Ozymandias speaks

I met a traveller from an antique land
Where, armed with trowel and arcane knowledge
He had come to understand
The country's past, and in one village
Found a tomb, unrobbed, still sealed,
Containing gold, bronze spears and jade;
His careful work had revealed
The painted plaster, still undecayed,
On which was shown a noble face
Creasèd with a ruling frown
And in the language of the place
"Here the king lies down".
And so again the king is known
To many as once rich and brave:
Around the world his face is shown
Potent even from the grave.
The digger's name is now unsure
He didn't finish his PhD,
The pottery he was looking for
Still catalogued as "? type 12 b".



Martin Locock, 1983