The passing centuries and all the innovations they bring have little power over tombs and tomb cults. Their symbolism, rooted in the oldest institutions of our race, passed unchanged, though ultimately no longer understood, into the era of waning paganism, and even into the new era opened up by the Incarnation of Christ. It forms a bond between early and late generations, annulling distinctions between time, space, and nationality. The symbol of the egg provides a remarkable example for the transcending of time, while the motif of Ocnus the rope plaiter passes beyond national barriers and is encountered in Egypt, Asia, Greece and Italy.
It is this character of permanence that makes the ancient tombs so very meaningful. And this wealth of meaning is further enhanced by the insight the tombs give us into the most beautiful aspect of the ancient spirit. Other spheres of archeology may captivate our understanding, the contemplation of tombs wins our hearts; it not only enriches our knowledge but provides food for our spiritual needs. Wherever possible i have taken this into account and attempted to intimate those sublime ideas which the ancients conceived in the presence of life and death which cannot be expressed in language but only in symbols. Herein i have primarily acceded to a need inherent in my own nature, but perhaps i have also come closer to realising the supreme aim of archeology than is possible through an approach limited to the form and substance of things. And this aim, i believe, consists in communicating the sublimely beautiful ideas of the past to an age very much in need of regeneration.
No comments:
Post a Comment