Herbert's Algerian expedition was an archaeological expedition carried out in early 1839 CE, under the oversight of Professor Thurston Herbert.[1] The goal of the expedition was to find, excavate, investigate, and document the Tomb of Tin Hinan, an ancient site where the mythical mother-queen of the Tuareg was reputedly buried. Accompanying the expedition was research assistant Daniel, a young man under Herbert's mentorship, and several native Arab workers, guards, and guides.
Summary[]
Preparations[]
Lies and permits[]
Monsieur Florbelle
During 1839 CE, Professor Thurston A. Herbert, from the University of Cambridge organized an expedition to find the tomb of Tin Hinan in the Algerian desert. The expedition was "signed and paid for by the British Museum," Herbert secured their funding and approval by claiming that he'd found a map to the tomb.[1][2] He was lying about possessing a map, although Herbert did know where he could obtain one.
On the 12th of January, he wrote a letter to the French nobleman and psychologist Monsieur Florbelle, a friend and colleague, requesting help—he was certain that the nobleman could use his standing in French society to speed up the process of acquiring the necessary permits to enter and dig in French-claimed territory.[3] Monsieur Florbelle contacted the French consulate to send the permits to Herbert.[4] Florbelle, however, never got the chance to inform his friend personally, as his mentally ill daughter, Justine, secretly murdered him before he could even finish his letter.[4] It is unknown how Herbert responded to news of his friend's death, if he ever heard the news at all.[3][4]
The map[]
.jpg){kind=link}
Faraj and Herbert
The expedition set out in spring from Algiers, the capital of Algeria, located on the southern Mediterranean coast of the North Africa.[2] It was there Professor Herbert made the final expedition preparations.[2] For the length of their stay, Herbert and Daniel resided in a luxurious hotel and presumably hired numerous Arab workers for the expedition.[2]
Herbert then arranged to meet up with his old friend Faraj at a mosque in Algiers’ casbah; However, Herbert ran into some difficulty trying to find Faraj, due to both the unpredictability of the old and narrow casbah streets, and overbearing French soldiers constantly asking for identification papers; additionally, those soldiers also gave Herbert friendly advice to be careful about fraternisation with the locals.[2] Despite these troubles, Herbert eventually found Faraj.[2] After catching up, the two men went to the latter’s home for more serious discussion.[2] After indulging in some rose-flavored Turkish delights, Herbert revealed that he hoped to acquire a map to the tomb, originally made by Johann Weyer, from Faraj. Faraj voiced some doubts about Herbert’s seriousness, to which the Professor reassured him that he remembered what he told him about Weyer’s research.[2] With Faraj fully brought onside, the two men worked out the exact route to the tomb, mentioning something about a star-shaped key.[2]
Suddenly, fleeing anti-French rebels led by Faraj’s nephew, Baki, burst into the house.[2] Upon seeing Herbert, Baki admonished his uncle for fraternizing with a European and seized him at knifepoint to use as a hostage against the pursuing French soldiers.[2] The French soldiers, led by Captain Ambroise, had already surrounded the house. Baki and his compatriots left the house with a captive Herbert and tried to bargain. Despite this, Captain Ambroise ordered his men to shoot, killing Baki and his compatriots.[2] Faraj was caught in the crossfire as he tried to stop the potential bloodshed, and died in an unharmed Herbert’s arms.[2] An enraged Herbert shouted at the soldiers, but was forced to flee without the map after they threatened shoot him.[2]
Captain Ambroise[]
The Map
After making his way back to the safety of the hotel, a sorrowful Herbert had dinner with Daniel.[2] Daniel noticed his quietness, but thought little of it and turned in shortly after.[2] Captain Ambroise then unexpectedly accosted Herbert in the hotel restaurant.[2] The captain had seized Faraj’s map and saw the crest of a Star-shaped Soapstone, one of which just happened to look ike the family heirloom he owned.[2] He asked Herbert to explain the connection, to which the professor could only offer limited knowledge.[2] He then informed Herbert that his family acquired it during the Siege of Calais in 1558, and left the stunned Englishman both the map and the stone.[2] They left for the desert in the next day, journeying south.
The desert, the dig, and Daniel[]
On the 16th May 1839, Herbert and the expedition took shelter at Al-Mamaru Fort, and in the evening discovered the tomb’s sand covered entrance.[1][5] Meanwhile, Daniel presumably started writing a letter his sister, Hazel, on the 16th of May, 1839.[5] However, for some reason, he was never able to finish it.
