MANUAL OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
AND
Guide to the Study of Antiquities in Egypt.
_FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS AND TRAVELLERS_.
BY
G. MASPERO, D.C.L. OXON.
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE; PROFESSOR AT THE COLLÈGE DE FRANCE;
EX-DIRECTOR GENERAL OF EGYPTIAN MUSEUMS.
_TRANSLATED BY_
AMELIA B. EDWARDS.
_NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED BY THE AUTHOR_.
With Three Hundred and Nine Illustrations.
1895.
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH AND REVISED EDITION.
Notwithstanding the fact that Egyptology is now recognised as a science, an
exact and communicable knowledge of whose existence and scope it behoves
all modern culture to take cognisance, this work of M. Maspero still
remains the Handbook of Egyptian Archaeology. But Egyptology is as yet in
its infancy; whatever their age, Egyptologists will long die young. Every
year, almost every month, fresh material for the study is found, fresh
light is thrown upon it by the progress of excavation, exploration, and
research. Hence it follows that, in the course of a few years, the standard
text-books require considerable addition and modification if they are to be
of the greatest value to students, who must always start from the foremost
vantage-ground.
The increasing demand for the _Egyptian Archaeology_ by English and
American tourists, as well as students, decided the English publishers to
issue a new edition in as light and portable a form as possible. This
edition is carefully corrected, and contains the enlarged letterpress and
many fresh illustrations necessary for incorporating within the book
adequate accounts of the main archaeological results of recent Egyptian
excavations. M. Maspero has himself revised the work, indicated all the
numerous additions, and qualified the expression of any views which he has
seen reason to modify in the course of his researches during the past eight
years. By the headings of the pages, the descriptive titles of the
illustrations, and a minute revision of the index, much has been done to
facilitate the use of the volume as a book of reference. In that capacity
it will be needed by the student long after he first makes acquaintance
with its instructive and abundant illustrations and its luminous
condensation of the archaeological facts and conclusions which have been
elucidated by Egyptology through the devotion of many an arduous lifetime
during the present century, and, not least, by the unremitting labours of
M. Maspero.
_April, 1895_.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
To put this book into English, and thus to hand it on to thousands who
might not otherwise have enjoyed it, has been to me a very congenial and
interesting task. It would be difficult, I imagine, to point to any work of
its scope and character which is better calculated to give lasting delight
to all classes of readers. For the skilled archaeologist, its pages contain
not only new facts, but new views and new interpretations; while to those
who know little, or perhaps nothing, of the subjects under discussion, it
will open a fresh and fascinating field of study. It is not enough to say
that a handbook of Egyptian Archaeology was much needed, and that Professor
Maspero has given us exactly what we required. He has done much more than
this. He has given us a picturesque, vivacious, and highly original volume,
as delightful as if it were not learned, and as instructive as if it were
dull.
As regards the practical side of Archaeology, it ought to be unnecessary to
point out that its usefulness is strictly parallel with the usefulness of
public museums. To collect and exhibit objects of ancient art and industry
is worse than idle if we do not also endeavour to disseminate some
knowledge of the history of those arts and industries, and of the processes
employed by the artists and craftsmen of the past. Archaeology, no less
than love, "adds a precious seeing to the eye"; and without that gain of
mental sight, the treasures of our public collections are regarded by the
general visitor as mere "curiosities"--flat and stale for the most part,
and wholly unprofitable.
I am much indebted to Mr. W.M. Flinders Petrie, author of _The Pyramids and
Temples of Gizeh_, for kindly translating the section on "Pyramids," which
is entirely from his pen. I have also to thank him for many valuable notes
on subjects dealt with in the first three chapters. To avoid confusion, I
have numbered these notes, and placed them at the end of the volume.
My acknowledgments are likewise due to Professor Maspero for the care with
which he has read the proof-sheets of this version of his work. In
departing from his system of orthography (and that of Mr. Petrie) I have
been solely guided by the necessities of English readers. I foresee that
_Egyptian Archaeology_ will henceforth be the inseparable companion of all
English-speaking travellers who visit the Valley of the Nile; hence I have
for the most part adopted the spelling of Egyptian proper names as given by
the author of "Murray's Handbook for Egypt."
Touching my own share in the present volume, I will only say that I have
tried to present Professor Maspero's inimitable French in the form of
readable English, rather than in a strictly word-for-word translation; and
that with the hope of still further extending the usefulness of the book, I
have added some foot-note references.
AMELIA B. EDWARDS.
WESTBURY-ON-TRYM,
_August_, 1887.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
ARCHITECTURE--CIVIL AND MILITARY.
§ 1. HOUSES:--Bricks and Brickmaking--Foundations--Materials--Towns--
Plans--Decoration
§ 2. FORTRESSES:--Walls--Plans--Migdols, etc.
§ 3. PUBLIC WORKS:--Roads--Bridges--Storehouses--Canals--Lake Moeris--
Dams--Reservoirs--Quarries
CHAPTER II.
RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE.
§ 1. MATERIALS; PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION:--Materials of Temples--
Foundations of Temples--Sizes of Blocks--Mortars--Mode of hoisting
Blocks--Defective Masonry--Walls--Pavements--Vaultings--Supports--
Pillars and Columns--Capitals--Campaniform Capitals--Lotus-bud
Capitals--Hathor-headed Capitals
§ 2. TEMPLES:--Temples of the Sphinx--Temples of Elephantine--Temple
at El Kab--Temple of Khonsû--Arrangement of Temples--Levels--Crypts--
Temple of Karnak--Temple of Luxor--Philae--The Speos, or Rock-cut
Temple--Speos of Horemheb--Rock-cut Temples of Abû Simbel--Temple of
Deir el Baharî--Temple of Abydos--Sphinxes--Crio-sphinxes
§ 3. DECORATION:--Principles of Decoration--The Temple a Symbolic
Representation of the World--Decoration of Parts nearest the Ground--
Dadoes--Bases of Columns--Decoration of Ceilings--Decoration of
Architraves--Decoration of Wall-surfaces--Magic Virtues of Decoration
--Decoration of Pylons--Statues--Obelisks--Libation-tables--Altars--
Shrines--Sacred Boats--Moving Statues of Deities
CHAPTER III.
TOMBS.
§ 1. MASTABAS:--Construction of the Mastaba--The Door of the Living,
and the Door of the Dead--The Chapel--Wall Decorations--The Double and
his Needs--The _Serdab_--Ka Statues--The Sepulchral Chamber
§ 2. PYRAMIDS:--Plan of the Pyramid comprises three leading features
of the Mastaba--Materials of Pyramids--Orientation--Pyramid of Khûfû--
Pyramids of Khafra and Menkara--Step Pyramid of Sakkarah--Pyramid of
Ûnas--Decoration of Pyramid of Ûnas--Group of Dashûr--Pyramid of Medum
§ 3. TOMBS OF THE THEBAN EMPIRE; THE ROCK-CUT TOMBS:--Pyramid-mastabas
of Abydos--Pyramid-mastabas of Drah Abû'l Neggah--Rock-cut Tombs of
Beni Hasan and Syene--Rock-cut Tombs of Siût--Wall-decoration of
Theban Catacombs--Tombs of the Kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty at
Thebes--Valley of the Tombs of the Kings--Royal Catacombs--Tomb of
Seti I.--Wall-decorations of Royal Catacombs--Funerary Furniture of
Catacombs--Ûshabtiû--Amulets--Common Graves of the Poor
CHAPTER IV.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE.
