Transcriber’s Note
This book contains text in Greek (λεύκη), Coptic (ⲙⲁⲧ) and Egyptian
hieroglyphs (𓅐𓏏). You may need to install additional fonts to properly
render those languages. Noto Sans Egyptian Hieroglyphs is recommended.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. The Hebrew, Arabic,
Coptic, and Greek text has been corrected by comparison with the German
edition from which this work was translated.
Accents and diacritical marks have been standardised throughout, where
it was clear that the same word or name was intended; the original
typesetting appears not to have supported accented small capitals
consistently.
Inconsistencies between index entries and the main text have been silently
corrected where the intended reference was unmistakable.
Letters from Egypt, Ethiopia, and the peninsula of Sinai
[Illustration: MOUNT BARKAL.
_Hinchliff._]
LETTERS
FROM
EGYPT, ETHIOPIA, AND THE
PENINSULA OF SINAI.
BY
DR. RICHARD LEPSIUS.
WITH EXTRACTS FROM HIS
CHRONOLOGY OF THE EGYPTIANS,
WITH REFERENCE TO THE EXODUS OF THE ISRAELITES.
REVISED BY THE AUTHOR.
TRANSLATED BY
LEONORA AND JOANNA B. HORNER.
[Illustration]
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLIII.
TRANSLATORS’ PREFACE.
The first part of this volume consists of Letters from Egypt, Ethiopia,
and the Peninsula of Sinai, published in 1852. In addition to the Map of
the Nile, published in the German edition, and the view of Mount Barkal,
we have been enabled, through the kindness of Dr. Lepsius, to give a
Map of the Peninsula of Sinai, from an unpublished pamphlet, printed at
Berlin in 1846 (_Reise des Prof. Lepsius von Theben nach der Halbinsel
des Sinai, vom 4 März bis zum 14 April, 1845_), which will be found to
contribute much to the elucidation of the interesting Letter on Mount
Sinai.
In the Appendix we have inserted a geological paper, by Mr. Horner, from
the “Edinburgh Philosophical Journal” for July, 1850, in which some
doubts are thrown upon the theory of Dr. Lepsius concerning a supposed
excavation of the bed of the Nile within the historical period. We have
done this at the request of Dr. Lepsius, who is desirous to call more
particular attention to the subject.
The Letters are succeeded by extracts (chiefly relating to the Hebrew
Chronology) from Dr. Lepsius’s larger work (of which only one volume has
yet been published), _Die Chronologie der Ægypter_, in which he states
his conclusions respecting the date of the Exodus. We have also obtained
permission from Chevalier Bunsen to add a note (p. 475), pointing out how
far he differs from Dr. Lepsius respecting the period when the Israelites
entered Egypt. It has been thought desirable to omit those sections
which enter into the subject more minutely than would interest the
general reader.
The whole of this portion of the translation has been revised by the
author, and throughout the volume, whatever alterations or additions have
been suggested by him, are placed between brackets.
A Table of the Egyptian Dynasties, drawn up by Mr. Horner, has been
added, and, at his request, revised by Dr. Lepsius, who has inserted
the results of his latest investigations concerning the dates of the
different Dynasties.
Wherever measurements by feet are mentioned, French feet are to be
understood, unless it is otherwise specified.
August, 1853.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE LETTERS.
The object of the Scientific Expedition which the KING OF PRUSSIA sent
to Egypt in the year 1842, was to investigate and collect, with an
historical and antiquarian view, the ancient Egyptian monuments in the
Nile valley, and upon the Peninsula of Sinai. It was fitted out and
maintained for more than three years by the munificence of the King, and
enjoyed uninterruptedly his gracious favour and sympathy, as well as the
most active and kind attention from ALEXANDER V. HUMBOLDT, and by a rare
union of fortunate circumstances, it attained the purposes they had in
view, as completely as could be expected. A “Preliminary Account of the
Expedition, its Results, and their Publication” (Berlin, 1849; 4to), was
issued at the same time with the first portion of the great work upon
the Monuments, which will be published by desire of his Majesty, in a
style corresponding with the magnificence of the treasures we brought
away with us, and which will contain a concise survey of the principal
results of the Expedition.
In the work upon “the Monuments of Egypt and Ethiopia,” here announced,
which will comprise more than 800 folio plates, half of which are already
completed, and 240 published, these results will be fully displayed, as
far as regards Sculpture, Topography, and Architecture, and they will be
considered more accurately in the accompanying text.
Independently, however, of our strictly scientific labours, it appeared
right to offer a picture to a larger circle of interested readers of
the external features of the Expedition, the personal co-operation of
the different members belonging to it, the obstacles, or the fortunate
circumstances of the journey, the condition of the countries that we
traversed, and the influence they exercised on the immediate objects
of our undertaking; finally, a series of remarks on the individual
sites of the monuments in that most historical of all countries,
with all the meaning and completeness in which they appear to those
travellers who, by their study of that most ancient history, are
peculiarly prepared to understand them, but which may also excite an
increased sympathy in others who have acknowledged the great importance
of this newly-established science. If it should directly further a
correct criticism of the scientific labours which have resulted from
this journey, and which are being gradually published, to consult the
circumstances under which the materials were collected, I believe that no
farther justification is necessary for the publication of the following
Letters, however little pretension they may have on the one side to the
completeness and the literary charm of a regular account of travels, or,
on the other side, to the value of a strictly scientific work.
The Letters have remained almost throughout in their original form;
some are respectfully addressed to his Majesty the King, some to his
Excellency Eichhorn, at that time Minister of Public Instruction, or to
other distinguished patrons and honoured men, such as A. v. Humboldt,
Bunsen, v. Olfers, Ehrenberg, and lastly, some to my father, who
constantly preserved the liveliest interest in all that concerned me.