Ever curious, Daniel enquired what the Professor hoped to find there.[1] As Herbert gave an account on the exact whereabouts of the tomb and legends of "Tin Hinan / The Mother of Us All," Daniel started to suspect there was an ulterior motive to this entire expedition and his superior knew far more than he was letting on, as if he was intentionally hiding information from him.[1] The team continued to search/excavate the tomb, and upon entering, Daniel was trapped inside by the collapse of the doorway.[6] Having nowhere else to go, he proceeded forward and came upon a mysterious Orb.[7]
The orb[]
After freeing Daniel from the burial chamber where he was trapped, Herbert decided to send him to England to recover.[8] Daniel was sent back to Britain against his will with the shattered Orb in tow.[9][8][10] His duties were transferred to Khaled,[11] who analyzed the symbols on the pillars in the Chamber of Pillars[12]
While he expressed some concern for the young man who nearly suffocated when sealed in the ancient ante-chamber, from his annotations Herbert was primarily interested in recovering the Orb which he desperately sought from its tomb.[8][9]
The expedition went on. Herbert continued pushing his unwilling men further forward to the brink of insanity.[13] According to his diary, he found another Orb.[13] His knowledge and intentions to misuse the second relic roused the Shadow's anger. Recovering the Orb drew the Shadow's wrath onto him and his men, some of which were brutally mangled by it.[13] Herbert believed that the murders were committed by his terrorized men to force the expedition to end so he took extreme measures to keep control of the situation.[13]
The men blamed the Orb for all of this, and knowing that they might try to dispose of the Orb the Professor shot one of the men to restore order, and ensured they wouldn't dare seize it from him, calling them all "animals."[14] Herbert sent one of the workers, Abdullah, out to contact the French authorities.[14] Just two days later (the 22nd of May 1839) the expedition is completely wiped out by the Shadow.[15]
Abdullah, the man who was sent to Algiers, arrived maimed by the Shadow and delirious, but alive.[16] After the arrival of Abdullah, the French dispatched a search party to look for the expedition.[16] They found the camp abandoned with no sign of Herbert or his men.[16] Their bodies were never recovered.[16]
After his team was wiped out, Herbert found a way to escape from the Shadow and managed to travel into the Other World with a portal.[17] However, because he didn't have a Traveler's Locket at that time he couldn't return back to Earth. While he was in the Other World, he searched for ways to return without success, while he managed to find 2 weak spots for possible portals he died from starvation and dehydration in a cave as there were no viable food or water sources.[18] In his last dairy entry, he claimed that he was the first "human" to travel to Dark World.[18]
Membership[]
Professor Thurston Herbert headed the expedition, he was accompanied by his research assistant Daniel, who seemed to be the only other Englishman with him.
Other known members of the expedition included native Algerians as follows:
- Abdullah – A worker. He was Professor Herbert's most senior and apparently most trusted subordinate. The only survivor of the expedition apart from Daniel.[19]
- Khaled – A worker. He took over Daniel's duties after he was sent back to England, including the task of copying symbols they'd found after excavating.[11][20]
- Rashid – A boy worker. He was given the task of painting the floor to mark an open route to a closed-off chamber of interest.[21]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Daniel's Diary: 16th of May 1839 (TDD)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 Remember: "Old Friends"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Herbert's Letter (Justine)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Unfinished Letter (Justine)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Letter to Hazel (Rebirth)
- ↑ Daniel's Diary: 17th of May 1839, first entry (TDD)
- ↑ Daniel's Diary: 17th of May 1839, second entry (TDD)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Daniel’s Worth (Rebirth)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Herbert’s Lost Diary: 17th of May 1839 (TDD)
- ↑ Daniel's Diary: 22nd of June 1839 (TDD)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Note to Abdullah (Rebirth)
- ↑ Note to Khaled (Rebirth)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Daniel's Diary: 3rd of July 1839 (TDD)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Herbert’s Lost Diary: 20th of May 1839 (TDD)
- ↑ Herbert’s Lost Diary: 22nd of May 1839 (TDD)
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Daniel's Diary: 2nd of July 1839 (TDD)
- ↑ Herbert's Final Note (Rebirth) – "The Shadow sensed the Orb. I had to risk all and step through the portal."
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Herbert’s Final Note (Rebirth)
- ↑ Daniel's Diary: 2nd of July 1839 (TDD) – " About a week after my departure, Abdullah, one of the men traveling with us, returned from the desert."
- ↑ Note to Khaled (Rebirth)
- ↑ Device Note (Rebirth) – "I have sent the boy Rashid below with a paint-pot and brush, and told him to mark any route he finds clearly."
[]
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||