§ 1. DRAWING AND COMPOSITION:--Supposed Canon of Proportion--Drawing
Materials--Sketches--Illustrations to the _Book of the Dead_--
Conventional Treatment of Animal and Human Figures--Naturalistic
Treatment--Composition--Grouping--Wall-paintings of Tombs--A Funerary
Feast--A Domestic Scene--Military Subjects--Perspective--Parallel
between a Wall-painting in a Tomb at Sakkarah and the Mosaic of
Palestrina
§ 2. TECHNICAL PROCESSES:--The Preparation of Surfaces--Outline--
Sculptors' Tools--Iron and Bronze Tools--Impurity of Iron--Methods of
Instruction in Sculpture--Models--Methods of cutting Various Stones--
Polish--Painted Sculptures--Pigments--Conventional Scale of Colour--
Relation of Painting to Sculpture in Ancient Egypt
§ 3. SCULPTURE:--The Great Sphinx--Art of the Memphite School--Wood-
panels of Hesi--Funerary Statues--The Portrait-statue and the Double
--_Chefs d'oeuvre_ of the Memphite School--The Cross-legged
Scribe--Diorite Statue of Khafra--Rahotep and Nefert--The Sheikh el
Beled--The Kneeling Scribe--The Dwarf Nemhotep--Royal Statues of the
Twelfth Dynasty--Hyksos Sphinxes of Tanis--Theban School of the
Eighteenth Dynasty--Colossi of Amenhotep III.--New School of Tel el
Amarna--Its Superior Grace and Truth--Works of Horemheb--School of the
Nineteenth Dynasty--Colossi of Rameses II.--Decadence of Art begins
with Merenptah--Ethiopian Renaissance--Saïte Renaissance--The
Attitudes of Statues--Saïte Innovations--Greek Influence upon Egyptian
Art--The Ptolemaic and Roman Periods--The School of Meroë--Extinction
of Egyptian Art
CHAPTER V.
THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS.
