Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay

Author:David Macaulay [Macaulay, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Slowly, a vast funerary complex began to emerge from the soil. The tombs, which had all been destroyed except, quite miraculously, for Number 26, lined both sides of a long ceremonial passage. At intervals along the passage were a number of large painted metal containers inscribed with the marking BEVERAGES, in which coin hoards were discovered, and a few communal ICE's.

The overall structure was laid out on the familiar "U" plan, and at the base of the "U" was the communal sanctuary. By far the largest and grandest room of the complex, the sanctuary contained a magnificent altar covered entirely in sheets of plasticus petrificus or, as it was called by the ancients, "Formica." Behind the altar and mounted on the wall stood a beautifully crafted unit that contained several rows of identical slots, each with a number apparently corresponding to a tomb. Offerings from friends and relatives of the deceased were probably placed in a particular slot once the tomb had been sealed.

Behind the sanctuary was the room in which the sacrificial meals were prepared. Beyond this area was the great courtyard, in the center of which was the ceremonial pool. Prior to the ceremony within the tomb, each body was apparently washed in the pool, which was also fed by the sacred spring. Specially marked funerary game areas intended to occupy the spirits of the dead during eternal life were located around the sacred pool and were accessible to each of the tombs through sliding panels.

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