especially when viewed from the steep rock on the western bank of the
valley close behind it. The view of the overflowed Nile valley from these
heights is the most beautiful which we have yet seen, and, at the same
time, extremely characteristic of the inundation season, in which we are
now travelling. From the foot of the steep rock, a small dam overgrown
with sont-trees,[27] and a bridge, leads across to the town, which lies
like an island in the boundless sea of inundation. The gardens of Ibrahim
Pascha, extending on the left, form another island, green and fresh,
covered with trees and brushwood. The town, with its fifteen minarets,
rises high above the mounds of rubbish of the ancient Lycopolis. A still
larger dam leads from it to the Nile, and, towards the south, other long
dams may be seen, like floating threads drawn across the mass of waters.
On the other side the Arabian chain of mountains approach tolerably
near, by which the valley becomes closed in, forming a picture which can
be easily surveyed.
We have been in the royal city of THEBES since the 6th October. Our boat
landed us first, under the walls of Luqsor, at the most southern point
of the Theban ruins. The strong current of the river has here encroached
to within such a short distance of the old temple that it is itself
even in considerable danger. I endeavoured to obtain a view over the
ruins of Thebes, from the summit of the temple, in order to compare it
with the image that I had formed of it from maps and descriptions. The
distances, however, are too great to make a good picture. You look upon
a wide landscape, in which the scattered groups of temples stand forth
as single points, and can only be recognised by one who has a previous
knowledge of the subject. Towards the north, at the distance of a short
hour, rise the mighty Pylones of KARNAK, which of itself formed a town
of temples altogether gigantic and astonishing. We spent the succeeding
days in taking a cursory survey of them. On the other side of the river,
at the foot of the Libyan range, are the MEMNONIA, once an uninterrupted
series of splendid buildings, unrivalled among the monuments of
antiquity. Even now the temples of MEDÎNET HÂBU, with their high mounds
of rubbish, are distinguishable in the distance, at the southern end
of this series, exactly opposite to Luqsor; and at the northern end,
an hour from that point down the river, the temple of QURNAH, which is
in good preservation; between them both stands the temple of Ramses
Miamun (Sesostris), already of great celebrity, from its description by
Diodorus. Thus the four Arabian places, Karnak, and Luqsor on the eastern
side of the river, Qurnah, and Medînet Hâbu on the western, form a great
square, which measures on every side about half a geographical mile,
and gives us some notion of the magnitude of the most splendid portion
of ancient Thebes. How far the remaining inhabited portion of the City
of a Hundred Gates extended towards the east, north, and south, it is
difficult to discover now, because all that in the lapse of time has not
maintained its original position, has gradually disappeared beneath the
annually increasing rise of the soil of the lower plain by the inundation.
No one ever inquires here about the weather, for one day is exactly like
the other, serene, clear, and hitherto not too hot. We have no morning
or evening red, as there are neither clouds nor vapours; but the first
ray of the morning calls forth a world of colours in the bare and rugged
limestone mountains closing in around us, and in the brownish glittering
desert, contrasted with the black, or green-clothed lower plain, such as
is never seen in northern countries. There is scarcely any twilight, as
the sun sinks down at once. The separation of night and day is just as
sudden as that between meadow and desert; one step, one moment, divides
the one from the other. The sombre brilliancy of the moon and starlight
nights is so much the more refreshing to the eye which has been dazzled
by the ocean light of day. The air is so pure and dry, that except in the
immediate vicinity of the river, in spite of the sudden change at sunset,
there is no fall of dew. We have almost entirely forgotten what rain
is, for it is above six months since it last rained with us in Saqâra.
A few days ago we rejoiced, when, towards evening, we discovered some
light clouds in the sky to the south-west, which reminded us of Europe.
Nevertheless, we do not want coolness even in the daytime, for a light
wind is almost always blowing, which does not allow the heat to become
too oppressive. Added to this, the Nile water is pleasant to the taste,
and maybe enjoyed in great abundance without any detriment.
The clay water-bottles (Qulleh) are invaluable to us; they are composed
of fine, porous Nile mud, which allows the water to ooze through them
continually; the evaporation of this, as soon as it appears on the warm
surface, as is well known, produces cold, and thus, by this simple
process, the bottles are constantly kept cool in the hottest period of
the day. The drinking-water, on that account, is usually cooler than it
is in Europe during the summer. We principally live upon poultry, and,
as a change, we occasionally kill a sheep. There are very few vegetables.