§ 1. STONE, CLAY, AND GLASS:--Precious Stones--Lapidary Art--Beads and
Amulets--Scarabaei--Statuettes--Libation Tables--Perfume Vases--Kohl-
pots--Pottery--Clay--Glazes--Red and Painted Wares--Ûshabtiû--Funerary
Cones--Painted Vases--"Canopic" Vases--Clay Sarcophagi--Glass--Its
Chemical Constituents--Clear Glass--Coloured Glass--Imitations of
Precious Stones in Glass--Glass Mosaics--Miniature Objects in Coloured
Glass--Glass Amulets--Coloured Glass Vases--Enamels--The Theban Blue--
The Enamels of Tell el Amarna--Enamelled Ûshabtiû of Amen Ptahmes--
Enamelled Tiles of the Step Pyramid at Sakkarah--Enamelled Tiles of
Tell el Yahûdeh
§ 2. WOOD, IVORY, LEATHER; TEXTILE FABRICS:--Bone and Ivory--Elephant
Tusks--Dyed Ivory--Egyptian Woods--Wooden Statuettes--Statuette of
Hori--Statuette of Naï--Wooden Toilet Ornaments--Perfume and Unguent
Spoons--Furniture--Chests and Coffers--Mummy-cases--Wooden Effigies on
Mummy Cases--Huge Outer Cases of Ahmesnefertari and Aahhotep--Funerary
Furniture--Beds--Canopies--Sledges--Chairs--Stools--Thrones--
Textiles--Methods of Weaving--Leather--Breast-bands of Mummies--
Patchwork Canopy in Coloured Leather of Princess Isiemkheb--
Embroideries--Muslins--Celebrated Textiles of Alexandria
§ 3. METALS:--Iron--Lead--Bronze--Constituents of Egyptian Bronze--
Domestic Utensils in Bronze--Mirrors--Scissors--Bronze Statuettes--
The Stroganoff Bronze--The Posno Bronzes--The Lion of Apries--Gilding
--Gold-plating--Gold-leaf--Statues and Statuettes of Precious Metals
--The Silver and Golden Cups of General Tahûti--The Silver Vases of
Thmûis--Silver Plate--Goldsmith's Work--Richness of Patterns--
Jewellery--Funerary Jewellery--Rings--Seal-rings--Chains--The Jewels
of Queen Aahhotep--The Ring of Rameses II.--The Ear-rings of Rameses
IX.--The Bracelet of Prince Psar--Conclusion
NOTES
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIGURE
1. Brickmaking, tomb of Rekhmara, Eighteenth Dynasty
2. House with vaulted floors, Medinet Habû
3. Plan of the town of Kahûn, Twelfth Dynasty
4. Plan of house, Medinet Habû, Twentieth Dynasty
5. Plan of house, Medinet Habû, Twentieth Dynasty
6. Façade of house of Second Theban Period
7. Plan of house of Second Theban Period
8. Restoration of hall in Twelfth Dynasty house, Kahûn
9. Box representing a house
10. Wall-painting in Twelfth Dynasty house, Kahûn
11. View of mansion, tomb of Anna, Eighteenth Dynasty
12. Porch of mansion of Second Theban Period
13. Porch of mansion of Second Theban Period
14. Plan of Theban house and grounds, Eighteenth Dynasty
15. A perspective view of same
16. Part of palace of Aï, El Amarna tomb, Eighteenth Dynasty
17. Perspective view of part of palace of Aï
18. Frontage of house, Second Theban Period
19. Frontage of house, Second Theban Period
20. Central pavilion of house, Second Theban Period
21. Ceiling decoration from house at Medinet Habû, Twentieth Dynasty
22. Ceiling decoration, Twelfth Dynasty style
23. Ceiling decoration, tomb of Aimadûa, Twentieth Dynasty
24. Door of house, Sixth Dynasty tomb
25. Façade of Fourth Dynasty house, sarcophagus of Khûfû Poskhû
26. Plan of second fortress at Abydos, Eleventh or Twelfth Dynasty
27. Walls of same fortress, restored
28. Façade of fort, tomb at Beni Hasan, Twelfth Dynasty
29. Plan of main gate, second fortress of Abydos
30. Plan of S.E. gate of same
31. Plan of gate, fortress of Kom el Ahmar
32. Plan of walled city at El Kab
33. Plan of walled city at Kom Ombo
34. Plan of fortress of Kûmmeh
35. Plan of fortress of Semneh
36. Section of platform of same
37. Syrian fort, elevation
38. Town walls of Dapûr
39. City of Kaclesh, Ramesseum
40. Plan of pavilion of Medinet Habû, Twentieth Dynasty
41. Elevation of same
42. Canal and bridge of Zarû, Karnak, Nineteenth Dynasty
43. Cellar with amphorae
44. Granary
45. Plan of Store City of Pithom, Nineteenth Dynasty
46. Store-chambers of the Ramesseum
47. Dike at Wady Gerraweh
48. Section of same dike
49. Quarries of Silsilis
50. Draught of Hathor capital, quarry of Gebel Abûfeydeh
51. Transport of blocks, stela of Ahmes, Tûrrah, Eighteenth Dynasty
52. Masonry in temple of Seti I., Abydos
53. Temple wall with cornice
54. Niche and doorway in temple of Seti I., Abydos
55. Pavement in same temple
56. "Corbelled" vault in same temple
57. Hathor pillar in temple of Abû Simbel, Nineteenth Dynasty
58. Pillar of Amenhotep III., Karnak
59. Sixteen-sided pillars, Karnak
60. Fluted pillar, Kalabsheh
61. Polygonal Hathor-headed pillar, El Kab
62. Column with square die, Contra Esneh
63. Column with campaniform capital, Ramesseum
64. Inverted campaniform capital, Karnak
65. Palm capital, Bubastis
66. Compound capital
67. Ornate capitals, Ptolemaic
68. Lotus-bud column, Beni Hasan, Twelfth Dynasty
69. Lotus-bud column, processional hall of Thothmes HI., Karnak
70. Column in aisle of Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
71. Hathor-head capital, Ptolemaic
72. Campaniform and Hathor-headed capital, Philae
73. Section of Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
74. Plan of the temple of the Sphinx
75. South temple of Elephantine
76. Plan of temple of Amenhotep III., El Kab
77. Plan of temple of Hathor, Deir el Medineh
78. Plan of temple of Khonsû, Karnak
79. Pylon with masts, wall-scene, temple of Khonsû, Karnak
80. Ramesseum, restored
81. Plan of sanctuary at Denderah
82. Pronaos, temple of Edfû
83. Plan of same temple
84. Plan of temple of Karnak in reign of Amenhotep III
85. Plan of Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
86. Plan of great temple, Luxor
87. Plan of buildings on island of Philae
88. Plan of Speos, Kalaat Addah
89. Plan of Speos, Gebel Silsileh
90. Plan of Great Speos, Abû Simbel
91. Plan of Speos of Hathor, Abû Simbel
92. Plan of upper portion of temple of Deir el Baharî
93. Plan of temple of Seti I., Abydos
94. Crio-sphinx from temple of Wady Es Sabûah
95. Couchant ram, from Avenue of Sphinxes, Karnak
96-101. Decorative designs from Denderah
102. Decorative group of Nile gods
103. Dado decoration, hall of Thothmes III., Karnak
104. Ceiling decoration, tomb of Bakenrenf, Twenty-sixth Dynasty
105. Zodiacal circle of Denderah
106. Frieze of uraei and cartouches
107. Wall-scene from temple of Denderah
108. Obelisk of Heliopolis, Twelfth Dynasty
109. Obelisk of Begig, Twelfth Dynasty
110. "Table of offerings" from Karnak
111. Limestone altar from Menshîyeh
112. Wooden naos, in Turin Museum
113. A mastaba
114. False door in mastaba
115. Plan of forecourt, mastaba of Kaäpir
116. Plan of forecourt, mastaba of Neferhotep
117. Door in mastaba façade
118. Portico and door of mastaba
119. Plan of chapel, mastaba of Khabiûsokari
120. Plan of chapel, mastaba of Ti
121. Plan of chapel, mastaba of Shepsesptah
122. Plan of chapel, mastaba of Affi
123. Plan of chapel, mastaba of Thenti
124. Plan of chapel, mastaba of Red Scribe
125. Plan of chapel, mastaba of Ptahhotep
126. Stela in mastaba of Merrûka
127. Wall-scene from mastaba of Ptahhotep
128. Wall-scene from mastaba of Ûrkhûû
129. Wall-scene from mastaba of Ptahhotep
130. Plan of serdab in mastaba at Gizeh
131. Plan of serdab and chapel in mastaba of Rahotep
132. Plan of serdab and chapel in mastaba of Thenti
133. Section of mastaba showing shaft and vault, at Gizeh
134. Section of mastaba, at Sakkarah
135. Wall-scene from mastaba of Nenka
136. Section of Great Pyramid
137. The Step Pyramid of Sakkarah
138. Plan and section of pyramid of Ûnas
139. Portcullis and passage, pyramid of Ûnas
140. Section of pyramid of Ûnas
141. Mastabat el Faraûn
142. Pyramid of Medûm
143. Section of passage and vault in pyramid of Medûm