Several letters, immediately upon their arrival in Europe, were printed
in the newspapers, especially in the Prussian Gazette, and from that were
received into other papers. The immaterial alterations in some of the
details are, for the most part, only made for publication. All additions
or expansions are put in the form of notes. To this class belong the
more detailed notes and the proofs given concerning the true position of
Sinai, which, I believe, is pointed out for the first time by me; this
has since been criticised from different quarters, and has been condemned
by some, while it has met with approbation from others. The subject of
the 36th Letter on the decoration of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin is
certainly very different from the rest; but as an exception it may be
justified, since the point there considered is not only of local interest
in Berlin, but is valuable in all cases of observation, where there are
similar requirements, and where the subject treated about is a method of
adjustment between ancient Egyptian and modern Art.
Berlin, 2nd June, 1852.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PRELIMINARY ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION AND ITS RESULTS 12
LETTER I.—_On board the Oriental Steamer, 5th September, 1842_ 35
Voyage to Alexandria.
LETTER II.—_Alexandria, 23rd September, 1842_ 38
Malta—Gobat—Isenberg—Krapf—Alexandria—Mohammed Ali.
LETTER III.—_Cairo, 16th October, 1842_ 41
Alexandria—Pompey’s Pillar—Cleopatra’s Needle—Werne’s
Collection of Natural History—Departure from
Alexandria—Sais—Naharieh—Cairo—Heliopolis—The
Celebration of the King’s Birthday at the
Pyramids—Panoramic View from the Pyramid of Cheops.
LETTER IV.—_At the foot of the largest Pyramid, 2nd January, 1843_ 51
Pyramids of Gizeh—Tombs of Private Individuals—Sphinx—A
Deluge of Rain—Celebration of Christmas—Life in the Camp.
LETTER V.—_Pyramids of Gizeh, 17th January, 1843_ 56
The Hieroglyphic Memorial tablet on the Pyramid of Cheops—What
we gained in a Historical point of View.
LETTER VI.—_Pyramids of Gizeh, 28th January, 1843_ 59
The most ancient Royal Dynasties—Tomb of Prince Merhet—Tombs
of Private Individuals—Ravages committed by the Arabs—Most
ancient Obelisk.
LETTER VII.—_Saqâra, 18th March, 1843_ 64
Pyramids of Meidûm—The Structure of Pyramids—The Enigma of
the Sphinx—Locusts—Comet.
LETTER VIII.—_Saqâra, 13th April, 1843_ 69
Prince Albert of Prussia—Festivities in Cairo—Entrance of
Pilgrims—Mulid e’ Nebbi—Doseh—Visit of the Prince to the
Pyramids—Most ancient Application of the Pointed Arch in
Cairo—The most ancient Round Arch in Egypt—Attack by Night
in Saqâra—Day of Trial.
LETTER IX.—_Cairo, 22nd April, 1843_ 79
Plan of the Site of the Pyramid Fields—Cairo.
LETTER X.—_Ruins of the Labyrinth, 31st May, 1843_ 81
Departure for the Faiûm—Camels and Dromedaries—Lischt—
Meidûm—Illahûn—Labyrinth—Arabic Song—Bedouins—Turkish
Kawass.
LETTER XI.—_The Labyrinth, 25th June, 1843_ 89
The Ruins of the Labyrinth—Its First Builder—Its Pyramid—Lake
Mœris.
LETTER XII.—_The Labyrinth, 18th July, 1843_ 94
Journey round the Faiûm—The Dams of Mœris—Birket-el-Qorn—
Diméh—Qasr Qerûn.
LETTER XIII.—_Cairo, 14th August, 1843_ 98
Departure of Frey—Ethiopian Manuscripts.
LETTER XIV.—_Thebes, 13th October, 1843_ 100
Voyage on the Nile to Upper Egypt—Rock-Grotto of Surarieh—Tombs
of the Sixth Dynasty, in Central Egypt; of the Twelfth, in
Benihassan, Siut, Berscheh—Arrival in Thebes—Climate—Journey
onwards.
LETTER XV.—_Korusko, 20th November, 1843_ 105
Greek Inscriptions—Benihassan—Berscheh—Tombs of the Sixth
Dynasty—El Amarna—Siut—Alabaster Quarries of El
Bosra—Echmim (Chemmis)—Thebes—El Kab (Eileithyia)—Edfu—
Ombos—Egyptian Canon of Proportions—Assuan—Philæ—
Hieroglyphic-Demotic Inscriptions—Succession of the
Ptolemies—Entrance into Lower Nubia—Debôt—Gertassi—
Kalabscheh (Talmis)—Dendûr—Dakkeh (Pselchis)—Korte—
Hierasykaminos—Mehendi—Sebûa—Korusko—Nubian Language.
LETTER XVI.—_Korusko, 5th January, 1844_ 130
Scarcity of Camels—Excursion to Wadi Haifa—Achmed Pascha
Menekle and the newly-named Pascha of the Sudan.
LETTER XVII.—_E’ Dâmer, 24th January, 1844_ 133
Nubian Desert—Roft Mountain Range—Wadi E’ Sufr—Wadi
Murhad—Ababde Arabs—Abu Hammed—The Province of Berber—El
Mechêref—Mogrân or Atbara (Astaboras)—E’ Dâmer—Mandera.