Every meal is concluded by a dish of rice. For dessert we have the most
beautiful yellow melons, or juicy red water-melons. The dates also are
excellent, but not to be had everywhere. I have at length, to the great
joy of my companions, learned to smoke a Turkish pipe, which keeps me a
quarter of an hour in perfect _kêf_: by this word the Arabs designate
their easy repose, their comfort; for as long as one “drinks” the blue
smoke of the long pipe from the shallow bowl, so easily overset, it is
impossible to leave one’s position, or to undertake anything else. We
have a convenient costume—loose trousers of light cotton stuff, and over
them a wide long tunic, with short wide sleeves. Besides this I wear a
broad, turned-up, grey felt hat, as a European badge, which keeps the
Arabs in proper respect. We eat, according to the custom of the country,
on a low round table, not a foot high, sitting on cushions, with our legs
folded under us. This position has become so convenient to me, that I
even write in it, sitting on my couch, the letter portfolio on my knees,
as a support. Above me is spread out a canopy of gauze to keep off the
flies—this most shameless plague of Egypt during the day—and the gnats
during the night. In other respects, we suffer far less from vermin here,
than in Italy. We have not yet been bit by scorpions and serpents, but in
return there are very malignant wasps, which have frequently stung us.
We shall only remain here till the day after to-morrow, and shall then
travel towards the south without stopping. We shall wait for our return
to devote as much time and labour as the treasures in this spot demand.
At Assuan, on the frontiers of Egypt, we shall, for the first time,
change our mode of transport, and send back our great boat, in which we
already feel quite at home. On the other side of the cataracts we shall
take two smaller boats for our journey onwards.
LETTER XV.
_Korusko, the 20th November, 1843._[28]
Our journey from the Faiûm, through Egypt, was necessarily very much
hastened owing to the advanced season. We have, therefore, rarely
remained longer at a place than was requisite for a hasty survey, and
have chiefly confined ourselves, during the past three months, to keeping
an exact register of what exists, and to increasing our important
collection of impressions upon paper of the most interesting inscriptions.
On our rapid journey as far as Wadi Halfa, we have collected from three
to four hundred impressions, or exact copies, of Greek inscriptions
alone. They often confirm Letronne’s acute conjectures, but also not
unfrequently correct the unavoidable mistakes of such a difficult work
as his. In the inscription from which, without any foundation, it was
proposed to settle the position of the town of Akoris, his conjecture,
ΙΣΙΔΙ ΛΟΧΙΑΔΙ, is not verified: L’Hôte had read ΜΟΧΙΑΔΙ, but it is
ΜΩΧΙΑΔΙ, and before ΕΡΩΕΩΣ, not ΕΡΕΕΩΣ.
The dedicatory inscription of the Temple of PSELCHIS (as it is given in
the inscription, in accordance with Strabo, instead of Pselcis) is almost
as long again as Letronne assumes it to be, and the first line does not
end with ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ, but with ΑΔΕΛΦΗΣ, so that we must probably restore
it thus:
Ὑπὲρ βασιλέως Πτολεμαίου καὶ βασιλίσσης
Κλεοπάτρας τῆς ἀδελφῆς
Θεῶν Εὐεργετῶν.[29] ... [30]
At the end of the second line ΤΩΙΚΑΙ, therefore, is confirmed. The
surname of Hermes, which follows in the third line, however, has been
ΠΑΟΤΠΝΟΥΦΙ (ΔΙ) differing from the writing in other later inscriptions,
where he is called ΠΑΥΤΝΟΥΦΙΣ. The same surname is also not unfrequently
found in hieroglyphics, and then sounds _Tut en Pnubs_, that is to
say, _Thoth_ of, or Lord of Πνούψ, a town, the site of which is still
uncertain. I have already met with this Thoth in temples of earlier
date, where he frequently appears beside the _Thoth_ of _Schmun_, i. e.
_Hermopolis Magna_. In the popular language it was called _Pet-Pnubs_;
from this, it became _Paot-Pnuphis_.