144. Section of "vaulted" brick pyramid, Abydos, Eleventh Dynasty
145. Section of "vaulted" tomb, Abydos
146. Plan of tomb, Abydos
147. Theban tomb with pyramidion, wall-scene, tomb at Sheikh Abd el Gûrneh
148. Similar tomb
149. Section of Apis tomb, Eighteenth Dynasty
150. Tombs in cliff opposite Asûan
151. Façade of rock-cut tomb of Khnûmhotep, Beni Hasan, Twelfth Dynasty
152. Façade of rock-cut tomb, Asûan
153. Plan of tomb of Khnûmhotep, Beni Hasan, Twelfth Dynasty
154. Plan of unfinished tomb, Beni Hasan, Twelfth Dynasty
155. Wall-scene, tomb of Manna, Nineteenth Dynasty
156. Plan of tomb of Rameses IV.
157. Plan of tomb of Rameses IV., from Turin papyrus
158. Plan of tomb of Seti I.
159. Fields of Aalû, wall-scene, tomb of Rameses III.
160. Pestle and mortar for grinding colours
161. Comic sketch on ostrakon
162. Vignette from _Book of the Dead_, Saïte period
163. Vignette from _Book of the Dead_, papyrus of Hûnefer
164-5. Wall-scenes, tomb of Khnûmhotep, Beni Hasan
166. Wall-scene, tomb, Eighteenth Dynasty
167. Wall-scene, tomb of Horemheb
168. Wall-scene, Theban tomb, Ramesside period
169. Wall-scene, tomb of Horemheb
170. Wall-scene, Ramesseum
171. Wall-scene, Medinet Habû
172. Wall-scene, Ramesseum
173. Wall-scene, Ramesseum
174. Wall-scene, tomb of Rekhmara
175. Wall-scene, tomb of Rekhmara
176. Wall-scene, mastaba of Ptahhotep
177. Palestrina mosaic
178. Sculptor's sketch, Ancient Empire tomb
179. Sculptor's sketch, Ancient Empire tomb
180. Sculptor's correction, Medinet Habû, Twentieth Dynasty
181. Bow drill
182. Sculptor's trial-piece, Eighteenth Dynasty
183. The Great Sphinx of Gizeh
184. Wooden panel, mastaba of Hesî
185. Cross-legged scribe, in the Louvre, Ancient Empire
186. Cross-legged scribe, at Gizeh, Ancient Empire
187. King Khafra
188. The "Sheikh el Beled" (Raemka), Ancient Empire
189. Rahotep, Ancient Empire
190. Nefert, wife of Rahotep, Ancient Empire
191. Head of the "Sheikh el Beled," Ancient Empire
192. Wife of the "Sheikh el Beled," Ancient Empire
193. The kneeling scribe, at Gizeh. Ancient Empire
194. A bread-maker, Ancient Empire
195. The dwarf Nemhotep, Ancient Empire
196. One of the Tanis sphinxes, Hyksos period
197. Bas-relief head of Seti I.
198. Amen and Horemheb
199. Head of a queen, Eighteenth Dynasty
200. Head of Horemheb
201. Colossal statue of Rameses 11.
202. Queen Ameniritis.
203. Thûeris, Saïte period
204. Hathor cow, Saïte period
205. Pedishashi, Saïte period
206. Head of a scribe, Saïte period
207. Colossus of Alexander II.
208. Hor, Graeco-Egyptian
209. Group from Naga, Ethiopian School
210. _Ta_ amulet
211. Frog amulet
212. _Ûat_ amulet
213. _Ûta_ amulet
214. A scarab
215-7. Perfume vases, alabaster
218. Perfume vase, alabaster
219. Vase for antimony powder
220. Turin vases, pottery
221-3. Decorated vases, pottery
224. Glass-blowers, wall-scene, Twelfth Dynasty
225-6. Parti-cloured glass vases
227. Parti-coloured glass vase
228. Glass goblets of Nesikhonsû
229. Hippopotamus in blue glaze
230-1. Theban glazed ware
232. Cup, glazed ware
233. Interior decoration of bowl, Eighteenth Dynasty
234. Lenticular vase, glazed ware, Saïte period
235. Tiled chamber in Step Pyramid of Sakkarah
236. Tile from same
237. Tile, Tell el Yahûdeh, Twentieth Dynasty
238. Tile, Tell el Yahûdeh, Twentieth Dynasty
239. Inlaid tiles, Tell el Yahûdeh, Twentieth Dynasty
240-1. Relief tiles, Tell el Yahûdeh, Twentieth Dynasty
242. Spoon
243. Wooden statuette of officer, Eighteenth Dynasty
244. Wooden statuette of priest, Eighteenth Dynasty
245. Wooden statuette of Naï
246-54. Wooden perfume and unguent spoons
255. Fire-sticks, bow, and unfinished drill-stock, Twelfth Dynasty
256. Dolls, Twelfth Dynasty
257. Tops, tip-cat, and toy boat, Twelfth Dynasty
258-60. Chests
261. Construction of a mummy-case, wall-scene, Eighteenth Dynasty
262. Mask of Twenty-first Dynasty coffin of Rameses II
263. Mummy-case of Queen Ahmesnefertari
264. Panel portrait from the Fayûm, Graeco-Roman
265. Carved and painted mummy-canopy
266. Canopied mummy-couch, Graeco-Roman
267. Mummy-sledge and canopy
268. Inlaid chair, Eleventh Dynasty
269. Inlaid stool, Eleventh Dynasty
270. Throne-chair, wall-scene, Twentieth Dynasty
271. Women weaving, wall-scene, Twelfth Dynasty
272. Man weaving carpet or hangings, wall-scene, Twelfth Dynasty
273. Cut leather work, Twenty-first Dynasty
274-5. Barks with cut leather-work sails, Twentieth Dynasty
276-7. Bronze jug
278. Unguent vase, or spoon (lamp for suspension?)
279. Bronze statuette of Takûshet
280. Bronze statuette of Horus
281. Bronze statuette of Mosû
282. Bronze lion from Horbeit, Saïte period
283. Gold-worker, wall-scene
284. Golden cup of General Tahûti, Eighteenth Dynasty
285. Silver vase of Thmûis
286. Silver vase of Thmûis
287. Piece of plate, wall-scene, Twentieth Dynasty
288-95. Plate, wall-scenes, Eighteenth Dynasty
296. Signet-ring, with bezel
297. Gold _cloisonné_ pectoral, Dahshur, Twelfth Dynasty
298. Mirror of Queen Aahhotep, Eighteenth Dynasty
299-300. Bracelets of same
301. Diadem of same
302. Gold _Ûsekh_ of same
303. Gold pectoral of same
304-5. Poignards found with mummy of Queen Aahhotep
306. Battle-axe found with same
307. Model funerary bark found with same
308. Ring of Rameses II
309. Bracelet of Prince Psar
EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY.
CHAPTER I.
_ARCHITECTURE--CIVIL AND MILITARY_.
Archaeologists, when visiting Egypt, have so concentrated their attention
upon temples and tombs, that not one has devoted himself to a careful
examination of the existing remains of private dwellings and military
buildings. Few countries, nevertheless, have preserved so many relics of
their ancient civil architecture. Setting aside towns of Roman or Byzantine
date, such as are found almost intact at Koft (Coptos), at Kom Ombo, and at
El Agandiyeh, one-half at least of ancient Thebes still exists on the east
and south of Karnak. The site of Memphis is covered with mounds, some of
which are from fifty to sixty feet in height, each containing a core of
houses in good preservation. At Kahûn, the ruins and remains of a whole
provincial Twelfth Dynasty town have been laid bare; at Tell el Mask-hûtah,
the granaries of Pithom are yet standing; at Sãn (Tanis) and Tell Basta
(Bubastis), the Ptolemaic and Saïtic cities contain quarters of which plans
might be made (Note 1), and in many localities which escape the traveller's
notice, there may be seen ruins of private dwellings which date back to the
age of the Ramessides, or to a still earlier period. As regards
fortresses, there are two in the town of Abydos alone, one of which is at
least contemporary with the Sixth Dynasty; while the ramparts of El Kab, of
Kom el Ahmar, of El Hibeh, and of Dakkeh, as well as part of the
fortifications of Thebes, are still standing, and await the architect who
shall deign to make them an object of serious study.
* * * * *
1.--PRIVATE DWELLINGS.
The soil of Egypt, periodically washed by the inundation, is a black,
compact, homogeneous clay, which becomes of stony hardness when dry. From
immemorial time, the fellahin have used it for the construction of their
houses. The hut of the poorest peasant is a mere rudely-shaped mass of this
clay. A rectangular space, some eight or ten feet in width, by perhaps
sixteen or eighteen feet in length, is enclosed in a wickerwork of palm-
branches, coated on both sides with a layer of mud. As this coating cracks
in the drying the fissures are filled in, and more coats of mud are daubed
on until the walls attain a thickness of from four inches to a foot.