LETTER XVIII.—_On the Blue River, Province of Sennâr, 13° N. Lat.,
2nd March, 1844_ 148
The borders of a Tropical Climate—Kawass—Hagi Ibrahim—Meröe—
Begerauîeh—Pyramids—Ferlini—The Age of the Monuments—
Schendi—Ben Naga—Naga in the Desert—Mesaurât e’ Sofra—
Tamaniât—Chartûm—Bahr el Abiat (the White River)—Dinka
and Schilluk—Soba—Kamlîn—Bauer—Inscription on Marble—
Baobab—Abu Harras—Rahad—Character of the Country—Dender—
Dilêb Palms—Sennâr—Abdîn—Româli—Sero—Return towards the
North—Wed Médineh—Sorîba—Sultâna Nasr—Gabre Máriam—Rebâbi—
Funeral Ceremony—The Military—Emin Pascha—Tâiba—Messelemîeh—
Kamlîn—Soba—Vase with an Inscription.
LETTER XIX.—_Chartûm, 21st March, 1844_ 190
Military Revolt at Wed Médineh—Insurrection of the Slaves.
LETTER XX.—_The Pyramids of Meröe, 22nd April, 1844_ 193
Tamaniât—Qirre Mountain Range—Meröe—Return of the Turkish
Army from Taka—Osman Bey—Prisoners from Taka—Language of
the Bischâri from Taka—Customs in the South—Pyramids of
Meröe—Ethiopian Inscriptions—Name of Meröe.
LETTER XXI.—_Keli, 29th April, 1844_ 210
Departure from Meröe—Groups of Tombs north of Meröe.
LETTER XXII.—_Barkal, 9th May, 1844_ 213
The Desert of Gilif—Gôs Burri—Wadi Gaqedûl—Mágeqa—Trees of
the Desert—Wadi Abu Dôm—Wadi Gazâl—Coptic Churches—Greek
Inscriptions—Pyramids of Nuri—Arrival at Barkal.
LETTER XXIII.—_Mount Barkal, 28th May, 1844_ 222
Ethiopian Kings—Temple of Ramses II.—Napata—Méraui—Climate.
LETTER XXIV.—_Dongola, 15th June, 1844_ 225
Excursion into the Cataract Country—Bân—Departure from
Barkal—Pyramids of Tangassi, Kurru, and Zûma—Churches
and Fortifications of Bachît, Magal, Gebel Dêqa—Old
Dongola—Nubian Language.
LETTER XXV.—_Dongola, 23rd June, 1844_ 233
Island of Argo—Kermân and Defûfa—Tombos—Inscriptions of
Tuthmosis I.—Languages of Darfur.
LETTER XXVI.—_Korusko, 17th August, 1844_ 235
Fakir Fenti—Sêse—Soleb—Gebel Dosche—Sedeïnga—Amara—Island
of Sai—Sulphur Spring Of Okmeh—Semneh—Heights of the Nile
in the Reign of Amenemha-Mœris—Abu Simbel—Greek Inscription
in the Reign of Psammeticus I.—Ibrîm (Primis) Anîbe—Korusko.
LETTER XXVII.—_Philæ, 1st September, 1844_ 241
Wadi Kenûs—Bega Language of the Bischâri—Talmis—Philæ—
Meroitic-Ethiopian Inscriptions.
LETTER XXVIII.—_Thebes—Qurna, 24th November, 1844_ 243
Excavations in the Temple and in the Rock-Tombs of Ramses
II.—Languages of the Sudan—History and Civilisation of
Ethiopia.
LETTER XXIX.—_Thebes—Qurna, 8th January, 1845_ 245
Monuments and Plaster Casts we took away with us.
LETTER XXX.—_Thebes, 25th February, 1845_ 246
Description of Thebes—The Temple of Karnac, and its
History—Luqsor—El Asasif—Statue of Memnon—The
Memnonium—Temple of Ramses II.—Medînet Hâbu—The Royal
Tombs—Tombs of Private Individuals from the Time of
Psammeticus—Imperial Time—Coptic Convents and
Churches—Copts of the present Day—Revenge for bloodshed
among the Arabs—Our dwelling in Abd-el-Qurna—Visit from
Travellers.
LETTER XXXI.—_On the Red Sea, 21st March, 1845_ 274
Change of abode from Qurna to Karnac—Departure to the
Peninsula of Sinai—Qenneh—Seïd Hussên—Stone-Quarries
and Inscriptions of Hamamât—Gebel Fatireh—Losing our
Way—Porphyry Quarries at Gebel Dochân—Gebel Zeït.
LETTER XXXII.—_Convent of Sinai, 24th March, 1845_ 290
Landing at Tôr—Gebel Hammâm—Wadi Hebrân—Convent—Gebel
Mûsa—Gebel Sefsâf.
LETTER XXXIII.—_On the Red Sea, 6th April, 1845_ 293
Departure from the Convent—Wadi e’ Scheikh—Ascent of
Serbâl—Wadi Firân—Wadi Mokatteb—Copper Mines of Wadi
Maghâra—Rock-Inscriptions of the Fourth Dynasty—Sarbut
el Châdem—Mounds of Dross—Wadi Nasb—Harbour of Abu
Zelîmeh—The true Position of Sinai—Tradition of the
Monks—Local and Historical Conditions—Elim at Abu
Zelîmeh—Mara in Wadi Gharandel—The Desert of Sin—Sinai,
the Mount of Sin—The Mount of God—Subsistence of the
Israelites—Raphidîm at Pharan—Sinai-Choreb at
Raphidîm—Review of the Question upon Sinai.
LETTER XXXIV.—_Thebes—Karnac, 4th May, 1845_ 321
Return to Thebes—Revenge for bloodshed.