The interesting problem about the owner of the name, Εὐπάτωρ, which
Letronne endeavours to solve in a new manner, by means of the
inscriptions on the obelisk of Philæ, appears to be decided by the
hieroglyphic inscriptions, where the same circumstances recur, but lead
to other conjectures.[31] I have found several very perfect series of the
Ptolemies, the longest down to Neos Dionysos, and his consort Cleopatra,
who, according to the hieroglyphic inscriptions, was surnamed, by the
Egyptians, TRYPHÆNA.[32] A fact worthy of consideration is connected
with this, namely, that in this _Egyptian_ list of the Ptolemies, the
first king is never Ptolemy Soter I., but PHILADELPHUS. In Qurna, where
Euergetes II. worships his predecessors, not alone Philometor, the
brother of Euergetes is wanting, which is easily explained, but also
Soter I., and Rosellini is mistaken when he regards the king who is
worshipped under the title of Philadelphus, about whom Champollion was
still doubtful, as Soter I. instead of Euergetes I. It appears that the
son of Lagus, although he assumed the title of _king_ from the year 305,
was yet not acknowledged as such by the Egyptians, as his shields do not
appear on a single monument which was erected by him. So much the more do
I rejoice that I have nevertheless found his name mentioned once, in an
inscription of Philadelphus, as the father of Arsinoë II. But here, we
must observe, Soter has, indeed, the royal ring round his name, and also
a peculiar Throne-shield name, but quite contrary to the usual Egyptian
custom, no king’s title stands before either of the shields, although his
daughter is called “royal daughter” and “royal lady.”[33]
It is astonishing how little Champollion seems to have attended to the
monuments of the Old Monarchy. During his whole journey through Central
Egypt, as far as Dendera, he only found the rock-tombs of Benihassan
worthy of notice, and these also, he considered to be works of the 16th
and 17th Dynasties, therefore belonging to the New Monarchy. He also
mentions Zauiet el Meitîn and Siut, but hardly notices them.
So little has been said by others, besides, on most of the monuments of
Central Egypt, that almost everything that we here found was new to me.
I, therefore, was not a little astonished when we discovered in ZAUIET EL
MEITÎN a series of nineteen rock-tombs, all of them bearing inscriptions,
which informed us who were their inhabitants, and belonging to the old
time of the 6th Dynasty, therefore extending almost to the period of
the great Pyramids. Five among them contain, more than once, the Shield
of Makrobioten Apappus Pepi, who is said to have lived to the age of a
hundred and six years, and to have reigned a hundred years; in another,
Cheops is mentioned. Apart from these there is also a single grave from
the period of Ramses.
In BENIHASSAN, I have had a complete drawing made of an entire rock-tomb;
it is to give a specimen of the magnificent style of architecture
and artistic skill, from the second flourishing period of the Old
Monarchy, during the powerful 12th Dynasty.[34] I think it will excite
some attention among the Egyptologists, when they shortly learn from
Bunsen’s work, why I make a division in the tablet of Abydos, and why I
ventured to transfer SESURTESEN and AMENEMHA, these well-known Pharaohs
of Heliopolis, the Faiûm, Benihassan, Thebes, and as far as Wadi Halfa,
from the New, to the Old Monarchy. It must have been a brilliant period
in Egypt at that time, which these magnificent halls for the dead
alone testify. At the same time, among the rich representations on the
walls, which exhibit a high standard of the peaceful arts, as well as
the refined luxury of the great at that period, it is interesting even
then to meet with the prognostics of that great adverse destiny, which
brought Egypt for several centuries under the power of her northern
enemies. Gladiatorial games, which form a characteristic representation
of frequent recurrence, in many tombs occupy entire walls, by which
we may conclude they were extensively practised at that period, but
afterwards almost disappeared. Among these we frequently find amidst
the red or dark-brown people of the Egyptian race, and of those races
dwelling more to the south, a very light-coloured people, standing singly
or in small divisions, who have usually a different costume, and most of
them have the hair of the head and beard red, and have blue eyes. They
also sometimes appear among the domestics of persons of rank, and are
manifestly of northern, probably of Semetic, origin. We find victories
of the kings over the Ethiopians and Negroes mentioned on the monuments
of that period; therefore it is not surprising to see black slaves and
attendants. We learn nothing of wars against the northern neighbours, but
it appears that the migrations of people from the north-east had already
begun at that time, and that many emigrants sought a home in the fruitful
land of Egypt, in exchange for service, or other useful employments.