Finally, the whole is roofed over with palm-branches and straw, the top
being covered in with a thin layer of beaten earth. The height varies. In
most huts, the ceiling is so low that to rise suddenly is dangerous both to
one's head and to the structure, while in others the roof is six or seven
feet from the floor. Windows, of course, there are none. Sometimes a hole
is left in the middle of the roof to let the smoke out; but this is a
refinement undreamed of by many.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Brickmaking, from Eighteenth Dynasty tomb-painting,
Tomb of Rekhmara.]
At the first glance, it is not always easy to distinguish between these
huts of wattle and daub and those built with crude bricks. The ordinary
Egyptian brick is a mere oblong block of mud mixed with chopped straw and a
little sand, and dried in the sun. At a spot where they are about to build,
one man is told off to break up the ground; others carry the clods, and
pile them in a heap, while others again mix them with water, knead the clay
with their feet, and reduce it to a homogeneous paste. This paste, when
sufficiently worked (Note 2), is pressed by the head workman in moulds made
of hard wood, while an assistant carries away the bricks as fast as they
are shaped, and lays them out in rows at a little distance apart, to dry in
the sun (fig. I). A careful brickmaker will leave them thus for half a day,
or even for a whole day, after which the bricks are piled in stacks in such
wise that the air can circulate freely among them; and so they remain for a
week or two before they are used. More frequently, however, they are
exposed for only a few hours to the heat of the sun, and the building is
begun while they are yet damp. The mud, however, is so tenacious that,
notwithstanding this carelessness, they are not readily put out of shape.
The outer faces of the bricks become disintegrated by the action of the
weather, but those in the inner part of the wall remain intact, and are
still separable. A good modern workman will easily mould a thousand bricks
a day, and after a week's practice he may turn out 1,200, 1,500, or even
1,800. The ancient workmen, whose appliances in no wise differed from those
of the present day, produced equally satisfactory results. The dimensions
they generally adopted were 8.7 x 4.3 x 5.5 inches for ordinary bricks, or
15.0 x 7.1 x 5.5 for a larger size (Note 3), though both larger and smaller
are often met with in the ruins. Bricks issued from the royal workshops
were sometimes stamped with the cartouches of the reigning monarch; while
those made in private factories bore on the side a trade mark in red ochre,
a squeeze of the moulder's fingers, or the stamp of the maker. By far the
greater number have, however, no distinctive mark. Burnt bricks were not
often used before the Roman period (Note 4), nor tiles, either flat or
curved. Glazed bricks appear to have been the fashion in the Delta. The
finest specimen that I have seen, namely, one in the Gizeh Museum, is
inscribed in black ink with the cartouches of Rameses III. The glaze of
this brick is green, but other fragments are coloured blue, red, yellow, or
white.
The nature of the soil does not allow of deep foundations. It consists of a
thin bed of made earth, which, except in large towns, never reaches any
degree of thickness; below this comes a very dense humus, permeated by
slender veins of sand; and below this again--at the level of infiltration--
comes a bed of mud, more or less soft, according to the season. The native
builders of the present day are content to remove only the made earth, and
lay their foundations on the primeval soil; or, if that lies too deep, they
stop at a yard or so below the surface. The old Egyptians did likewise; and
I have never seen any ancient house of which the foundations were more than
four feet deep. Even this is exceptional, the depth in most cases being not
more than two feet. They very often did not trouble themselves to cut
trenches at all; they merely levelled the space intended to be covered,
and, having probably watered it to settle the soil, they at once laid the
bricks upon the surface. When the house was finished, the scraps of mortar,
the broken bricks, and all the accumulated refuse of the work, made a bed
of eight inches or a foot in depth, and the base of the wall thus buried
served instead of a foundation. When the new house rose on the ruins of an
older one decayed by time or ruined by accident, the builders did not even
take the trouble to raze the old walls to the ground. Levelling the surface
of the ruins, they-built upon them at a level a few feet higher than
before: thus each town stands upon one or several artificial mounds, the
tops of which may occasionally rise to a height of from sixty to eighty
feet above the surrounding country. The Greek historians attributed these
artificial mounds to the wisdom of the kings, and especially to Sesostris,
who, as they supposed, wished to raise the towns above the inundation. Some
modern writers have even described the process, which they explain thus:--A
cellular framework of brick walls, like a huge chess-board, formed the
substructure, the cells being next filled in with earth, and the houses
built upon this immense platform (Note 5).
[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Ancient house with vaulted floors, against the
northern wall of the great temple of Medinet Habù]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Plan of three-quarters of the town of Hat-Hotep-
Ûsertesen (Kahûn), built for the accommodation of the officials and workmen
employed in connection with the pyramid of Ûsertesen II. at Illahûn. The
workmen's quarters are principally on the west, and separated from the
eastern part of the town by a thick wall. At the south-west corner, outside
the town, stood the pyramid temple, and in front of it the porter's lodge.
Reproduced from Plate XIV. of _Illahûn, Kahun, and Gurob_, W.M.F. Petrie.]
But where I have excavated, especially at Thebes, I have never found
anything answering to this conception. The intersecting walls which one
finds beneath the later houses are nothing but the ruins of older
dwellings, which in turn rest on others still older. The slightness of the
foundations did not prevent the builders from boldly running up quite lofty
structures. In the ruins of Memphis, I have observed walls still standing
from thirty to forty feet in height. The builders took no precaution beyond
enlarging the base of the wall, and vaulting the floors (fig. 2).[1] The
thickness of an ordinary wall was about sixteen inches for a low house; but
for one of several storeys, it was increased to three or four feet. Large
beams, embedded here and there in the brickwork or masonry, bound the whole
together, and strengthened the structure. The ground floor was also
frequently built with dressed stones, while the upper parts were of brick.
The limestone of the neighbouring hills was the stone commonly used for
such purposes. The fragments of sandstone, granite, and alabaster, which
are often found mixed in with it, are generally from some ruined temple;
the ancient Egyptians having pulled their neglected monuments to pieces
quite as unscrupulously as do their modern successors. The houses of an
ancient Egyptian town were clustered round its temple, and the temple stood
in a rectangular enclosure to which access was obtained through monumental
gateways in the surrounding brick wall. The gods dwelt in fortified
mansions, or at any rate in redoubts to which the people of the place might
fly for safety in the event of any sudden attack upon their town. Such
towns as were built all at once by prince or king were fairly regular in
plan, having wide paved streets at right angles to each other, and the
buildings in line. The older cities, whose growth had been determined by
the chances and changes of centuries, were characterised by no such
regularity. Their houses stood in a maze of blind alleys, and narrow, dark,
and straggling streets, with here and there the branch of a canal, almost
dried up during the greater part of the year, and a muddy pond where the
cattle drank and women came for water. Somewhere in each town was an open
space shaded by sycamores or acacias, and hither on market days came the
peas-ants of the district two or three times in the month. There were also
waste places where rubbish and refuse was thrown, to be quarrelled over by
vultures, hawks, and dogs.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Plan of house, Medinet Habû]
[Illustration: Fig. 5.--Plan of house, Medinet Habû.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.--Façade of a house toward the street, second Theban
period.]