LETTER XXXV.—_Cairo, 10th July, 1845_ 322
Dendera—El Amarna—Dr. Bethmann—Removal of the Sepulchral
Chambers at the Pyramids.
LETTER XXXVI.—_Cairo, 11th July, 1845_ 323
The Egyptian Museum in Berlin—Pictures on the Walls.
LETTER XXXVII.—_Jaffa, 7th October, 1845_ 332
Journey across the Delta—San (Tanis)—Arrival in Jaffa.
LETTER XXXVIII.—_Nazareth, 9th November, 1845_ 333
Jerusalem—Nablus (Sichem)—Tabor—Nazareth—Lake of Tiberias.
LETTER XXXIX.—_Smyrna, 7th December, 1845_ 336
Carmel—Libanon—Berut—Departure to Damascus—Zachleh—Tomb of
Noah—Bárada—Tomb of Abel—Inscriptions at Bárada—Tomb of
Seth—Bâlbeck—Ibrahim—Cedars of Libanon—Egyptian and
Assyrian Rock-Inscriptions at Nahr el Kelb.
PRELIMINARY ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION AND ITS RESULTS.
In the year 1842, in accordance with the proposal of Eichhorn, at that
time Minister of Instruction, and at the recommendation of MM. Alexander
v. Humboldt and Bunsen, his Majesty King Frederic William IV. of Prussia
determined to send a scientific expedition to investigate the remains of
ancient Egyptian and Ethiopian civilisation still in preservation in the
Nile valley and the adjacent countries. The direction of the undertaking
was entrusted to me, after the detailed plans of the proposed expedition
had been minutely examined by the _Royal Academy of Sciences_, and in all
points graciously approved by the King.
The land-surveyor, G. Erbkam, from Berlin, and the draughtsmen and
painters, Ernest and Max Weidenbach, from Naumburg, and J. Frey, from
Basle, were appointed to make the drawings and coloured representations,
as well as those architectonic plans, which had to be executed on the
spot. When J. Frey was obliged to return to Europe from Lower Egypt,
on account of the injurious climate, he was replaced by the painter O.
Georgi, from Leipzig. Two English artists, also, J. Bonomi, who, from
the interest he took in the journey, became attached to our party while
we were in London, and the architect J. Wild, who joined us of his own
accord, took an active part in the expedition as long as it remained
in Lower Egypt. Lastly, during nearly the whole of the journey, we
enjoyed the society of the present Counsellor of Legation, H. Abeken,
who accompanied us voluntarily and on an independent footing, and who
in various ways promoted the antiquarian objects of the journey. We
were also provided with the means of obtaining plaster casts of those
representations that were best qualified for the purpose, by the addition
of Franke the moulder.
The different members of the expedition arriving by various roads, met
in _Alexandria_, on the 18th September, 1842. On the 9th November we
encamped near the great Pyramids of _Gizeh_. What we obtained on that
spot, as well as from the adjoining Pyramid fields of _Abusir_, _Saqâra_,
and _Daschûr_, which are situated to the south, occupied us exclusively
and uninterruptedly for more than six months. The inexhaustible number
of important and instructive monuments and representations, which
we met with in these Necropoli, the most ancient that have existed
in any country, surpassed every expectation we had been entitled to
hold concerning them, and accounts for our long abode in this part
of the country, which is the first approached and visited, but has,
notwithstanding, been very little investigated. If we except the
celebrated and well-known examination of the Pyramids in the year 1837,
by Colonel Howard Vyse, assisted by the accomplished architect Perring,
little had been done to promote a more minute investigation of this
remarkable spot; the French-Tuscan expedition, in particular, did little
more than pass through it. Nevertheless, the innumerable tombs of private
individuals grouped about those royal Pyramids, partly constructed
of massive square blocks, partly hewn into the living rock, contain,
almost exclusively, representations belonging to the old Egyptian
Monarchy, which terminated between two and three thousand years before
Christ; indeed, most of them belong to the fourth and fifth Manethonic
Dynasties, therefore between three and four thousand years before Christ.
The wonderful age of those Pyramids, and of the surrounding tombs, is
no longer generally denied by intelligent inquirers, and in the first
volume of my “Egyptian Chronology,”[1] which has lately appeared, I have
endeavoured to furnish a critical proof of the certain foundations we
possess for a more special determination of time as far back as that
period. But were any one only to believe in the lowest acceptation of
modern scholars concerning the age of the first Egyptian Dynasties, he
would still be compelled to yield priority to those monuments before
any other Egyptian remains of art, and generally before all artistic
remains belonging to the whole race of man, to which we can historically
refer. It is only to this that we can attribute the wonderful growth
in the interest which we attach, partly to the monuments themselves,
as proofs of the earliest activity shown in art, partly to the various
representations of the manner of living in those primitive times.
On the western border of the Desert, which stretches from the most
northerly groups of Pyramids at Abu Roasch, past the ruins of the old
capital of Memphis, to the Oasis-peninsula of the “Faiûm,” we discovered
the remains of sixty-seven Pyramids, which, with a few exceptions, were
only destined for kings, and in the neighbourhood of the principal groups
we investigated, still more minutely, 130 tombs of private individuals,
which deserved to be more particularly recorded. A great many of
these sepulchral chambers, richly adorned with representations and
inscriptions, could only be reached by excavations. Most of them belonged
to the highest functionaries of those flourishing Dynasties, among whom
there were also thirteen royal princes and seven princesses.
