TAA i.3.23.7

                                            (VI)

under-structure, modified so as to be compatible with the

art of the joiner. It comprises an all-round chief beam,

four corner posts, side and end/<back> panels, dado and a sill.

The corner posts have not only the important function of

supporting the chief beam, but they form the styles of

the side and back panels and act as the door posts in 

front.

          A characteristic feature of these shrines is the

batter (i.e. a receding slope from the ground upwards) which

gives them an air of both strength and repose.

          The incised and bas-relief work upon the panels has

considerable architectural value. To decorate them with any

completeness there must be subject material. Those ancient

Egyptians were at no loss in this respect. With a thoroughness

which has hardly been excelled, they engraved upon the gold

overlay excerps^sic from the intricate systems connected with the

dead: The “Book of what is in the Netherworld”, describing the various 

regions traversed by the sun-god during his nocturnal journey

underground from West to East; The “Book of Gates,” dealing with the

Topography of the Netherworld; The “Litany of the Sun”; and a

magical text recounting the “Destruction of Mankind,” and

the establishment in the heavens of the celestial Cow-goddess.

The chief beams and posts are filled with designations of