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Fortified by a written order from one of the chief men in the Egyptian government, he unsealed the chink in the limestone slab above Cheops' soul ship and permitted Photographer David Douglas Duncan of LIFE to poke his camera through the 8-by-12-in. hole. The camera saw more than the human eye. The ship is in excellent condition, its wood still strong enough to support a sizeable chunk of fallen masonry. From end to end it is about 48 ft. long, with high bow and stern.
The full opening of the ship tomb may be delayed by the feud among the experts. Soon after the pictures were taken, the Egyptian Ministry of Education gave control of it to a five-man committee, with El Mallakh the junior member. He has reportedly appealed to Egypt's powerful military.