After we had taken the most careful topographical plans of all the
fields of Pyramids, and had noted down the architectonic ground plans,
and sections of the most important tombs, and after we had, in the most
complete manner, drawn or taken paper impressions of their pictures and
inscriptions, as far as they were accessible to us, we had accomplished
more completely than we ever hoped to do, the first and most important
task of our journey, since we had acquired a basis for our knowledge
concerning the monuments of the oldest Egyptian monarchy.
On the 19th May, 1843, we proceeded still farther, and encamped on the
23rd in the Faiûm, upon the ruins of the LABYRINTH. Its true position
was long ago conjectured; and our first view dissipated all our doubts
concerning it. The interesting discovery of the actual site of the
ancient Lake Mœris was made about the same time, by the distinguished
French architect Linant, which we had the opportunity of confirming
on the spot. This greatly facilitated the means of comprehending the
topographical and historical conditions of this province, so remarkable
in all its features. The magnificent schemes which converted this
originally desolate Oasis into one of the most productive parts of Egypt,
were intimately connected with each other, and must have belonged, if
not to a single king, still to one epoch of time. The most important
result we obtained by our investigations of the Labyrinth and of the
adjoining Pyramids, was the determination of the historical position of
the original founder; this we obtained by excavations, which occupied
a considerable time. We discovered that the king, who was erroneously
called Mœris by the Greeks, from Lake Mere—_i. e._ from the Lake of
the Nile inundation—lived at the end of the 12th Manethonic Dynasty,
shortly before the invasion of the Hyksos, and was called _Amenemhe_ by
Manetho Ἀμενέμης, the third of his name. His predecessors in the same
Dynasty had already founded the town of Crocodilopolis, in the centre
of the Faiûm, which is proved by some ruins that still exist belonging
to that period; and they probably conducted the Nile Canal, Bahr-Jusef,
which branches off from Derut-Scherif, into the basin of the Desert.
That part of the basin which is most advanced, and situated highest,
terminated in a lake formed by means of gigantic dams, many of which
still exist; and the connection of the canal was regulated by sluices
in such a manner, that in the dry season the reserved water could flow
back again into the valley of the Nile, and irrigate the country round
the capital long after the Nile had retreated within its banks. Amenemhe
built his Pyramid on the shore of the lake, and a splendid temple in
front of it. It afterwards formed the centre of the Labyrinth, whose many
hundred chambers, forming three regular masses of buildings, surrounded
the oldest portion, and, according to Herodotus, were destined by the
Dodecarchs for the general Diets. The ruins of the Labyrinth had never
yet been correctly represented, not even in their general arrangement.
An Arabian canal, which was carried through it at a later period, had
drawn away the attention of passing travellers from that portion of
the chambers which was in best preservation. We have made the most
exact ground plan, accompanied by sections and views. A journey round
the province, as far as Birqet-el-Qorn, and beyond it, to the ruins of
_Diméh_ and _Qasr Qerûn_, induced us to remain several months in this
neighbourhood.
On the 23rd August we embarked at _Beni-suef_, visited a small
rock-temple of King _Sethôs I._ at _Surarieh_, on the eastern shore,
and farther on, the remains of later monuments in the neighbourhood of
_Tehneh_. At _Kûm-Ahmar_, a little to the south of Zauiet-el-meitîn, we
examined a series of nineteen rock-tombs belonging to the 6th Manethonic
Dynasty. The groups of tombs which are scattered about a few days’
journey to the south, at _Schech-Said_, _El-Harib_, _Wadi-Selin_, and
still farther on, at _Qasr-e’-Saiât_, also belonged to this period,
which, in point of age, was immediately connected with the flourishing
time of the great builder of the Pyramids. If we judge by the remains
now extant, it appears that there were, at that early period especially,
in this portion of Central Egypt, a number of flourishing cities. Royal
kindred are frequently met with among the ancient possessors of the
tombs, but no sons or daughters of the king, because there was no royal
residence in that neighbourhood. But we found the last flourishing period
of the Old Monarchy—the 12th Manethonic Dynasty—represented in this
part of Egypt by the most beautiful and most considerable remains. The
rock-tombs of Beni Hassan, so remarkable for their architecture, as well
as for the various paintings on their walls, peculiarly belong to this
period. The town to which they appertained, the residence of a governor
of the eastern province of the country, has entirely disappeared, all
except the name, which is preserved in the inscriptions. It appears that
it only flourished a short time during this dynasty, and again declined
at the invasion of the Hyksos. In the neighbouring _Berscheh_ also, and
farther on, among the Lybian rocks, behind the town of _Siut_, which was
as important 4000 years ago as it is at present, we again found the same
plans of tombs on as magnificent a scale, whose period of erection might
be recognised even at a distance.
It is a singular fact, that in point of age the greater proportion of
the remains of the Egyptian monuments become more modern the higher we
ascend the Nile valley, the reverse of what might have been expected from
a large view of the subject; according to which the Egyptian civilisation
of the Nile valley extended from south to north. While the Pyramids of
Lower Egypt, with the monuments around them, had displayed the oldest
civilisation of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Dynasties in such wonderful
abundance, we found the 6th Dynasty, and the most flourishing period of
the 12th, the last of the Old Monarchy, especially represented in Central
Egypt. Thebes was the brilliant capital of the New Monarchy, especially
of their first Dynasties, surpassing all other places in the number of
its wonderful monuments; and even now it offers us a reflection of the
splendour of Egypt in her greatest times. Art, which still created
magnificent things even in its decline, under the Ptolemies and the
Roman emperors, has left considerable monuments behind it, consisting
of a series of stately temples in _Dendera_, _Erment_, _Esneh_, _Edfu_,
_Kûm-Ombo_, _Debôd_, _Kalabscheh_, _Dendûr_, _Dakkeh_, which are all,
with the exception of Dendera, in the southern part of the Thebaid, or
in Lower Nubia. Lastly, those monuments of the Nile valley which are
situated most to the south, especially those of the “Island” of _Meröe_,
are the latest of all, and most of them belong to the centuries after the
Christian era.