I here allude particularly to the remarkable scene in the tomb of the
royal relative NEHERA-SI-NUMHOTEP, the second tomb approaching from the
north, which gives an animated idea of the entrance of Jacob with his
family, and which might tempt us really to connect these circumstances,
if Jacob had not come at a much later period, and if we were not
compelled to acknowledge that such immigrations of single families could
never have been a rare event. These, however, were the predecessors of
the Hyksos, and assuredly in many respects paved the way for them. As it
is only painted, and is still in very good preservation, I have traced
through the whole representation, which is about eight feet long, and
one and a half high. The royal scribe NEFRUHOTEP, who introduces the
company before the high official, to whom the tomb belongs, hands him a
sheet of papyrus. Upon this, the sixth year of King Sesurtesen II. is
mentioned, when that family of thirty-seven persons came to Egypt. Their
chief, and lord, was called ABSCHA, they themselves AAMU, a popular name,
which we meet with again associated with the same light-coloured race;
this, with three other races, is frequently represented in the royal
tombs of the 19th Dynasty, and formed one of the four principal families
of the human race known to the Egyptians. Champollion, when he was in
Benihassan, regarded them as Greeks; he was not then aware of the extreme
age of the monuments which were before him. Wilkinson considers them
to be prisoners; this is contradicted by their appearing with weapons
and lyres, with women, children, asses, and baggage. I view them as a
migrating Hyksos family, who pray to be received into the blessed land,
and whose descendants, perhaps, opened the gates of Egypt to the Semetic
conquerors, allied to them by race.
The town, to which the rich rock-necropolis of Benihassan belonged, and
which is named in the hieroglyphic inscriptions NUS, must have been of
considerable size, and, doubtless, lay opposite, on the left bank of
the Nile, where ancient mounds exist even at the present time, and are
marked upon the French maps. That no more of this town of NUS was known
in the geography of the Greeks and Romans than of many other towns of the
Old Monarchy, ought not to surprise us, if we consider that the dominion
of the Hyksos intervened, which lasted five hundred years. It is thought
that the sudden fall of the Monarchy, and of this flourishing town, may
be traced, even now, to have happened at the end of the 12th Dynasty
by this circumstance—that only eleven of the numerous rock-tombs have
inscriptions, and that among these, three alone were quite completed.
Special roads of considerable width led to these last, ascending direct
from the bank of the river, which near the steep upper part ended in
steps cut out of the rock.
Benihassan, however, is not the only place where we became acquainted
with the works of the 12th Dynasty. At BERSCHEH, a little to the south of
the great plain, where the Emperor Hadrian, in honour of his favourite,
who was there drowned, built the town of ANTINOE, with its splendid
streets, even now partly passable, and encompassed with hundreds of
columns, a narrow valley opens to the east, where we again found a
series of splendidly executed rock-tombs of the 12th Dynasty, most of
which, unfortunately, were mutilated by recent quarrying. In the tomb of
Ki-si-Tuthotep there is a representation of the transport of the great
Colossus, which has been already published by Rosellini, but without the
accompanying inscriptions; from these we perceive that it was formed
of _limestone_ (here, for the first time, I learned the hieroglyphic
term for this), and that it was 13 Egyptian ells high, which is about
21 feet.[35] A series of still older tombs are hewn into the face of
the rock on the southern side of the same valley, but with very few
inscriptions; to judge by the style of the hieroglyphics, and the titles
of the deceased, they belong to the 6th Dynasty.
Some hours farther to the south there is another group of tombs,
which also belong to the 6th Dynasty; here, likewise, King Cheops is
occasionally mentioned, whose name we several times met with before,
in a hieratic inscription in Benihassan. We found tombs from the 6th
Dynasty, though with few inscriptions, in two other places situated,
between the valley EL AMARNA, which contains the very remarkable
tomb-grottoes of King Bech-en-Aten, and Siut. Perring, the measurer
of the Pyramids, a short time ago seriously endeavoured, in an essay,
to maintain the strange opinion, which, however, I also met with
while in Cairo, that the monuments of El Amarna were derived from the
Hyksos; others, on account of their striking, though not inexplicable
peculiarities, would even carry them back to the time before Menes. While
still in Europe I had recognised the builder of these monuments, and some
other allied kings, to be antagonistic kings of the 18th Dynasty.
Rock-tombs of vast size open on the side of the valley behind SIUT, in
which, even from a distance, we recognised the imposing style of the 12th
Dynasty. Here also, unfortunately, many of these splendid remains have
been destroyed of late, as it was found more convenient to break away the
walls and columns of the grottoes, than to hew out building stones from
the rock itself.
