows.html

  Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/ACryOfShadows

  AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00E96DIDM

  * * *

  Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica

  {Biography}

  An eleven-year-old boy is plucked from boarding school in England and transported to the tropical paradise of Jamaica. A shy and dreamy boy, he has one great love in his life--butterflies. He discovers that Jamaica has a wealth of these wonderful insects and sets about making a collection of as many as he can find. Along the way, he has adventures with many other creatures, from hummingbirds to vultures, from iguanas to black widow spiders, and through it all runs the promise of the legendary Homerus swallowtail, Jamaica's national butterfly.

  Other activities intrude, like school, boxing and swimming lessons, but he manages to inveigle his parents into taking him to strange and sometimes dangerous places, all in the name of butterfly collecting. He meets scientists and Rastafarians, teachers, small boys and the ordinary people of this tropical isle, and even discovers butterflies that should not exist in Jamaica.