We hastened immediately from the monuments of the Old Monarchy in Central
Egypt to Thebes, and deferred till our return the examination of the
well-preserved, but modern temple of Dendera, the ruins of Abydos, and
several other places. But of Thebes, also, we took but a preliminary
survey, for we only remained there twelve days, from the 6th to the 18th
of October.
We were impatient to commence immediately our second fresh task, which
consisted in the investigation of the Ethiopian countries, situated
higher up the river. The French-Tuscan expedition did not go beyond
Wadi Halfa; Wilkinson’s careful description of the Nile land and its
monuments, which contains so much information, only extends a little
higher up, as far as Semneh. The most various conjectures were still
entertained concerning the monuments of Gebel Barkal and Meröe, with
reference to their age and their signification. It was necessary to
obtain a general view of the true relation between the History and
Civilisation of Egypt and Ethiopia, founded upon a complete examination
of the remains which are still extant.
Therefore, after a cursory visit to the temple ruins, as far up as Wadi
Halfa, we returned to Korusko, from which place we started on the 8th
of January, 1844, through the Great Desert to Abu-Hammed, and the Upper
Nile countries. On the 16th of January we arrived at Abu-Hammed, on the
other side of the desert; on the 28th, at _Beg´erauîeh_, near to which
the Pyramids of Meröe are situated. From _Schendi_, which lies more to
the south, we visited the temple ruins of _Naga_ and _Wadi e’ Sofra_,
far on in the interior of the eastern desert. On the 5th of February we
reached _Chartûm_, at the confluence of the White and the Blue Nile. From
this place, accompanied by Abeken, I descended the Blue River, passed the
ruins of _Soba_ and _Sennâr_, as far as the 13° of N. lat.; whilst the
other members of the expedition returned from Chartûm to the Pyramids of
Meröe. The tropical countries of the Nile, when contrasted with those
northern ones, devoid of rain, extending south as far as the 17°; and the
plants and animals now almost exclusively confined to South Ethiopia,
when compared with individual representations of the ancient Egyptian
monuments, were rendered still more interesting by the discovery of some
monuments, with inscriptions upon them, near Soba, by which we obtained
traces of the ancient vernacular language of those districts in a written
character resembling the Coptic.
I also made use of our residence in these districts to be instructed by
the natives of the adjacent countries in the grammar and vocabulary of
their languages.
On the 5th of April I returned with Abeken to the other members of the
expedition at _Beg´erauîeh_. After drawings had been made of all that
still existed which peculiarly represented the state of civilisation in
Ethiopia, and after we had taken the most exact plans of the localities,
we proceeded in six days, by the desert Gilif, to _Gebel Barkal_, where
we arrived on the 6th of May. Here was the more northern, the more
ancient, and, to judge by the remains, also the more important capital
of the State of Meröe. At the foot of this single mass of rock, which
rises in an imposing manner, and is called there, in the hieroglyphical
inscriptions, “The Sacred Mountains,” is situated _Napata_. The history
of this place, which we may still derive from its ruins, gives us at once
a key to the relations which subsisted in general between Ethiopia and
Egypt, as regards the history of their civilisation. We find that the
most ancient epoch of art in Ethiopia was purely Egyptian. It is as early
as the period of the great Ramses, who, of all the Pharaohs, extended his
power farthest, not only towards the north, but also towards the south,
and testified this by monuments. At an early period he built a great
temple here. The second epoch begins with King _Tahraka_, also known as
the ruler of Egypt, the _Thirhaka_ of the Bible. This spot was adorned
with several magnificent monuments by him and his immediate successors,
and though they were built in a style now employed by native kings, it
is, nevertheless, only a faithful copy of the Egyptian style. Lastly,
the third epoch is that of the kings of _Meröe_, whose dominion extended
as far as Philæ, and was manifested also at Gebel Barkal by numerous
monuments. On an intermediate journey into the Cataract country, situated
farther up the river, which we had cut off by the Desert journey, I found
only Middle-Age, but no ancient, Ethiopian remains of buildings.
The fertile and extensive province of _Dongola_, on the northern
frontier, which we traversed on the 4th of June, after our departure
from Barkal, afforded us but few remarkable ancient remains; we may,
however, mention among these the island of _Argo_, with its monuments,
from the 13th Manethonic Dynasty. They became still more numerous in the
northern borders of Dongola, from which a nearly continuous Cataract
country extends as far as Wadi Halfa. Near _Tombos_ we found traces of
the Egyptian dominion under the Pharaohs of the 17th and 18th Dynasties,
rock-tablets with the shields of the two first Thutmosis and of the third
Amenophis. Farther on, at _Sesebi_, there were the remains of temples of
the first SETHÔS of the 19th Dynasty. The great Temple of _Soleb_, built
by Amenophis III. and IV., detained us five days. The ruins of the Temple
of _Sedeïnga_, and those upon the island of _Sai_, belonged to the 18th
and 19th Dynasties. Opposite this island stood the remarkable Temple of
_Amara_, which was built by the Kings of Meröe and Naga, and is still an
important proof of the extent of their dominion.
_Semneh_ was the next point we reached. The Nile is here compressed
within a breadth of only about 1150 feet between high rocky shores.