[Illustration: Fig. 7.--Plan of central court of house, second Theban
period.]
[Illustration: Fig. 8.--Restoration of the hall in a Twelfth Dynasty house.
In the middle of the floor is a tank surrounded by a covered colonnade.
Reproduced from Plate XVI. of _Illahûn, Kahun, and Gurob_, W.M.F.
Petrie.]
[Illustration: Fig. 9.--Box representing a house (British Museum).]
The lower classes lived in mere huts which, though built of bricks, were no
better than those of the present fellahin. At Karnak, in the Pharaonic
town; at Kom Ombo, in the Roman town; and at Medinet Habû, in the Coptic
town, the houses in the poorer quarters have seldom more than twelve or
sixteen feet of frontage. They consist of a ground floor, with sometimes
one or two living-rooms above. The middle-class folk, as shopkeepers, sub-
officials, and foremen, were better housed. Their houses were brick-built
and rather small, yet contained some half-dozen rooms communicating by
means of doorways, which were usually arched over, and having vaulted
roofs in some cases, and in others flat ones. Some few of the houses were
two or three storeys high, and many were separated from the street by a
narrow court, beyond which the rooms were ranged on either side of a long
passage (fig. 4). More frequently, the court was surrounded on three sides
by chambers (fig. 5); and yet oftener the house fronted close upon the
street. In the latter case the façade consisted of a high wall, whitewashed
or painted, and surmounted by a cornice. Even in better houses the only
ornamentation of their outer walls consisted in angular grooving, the
grooves being surmounted by representations of two lotus flowers, each pair
with the upper parts of the stalks in contact (see figs. 24, 25). The door
was the only opening, save perhaps a few small windows pierced at irregular
intervals (fig. 6). Even in unpretentious houses, the door was often made
of stone. The doorposts projected slightly beyond the surface of the wall,
and the lintel supported a painted or sculptured cornice. Having crossed
the threshold, one passed successively through two dimly-lighted entrance
chambers, the second of which opened into the central court (fig. 7). The
best rooms in the houses of wealthier citizens were sometimes lighted
through a square opening in the centre of a ceiling supported on wooden
columns. In the Twelfth Dynasty town of Kahûn the shafts of these columns
rested upon round stone bases; they were octagonal, and about ten inches in
diameter (fig. 8). Notwithstanding the prevalence of enteric disease and
ophthalmia, the family crowded together into one or two rooms during the
winter, and slept out on the roof under the shelter of mosquito nets in
summer. On the roof also the women gossiped and cooked. The ground floor
included both store-rooms, barns, and stables. Private granaries were
generally in pairs (see fig. 11), brick-built in the same long conical
shape as the state granaries, and carefully plastered with mud inside and
out. Neither did the people of a house forget to find or to make hiding
places in the walls or floors of their home, where they could secrete their
household treasures--such as nuggets of gold and silver, precious stones,
and jewellery for men and women--from thieves and tax-collectors alike.
Wherever the upper floors still remain standing, they reproduce the ground-
floor plan with scarcely any differences. These upper rooms were reached by
an outside staircase, steep and narrow, and divided at short intervals by
small square landings. The rooms were oblong, and were lighted only from
the doorway; when it was decided to open windows on the street, they were
mere air-holes near the ceiling, pierced without regularity or symmetry,
fitted with a lattice of wooden cross bars, and secured by wooden shutters.
The floors were bricked or paved, or consisted still more frequently of
merely a layer of rammed earth. The rooms were not left undecorated; the
mud-plaster of the walls, generally in its native grey, although
whitewashed in some cases, was painted with red or yellow, and ornamented
with drawings of interior and exterior views of a house, and of household
vessels and eatables (fig. 10). The roof was flat, and made probably, as at
the present day, of closely laid rows of palm-branches covered with a
coating of mud thick enough to withstand the effects of rain. Sometimes it
was surmounted by only one or two of the usual Egyptian ventilators; but
generally there was a small washhouse on the roof (fig. 9), and a little
chamber for the slaves or guards to sleep in. The household fire was made
in a hollow of the earthen floor, usually to one side of the room, and the
smoke escaped through a hole in the ceiling; branches of trees, charcoal,
and dried cakes of ass or cow dung were used for fuel.
[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Wall-painting in a Twelfth Dynasty house. Below is
a view of the outside, and above a view of the inside of a dwelling.
Reproduced from Plate XVI. of _Illahûn, Kahun, and Gurob_, W.M.F. Petrie.]
[Illustration: Fig. 11.--View of mansion from the tomb of Anna, Eighteenth
Dynasty.]
The mansions of the rich and great covered a large space of ground. They
most frequently stood in the midst of a garden, or of an enclosed court
planted with trees; and, like the commoner houses, they turned a blank
front to the street, consisting of bare walls, battlemented like those of a
fortress (fig. 11). Thus, home-life was strictly secluded, and the pleasure
of seeing was sacrificed for the advantages of not being seen. The door was
approached by a flight of two or three steps, or by a porch supported on
columns (fig. 12) and adorned with statues (fig. 13), which gave it a
monumental appearance, and indicated the social importance of the family.
[Illustration: WALL-PAINTINGS, EL AMARNA.
Fig. 12.--Porch of mansion, second Theban period,
Fig. 13.--Porch of mansion, second Theban period.]
Sometimes this was preceded by a pylon-gateway, such as usually heralded
the approach to a temple. Inside the enclosure it was like a small town,
divided into quarters by irregular walls. The dwelling-house stood at the
farther end; the granaries, stabling, and open spaces being distributed in
different parts of the grounds, according to some system to which we as yet
possess no clue. These arrangements, however, were infinitely varied. If I
would convey some idea of the residence of an Egyptian noble,--a residence
half palace, half villa,--I cannot do better than reproduce two out of the
many pictorial plans which have come down to us among the tomb-paintings
of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The first (figs. 14, 15) represent a Theban
house. The enclosure is square, and surrounded by an embattled wall. The
main gate opens upon a road bordered with trees, which runs beside a canal,
or perhaps an arm of the Nile. Low stone walls divide the garden into
symmetrical compartments, like those which are seen to this day in the
great gardens of Ekhmîm or Girgeh.
[Illustration: Fig. 14.--Plan of a Theban house with garden, from
Eighteenth Dynasty tomb-painting.]
In the centre is a large trellis supported on four rows of slender pillars.
Four small ponds, two to the right and two to the left, are stocked with
ducks and geese. Two nurseries, two summer-houses, and various avenues of
sycamores, date-palms, and dôm-palms fill up the intermediate space; while
at the end, facing the entrance, stands a small three-storied house
surmounted by a painted cornice.