I learned from Selîm Pascha, the Governor of Upper Egypt, who received
us in a most friendly manner in Siut, that the Bedouins had a short
time ago discovered some alabaster quarries in the eastern range of
mountains, between two and three hours distant, the working of which had
been committed to him by Mohammed Ali; and I heard from his dragoman,
that in that place also there was an inscription on the rock. I
therefore determined to start the following day, accompanied by the two
Weidenbachs, our dragoman and Kawass, on this hot ride, on the Pascha’s
horses, which he had sent to El Bosra for the purpose. We found there a
little colony of eighteen labourers, thirty-one souls altogether, in the
lonely, sultry, rocky defile, occupied in working the quarries. On the
side of the rock, behind the tent of the overseer, the name and titles
of the wife, so highly venerated by the Egyptians of the first Amasis,
the head of the 18th Dynasty which expelled the Hyksos, were preserved
in distinct, sharp-cut hieroglyphics, the remains of an inscription that
had been formerly longer. These are the first alabaster quarries the
age of which is proved by an inscription. Not far from that place there
have been others also, which, however, had been worked out in ancient
times. Above three hundred blocks have been already obtained from the
one now re-opened during the last four months, the largest of which are
eight feet long and two feet thick. The Pascha informed me, through
his dragoman, that on our return I should find a slab, whose size and
form I might myself determine, of the best quality in the quarry, and
which I might accept, as a token of the pleasure he had derived from
our visit. The alabaster quarries which have hitherto been discovered
in this neighbourhood, are all between Berscheh and Gauâta; we might be
inclined, therefore, to view El Bosra as the ancient Alabastron, if the
passage in Ptolemy could be reconciled with it. At any rate, Alabastron
has certainly nothing to do with the ruins in the valley of El Amarna,
for which it has hitherto been taken, which does not either agree with
the statement of Ptolemy, and with which it appears to have a totally
different relation. The hieroglyphic name of these ruins frequently
appears in the inscriptions.
In the rocky chain of GEBEL SELÎN there are some more very early tombs
belonging to the Old Monarchy, probably to the 6th Dynasty, but with few
inscriptions.
Opposite to old PANOPOLIS, or CHEMMIS, we climbed up to the remarkable
rock-grotto of Pan (Chem). It was founded by another rival king of the
18th Dynasty, whose tomb we have since visited in Thebes. The holy name
of the city frequently appears in the inscriptions here—“The Habitation
of CHEM,” _i. e._ Panopolis. Whether the popular name Chemmis, now
Echmim, originated from this, is perhaps doubtful. I have always found
two different names for Siut, Dendera, Abydos, and other towns; the
holy and the popular name. The first is taken from the chief god of the
local temple; the second has nothing to do with this. My hieroglyphic
geography increases nearly with every new monumental locality. In
ABYDOS we came to the first of the larger temple structures. The last
interesting tombs of the Old Monarchy we found at QASR E’ SAIAT; they go
as far back as the 6th Dynasty. In DENDERA we visited the imposing Temple
of Hathor, perhaps the best preserved in all Egypt.
We spent twelve overwhelming and astounding days in Thebes, which were
scarcely sufficient to enable us to thread our way among the palaces,
temples, and tombs, whose royal gigantic splendour fills this wide plain.
We celebrated the birthday of our beloved king with a _feu de joie_,
and waving of banners, with chorus songs and heartfelt toasts, which we
pledged in a glass of genuine German Rhine wine, in the jewel of all
the splendid buildings of Egypt—the palace of Ramses-Sesostris: it was
erected by this greatest of the Pharaohs to “Ammon-Ra, the King of the
Gods,” the tutelar patron of the royal city of Ammon, situated on a
terrace of gentle elevation, calculated to command the wide plain on both
sides of the majestic river, and was worthy of himself and of the god. I
need scarcely say that on such an occasion we also thought of you with a
full heart. When night came, we kindled a kettle of pitch above the outer
entrance between the Pylones, on both sides of which our banners were
planted, and then made a great fire flame up from the flat roof of the
Pronaos (or vestibule), which exhibited the beautiful proportions of the
hall of columns in splendid relief; for the first time since thousands
of years we again restored this to its original destination as a festive
hall—the saloon of “panegyrics.”[36] The two mighty Memnon Colossi,
calmly reposing on their thrones, were also magically lighted up in the
distance.