On both sides there are ruins of old temples of the 18th Dynasty. But
these were not the earliest buildings which were erected here. We found
a considerable number of inscriptions from the 12th and 13th Manethonic
Dynasties, especially on the large foundations of the Temple of _Kummeh_,
situated lower down, opposite Semneh on the eastern bank, as well as on
the scattered rocks on both banks in the neighbourhood of that temple.
Many of them were intended to indicate the highest risings of the Nile
during a series of years, especially in the reigns of the Kings Amenemhe
III. and Sebekhotep I., and by comparing them, we obtained the remarkable
result, that about 4000 years ago the Nile used to rise at that point,
on an average, twenty-two feet higher than it does at present. This,
therefore, which we saw before us was the most ancient Nilometer; and
the earliest statements of the heights, and their greatest number, were
recorded during the reign of the same king, the Mœris of the Greeks,
with whom we had already become acquainted in the Faiûm, as the great
hydraulic architect. The strong fortifications on both banks of that
narrow part of the river convinced us at once that, during the early
times of the 12th Dynasty, this remarkable point served as the boundary
of the Egyptian dominion, against the Ethiopian nations who dwelt more to
the south.
At _Wadi Halfa_, on the 30th of July, we again left the Cataract
country, remained from the 2nd to the 11th of August in _Abu Simbel_,
examined until the end of the month the ruins of _Ibrîm_, _Anîbe_,
_Derr_, _Amada_, _Sebûa_, _Dakkeh_, _Kubán_, _Gerf-Hussên_, _Sabagûra_,
_Dendûr_, _Kalabscheh_, _Debôt_, and spent the whole of the following
month in examining the monuments of the Island of _Philæ_, and the
islands of _Bigeh_, _Konosso_, _Sehêl_, and _Elephantine_, surrounding
it, and of the stone quarries between _Philæ_ and _Assuan_. October was
spent visiting _Ombos_, the two _Silsilis_, _Edfu_, the desert Temple of
_Redesíeh_, _El-Kâb_, _Esneh_, _Tôd_, and _Erment_.
On the 2nd of November we again arrived on Theban ground, and first
visited the rock-tombs of _Qurnah_, on the west side, where we remained
nearly four months, till the 20th of February, 1845, when we encamped
for three more months at _Karnak_. The number of monuments of all
kinds, both above and below ground, at Thebes, is so great that they
may be truly called inexhaustible, even for a combined power like ours,
and for the limited portion of time which we were able to devote to
their investigation. But the age of the monuments at Thebes is almost
exclusively limited to the _New Monarchy_; and the most ancient we
discovered, such as one might generally expect to find, are not earlier
than the 11th Manethonic Dynasty, the last but one of the Old Monarchy;
for this simple reason, because it was in this Dynasty that Thebes first
became a royal residence, and hence the focus of Egyptian splendour. The
great break in the succession at the end of the 12th Dynasty, caused
by the invasion of the Hyksos, and their dominion, which lasted many
centuries, first drove the Egyptian power back into Ethiopia, and at
length entirely destroyed it, till the powerful Pharaohs of the 17th,
18th, and 19th Dynasties again advanced from the south, drove back
the Semitic intruders, and raised the power of the Egyptian empire to
its summit. The greater proportion of Theban monuments date also from
this period. As we may suppose they have been the principal object of
investigation to all travellers, therefore our work here had been for the
most part anticipated.
Nevertheless it was necessary to re-examine the whole ground most
carefully, partly to complete the deficiencies left by our predecessors,
partly to make a proper selection of those monuments which were of
most importance for our particular purpose, and which we were anxious
to insert among our collections, either in the shape of a drawing, or
an impression upon paper, or even in the original itself. We directed
our principal attention during the whole journey, and especially here,
to taking the most exact architectonic plans of all the buildings and
other localities which appeared to us to be of any consequence; and for
this purpose we did not hesitate to make extensive excavations. By this
means we succeeded, amongst other things, in discovering, and recording
for the first time, a perfect plan of the most beautiful of all the
temple buildings, namely, the Ammon Temple, built by Ramses II., which
is described by Diodorus under the name of the sepulchre of Osymandyas.
We made several excavations also in the valleys of the royal tombs, and
opened, for instance, the rock-tomb of the same Ramses II., one of the
largest of those which have hitherto been accessible. Unfortunately, the
interior chambers were so much destroyed by the dirt and rubbish that had
fallen in, that we could make out little more from the representation
upon the walls than the proprietor of the tomb.