[Illustration: Fig. 15.--Perspective view of the Theban house, from
Eighteenth Dynasty tomb-painting.]
[Illustration: Fig. 16.--Part of the palace of Aï, from tomb-painting,
Eighteenth Dynasty, El Amarna.]
The second plan is copied from one of the rock-cut tombs of Tell el Amarna
(figs. 16, 17). Here we see a house situate at the end of the gardens of
the great lord Aï, son-in-law of the Pharaoh Khûenaten, and himself
afterwards king of Egypt. An oblong stone tank with sloping sides, and two
descending flights of steps, faces the entrance. The building is
rectangular, the width being somewhat greater than the depth. A large
doorway opens in the middle of the front, and gives access to a court
planted with trees and flanked by store-houses fully stocked with
provisions. Two small courts, placed symmetrically in the two farthest
corners, contain the staircases which lead up to the roof terrace. This
first building, however, is but the frame which surrounds the owner's
dwelling. The two frontages are each adorned with a pillared portico and a
pylon. Passing the outer door, we enter a sort of long central passage,
divided by two walls pierced with doorways, so as to form three successive
courts. The inside court is bordered by chambers; the two others open to
right and left upon two smaller courts, whence flights of steps lead up to
the terraced roof. This central building is called the _Akhonûti_, or
private dwelling of kings or nobles, to which only the family and intimate
friends had access. The number of storeys and the arrangement of the façade
varied according to the taste of the owner. The frontage was generally a
straight wall. Sometimes it was divided into three parts, with the middle
division projecting, in which case the two wings were ornamented with a
colonnade to each storey (fig. 18), or surmounted by an open gallery (fig.
19). The central pavilion sometimes presents the appearance of a tower,
which dominates the rest of the building (fig. 20). The façade is often
decorated with slender colonnettes of painted wood, which bear no weight,
and merely serve to lighten the somewhat severe aspect of the exterior. Of
the internal arrangements, we know but little. As in the middle-class
houses, the sleeping rooms were probably small and dark; but, on the other
hand, the reception rooms must have been nearly as large as those still in
use in the Arab houses of modern Egypt.
[Illustration: Fig. 17.--Perspective view of the Palace of AT, Eighteenth
Dynasty, El Amarna.]
[Illustration: Fig. 18.--Frontage of house, second Theban period.]
[Illustration: Fig. 19.--Frontage of house, second Theban period.]
[Illustration: Fig. 20.--Central pavilion of house, in form of tower,
second Theban period.]
The decoration of walls and ceilings in no wise resembled such scenes or
designs as we find in the tombs. The panels were whitewashed or colour-
washed, and bordered with a polychrome band. The ceilings were usually left
white; sometimes, however they were decorated with geometrical patterns,
which repeated the leading motives employed in the sepulchral wall-
paintings. Thus we find examples of meanders interspersed with rosettes
(fig. 21), parti-coloured squares (fig. 22), ox-heads seen frontwise,
scrolls, and flights of geese (fig. 23).
[Illustration: Fig. 21.--Ceiling pattern from behind, Medinet Habû,
Twentieth Dynasty.]
[Illustration: Fig. 22.--Ceiling pattern similar to one at El Bersheh,
Twelfth Dynasty.]
I have touched chiefly upon houses of the second Theban period,[2] this
being in fact the time of which we have most examples. The house-shaped
lamps which are found in such large numbers in the Fayûm date only from
Roman times; but the Egyptians of that period continued to build according
to the rules which were in force under the Pharaohs of the Twelfth,
Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties. As regards the domestic
architecture of the ancient kingdom, the evidences are few and obscure.
Nevertheless, the stelae, tombs, and coffins of that period often furnish
designs which show us the style of the doorways (fig. 24), and one Fourth
Dynasty sarcophagus, that of Khûfû Poskhû, is carved in the likeness of a
house (fig. 25).
[1] Many of the rooms at Kahun had vaulted ceilings.
[2] Seventeenth to Twentieth Dynasties.
2.--FORTRESSES.
Most of the towns, and even most of the larger villages, of ancient Egypt
were walled. This was an almost necessary consequence of the geographical
characteristics and the political constitution of the country. The mouths
of the defiles which led into the desert needed to be closed against the
Bedawîn; while the great feudal nobles fortified their houses, their towns,
and the villages upon their domains which commanded either the mountain
passes or the narrow parts of the river, against their king or their
neighbours.
[Illustration: Fig. 23.--Ceiling pattern from tomb of Aimadûa, Twentieth
Dynasty.]
[Illustration: Fig. 24.--Door of a house of the Ancient Empire, from the
wall of a tomb of the Sixth Dynasty.]
[Illustration: Fig. 25.--Façade of a Fourth Dynasty house, from the
sarcophagus of Khûfû Poskhû.]
The oldest fortresses are those of Abydos, El Kab, and Semneh. Abydos
contained a sanctuary dedicated to Osiris, and was situate at the entrance
to one of the roads leading to the Oasis. As the renown of the temple
attracted pilgrims, so the position of the city caused it to be frequented
by merchants; hence the prosperity which it derived from the influx of both
classes of strangers exposed the city to incursions of the Libyan tribes.
At Abydos there yet remain two almost perfect strongholds. The older forms,
as it were, the core of that tumulus called by the Arabs "Kom es Sultan,"
or "the Mound of the King." The interior of this building has been
excavated to a point some ten or twelve feet above the ground level, but
the walls outside have not yet been cleared from the surrounding sand and
rubbish. In its present condition, it forms a parallelogram of crude
brickwork measuring 410 feet from north to south, and 223 feet from east to
west. The main axis of the structure extends, therefore, from north to
south. The principal gateway opens in the western wall, not far from the
northwest corner: but there would appear to have been two smaller gates,
one in the south front, and one in the east. The walls, which now stand
from twenty-four to thirty-six feet high, have lost somewhat of their
original height. They are about six feet thick at the top. They were not
built all together in uniform layers, but in huge vertical panels, easily
distinguished by the arrangement of the brickwork. In one division the
bedding of the bricks is strictly horizontal; in the next it is slightly
concave, and forms a very flat reversed arch, of which the extrados rests
upon the ground. The alternation of these two methods is regularly
repeated. The object of this arrangement is obscure; but it is said that
buildings thus constructed are especially fitted to resist earthquake
shocks. However this may be, the fortress is extremely ancient, for in the
Fifth Dynasty, the nobles of Abydos took possession of the interior, and,
ultimately, so piled it up with their graves as to deprive it of all
strategic value. A second stronghold, erected a few hundred yards further
to the south-east, replaced that of Kom es Sultan about the time of the
Twelfth Dynasty, and narrowly escaped the fate of the first, under the rule
of the Ramessides. Nothing, in fact, but the sudden decline of the city,
saved the second from being similarly choked and buried.