Accompanied by the artist Max Weidenbach, I made an intermediate journey
from Karnak to the peninsula of Sinai. We went thither by the old road
from _Koptos_ to _Aennum_ (_Philotera_), now leading from _Qeneh_ to
_Kossêr_, which conducted us first to the remarkable stone quarries of
_Hammamât_, already worked out during the Old Monarchy. The numerous
rock-inscriptions, which date as far back as the 6th Dynasty, occupied
us here for five whole days. From this place we passed through the
Arabian chain of mountains to the north, as far as _Gebel Zeït_, where
we embarked for _Tôr_, situated opposite. We ascended through _Wadi
Hebrân_ to the convent, and from thence through _Wadi e’ Scheikh_, _Wadi
Firân_, _W. Mokatteb_, _W. Maghâra_, by _Sarbut el Châdem_, down again to
_Abu Zelîmeh_, where we got into our vessel, to return to _Kossêr_ and
_Thebes._
As early as the 4th Manethonic Dynasty, between three and four thousand
years before Christ, this Desert Peninsula was subject to Egypt, and was
principally colonised by the Egyptians on account of the Copper mines,
which are there met with on the limits of the primitive mountain range,
and the surrounding sandstone mountains. Upon several rock-tablets of
_Wadi Maghâra_, the kings of those oldest Dynasties were represented
fighting with the Semitic aborigines, and the inscriptions of _Sarbut el
Châdem_ were at least as early as the 12th Dynasty. We did not, also,
lose sight of the great interest which is attached to these localities
of the peninsula in connection with the Old Testament. More especially,
I believe, that I have succeeded for the first time (not excepting
Burckhardt) in determining the correct position of _Sinai_, since,
contrary to the tradition of the convent, hitherto accepted, I did not
recognise it in one of the southern mountains, but in _Serbâl_, which is
situated several days’ journey more to the north, at whose base lies the
only fertile oasis of the whole peninsula. This opinion which has been
already published in a preliminary account of the journey, addressed to
the King of Prussia, has met with frequent oppositions, but has also
latterly received much approbation, I believe, in a special treatise upon
the question, by W. Hogg, printed in the last half of the “Transactions
for the Royal Society of Literature” (1848). I have not hitherto been
able to discover any material counter-arguments in the discussions which
have been held upon the subject, but, on the other hand, much stronger
evidence that, contrary to the later Byzantine tradition, the more
ancient Christian, and probably the Egyptian tradition itself, considered
Serbâl, at whose foot the oldest convent was situated, to be the true
Sinai.
On the 14th of April we returned to Thebes, and finally left it on the
16th of May. On our way back to Lower Egypt, we re-examined more minutely
the monuments of _Schenhur_, _Dendera_, _Hou_, _Abydos_, _Echmim_, _El
Bosra_, _Tel el Amarna_, and _El Hibe_, and on the 27th of June, our
party, which had been increased at the last stage by the addition of Dr.
Bethmann, again entered Cairo.
I was detained there myself some months longer than the other members
of the expedition, in order to direct the transportation of several
sepulchral chambers in the neighbourhood of the Great Pyramids, and to
superintend the embarkation of the valuable blocks of stone, together
with the other monuments, which we brought with us from Upper Egypt and
Ethiopia, and which the Viceroy Mohammed Ali sent as a present to his
Majesty the King of Prussia. In this troublesome as well as important
affair, for the practical performance of which four experienced workmen
had been expressly sent from Berlin to Egypt, I had only the kind
assistance of Dr. Bethmann, who accompanied me on an independent footing
during the remainder of the journey back.
After a final visit to Alexandria, we embarked on the 25th of September
at _Cairo_ for _Damietta_, but on the way visited the ruins of _Samanúd_,
_Behbét_, and the Ramses-Temple of _San_ (Tanis), and left Egypt on
the 1st of October, in a vessel which took us to Jaffa. After we had
traversed the whole length of Palestine, and from Jerusalem had visited
the Dead Sea, and from Beyrout, Damascus, and Baalbec, at the mouth of
the _Nahr el Kelb_, the ancient _Lykos_, we came upon the last Egyptian
monuments in the north, namely, those celebrated memorial-tablets,
which the great Ramses II. engraved beside the old military road, as
a recollection of his warlike and victorious Asiatic campaigns in the
fourteenth century before Christ. After a period of more than 3000 years,
neither the form, nor even the Name-Shield of the powerful Pharaoh, at
whose court Moses was educated, had been destroyed by the destructive
sea-air. On one tablet, indeed, I was able to distinguish the date of
the fourth, on another that of the second year of his reign.
According to the testimony of Herodotus, similar monuments of Sesostris
are also found in Ionia, and some time ago, one which he describes as
being there, was re-discovered. But an excursion from Smyrna to that spot
soon convinced us that the rock-picture of _Karabel_ was produced by an
Asiatic and not by an Egyptian chisel.
Lastly, we saw in the Hippodrome, at Constantinople, the obelisk of the
third Tuthmosis, but, like others, sought in vain for the second, which
earlier travellers would have us believe that they had seen. On the 24th
December, I left Constantinople, and landed on the 5th January, 1846, in
Trieste.
* * * * *
The whole journey, of which this is a very hasty sketch, was one of the
most fortunate expeditions which has ever been undertaken for a similar
purpose. None who participated in it suffered from the climate or the
accidental casualties of a journey. We travelled under the powerful and,
in every way efficient protection of the Viceroy. We had an explicit
and written permission to make excavations, wherever we should consider
it desirable, and we employed it, to acquire a number of interesting
monuments for the Royal Museum at Berlin, which would either have
remained in Egypt as rubbish under the sand-hills, or exposed, like so
many others, to be destroyed, for all kinds of material purposes.
The scientific results of the expedition have, in almost all respects,
surpassed our own expectations. In confirmation of this it will be
sufficient briefly to survey these results, which I shall do in the
following pages, according to their principal objects, and by entering
into some of the details.
The plan of the journey, as a whole, and in its individual parts, was
founded principally with a Historical purpose in view. The French-Tuscan
expedition, compared with ours was a _Journey of Discovery_, with all
the advantages, but also with all the disadvantages, connected with
such an undertaking. We were able from the commencement to aspire after
a certain completeness, within the wide limits that were assigned us,
not however failing in making new discoveries, which were as important
as they were unexpected. The investigation of the most ancient Egyptian
times, namely, the epoch of the first Pharaonic Monarchy, from about 3900
to 1700 before Christ, extending the history of the world almost two
thousand years farther back, was left entirely unfathomed by Champollion.
He only ascended the Nile valley as far as the second Cataract, beyond
which there existed a great number of Egyptian monuments of all kinds,
wholly unexamined, in which we must seek for an explanation of all those
Ethiopian antiquities which are inseparable from the Egyptian.