[Illustration: Fig. 26.--Plan of second fortress at Abydos, Eleventh or
Twelfth Dynasty.]
[Illustration: Fig. 27.--Walls of second fort at Abydos, restored.]
[Illustration: Fig. 28.--Façade of fort, from wall-scene, Beni Hasan,
Twelfth Dynasty.]
[Illustration: Fig. 29.--Plan of main gate, second fortress of Abydos.]
[Illustration: Fig. 30.--Plan of south-east gate, second fortress of
Abydos.]
[Illustration: Fig. 31.--Plan of gate, fortress of Kom el Ahmar.]
The early Egyptians possessed no engines calculated to make an impression
on very massive walls. They knew of but three ways of forcing a stronghold;
namely, scaling the walls, sapping them, or bursting open the gates. The
plan adopted by their engineers in building the second fort is admirably
well calculated to resist each of these modes of attack (fig. 26). The
outer walls are long and straight, without towers or projections of any
kind; they measure 430 feet in length from north to south, by 255 feet in
width. The foundations rest on the sand, and do not go down more than a
foot. The wall (fig. 27) is of crude brick, in horizontal courses. It has a
slight batter; is solid, without slits or loopholes; and is decorated
outside with long vertical grooves or panels, like those depicted on the
stelae of the ancient empire. In its present state, it rises to a height of
some thirty-six feet above the plain; when perfect, it would scarcely have
exceeded forty feet, which height would amply suffice to protect the
garrison from all danger of scaling by portable ladders. The thickness of
the wall is about twenty feet at the base, and sixteen feet above. The top
is destroyed, but the bas-reliefs and mural paintings (fig. 28) show that
it must have been crowned with a continuous cornice, boldly projecting,
furnished with a slight low parapet, and surmounted by battlements, which
were generally rounded, but sometimes, though rarely, squared. The walk
round the top of the ramparts, though diminished by the parapet, was still
twelve or fifteen feet wide. It ran uninterruptedly along the four sides,
and was reached by narrow staircases formed in the thickness of the walls,
but now destroyed. There was no ditch, but in order to protect the base of
the main wall from sappers, they erected, about ten feet in advance of it,
a battlemented covering wall, some sixteen feet in height. These
precautions sufficed against sap and scaling; but the gates remained as
open gaps in the circuit. It was upon these weak points that besiegers and
besieged alike concentrated their efforts. The fortress of Abydos had two
gates, the main one being situate at the east end of the north front (fig.
29). A narrow cutting (A), closed by a massive wooden door, marked the
place in the covering wall. Behind it was a small _place d'armes_ (B), cut
partly in the thickness of the wall, and leading to a second gate (C) as
narrow as the first. When, notwithstanding the showers of missiles poured
upon them from the top of the walls, not only in front, but also from both
sides, the attacking party had succeeded in carrying this second door, they
were not yet in the heart of the place. They would still have to traverse
an oblong court (D), closely hemmed in between the outer walls and the
cross walls, which last stood at right angles to the first. Finally, they
must force a last postern (E), which was purposely placed in the most
awkward corner. The leading principle in the construction of fortress-gates
was always the same, but the details varied according to the taste of the
engineer. At the south-east gate of the fort of Abydos (fig. 30) the _place
d'armes_ between the two walls is abolished, and the court is constructed
entirely in the thickness of the main wall; while at Kom el Ahmar, opposite
El Kab (fig. 31), the block of brickwork in the midst of which the gate is
cut projects boldly in front. The posterns opening at various points
facilitated the movements of the garrison, and enabled them to multiply
their sorties.
[Illustration: Fig. 32.--Plan of the walled city at El Kab.]
The same system of fortification which was in use for isolated fortresses
was also employed for the protection of towns. At Heliopollis, at Sãn, at
Sais, at Thebes, everywhere in short, we find long straight walls forming
plain squares or parallelograms, without towers or bastions, ditches or
outworks. The thickness of the walls, which varied from thirty to eighty
feet, made such precautions needless. The gates, or at all events the
principal ones, had jambs and lintels of stone, decorated with scenes and
inscriptions; as, for instance, that of Ombos, which Champollion beheld yet
_in situ_, and which dated from the reign of Thothmes III. The oldest and
best preserved walled city in Egypt, namely, El Kab, belongs probably to
the ancient empire (fig. 32). The Nile washed part of it away some years
ago; but at the beginning of the present century it formed an irregular
quadrilateral enclosure, measuring some 2,100 feet in length, by about a
quarter less in breadth. The south front is constructed on the same
principles as the wall at Kom es Sultan, the bricks being bedded in
alternate horizontal and concave sections. Along the north and west fronts
they are laid in undulating layers from end to end. The thickness is
thirty-eight feet, and the average height thirty feet; and spacious ramps
lead up to the walk upon the walls. The gates are placed irregularly, one
in each side to north, east, and west, but none in the south face; they
are, however, in too ruinous a state to admit of any plan being taken of
them. The enclosure contained a considerable population, whose dwellings
were unequally distributed, the greater part being concentrated towards the
north and west, where excavations have disclosed the remains of a large
number of houses. The temples were grouped together in a square enclosure,
concentric with the outer wall; and this second enclosure served for a
keep, where the garrison could hold out long after the rest of the town had
fallen into the hands of the enemy.
[Illustration: Fig. 33.--Plan of walled city at Kom Ombo.]
[Illustration: Fig. 34.--Plan of fortress of Kùmmeh.]
[Illustration: Fig. 35.--Plan of fortress of Semneh.]
[Illustration: Fig. 36.--Section of the platform at A B, of the preceding
plan.]
The rectangular plan, though excellent in a plain, was not always
available in a hilly country. When the spot to be fortified was situate
upon a height, the Egyptian engineers knew perfectly well how to adapt
their lines of defence to the nature of the site. At Kom Ombo (fig. 33) the
walls exactly followed the outline of the isolated mound on which the town
was perched, and presented towards the east a front bristling with
irregular projections, the style of which roughly resembles our modern
bastions. At Kûmmeh and Semneh, in Nubia, where the Nile rushes over the
rocks of the second cataract, the engineering arrangements are very
ingenious, and display much real skill. Ûsertesen III. had fixed on this
pass as the frontier of Egypt, and the fortresses which he there
constructed were intended to bar the water-way against the vessels of the
neighbouring negro tribes. At Kûmmeh, on the right bank, the position was
naturally strong (fig. 34). Upon a rocky height surrounded by precipices
was planned an irregular square measuring about 200 feet each way. Two
elongated bastions, one on the north-east and the other on the south-east,
guarded respectively the path leading to the gate, and the course of the
river. The covering wall stood thirteen feet high, and closely followed the
line of the main wall, except at the north and south corners, where it
formed two bastion-like projections. At Semneh, on the opposite bank, the
site was less favourable. The east side was protected by a belt of cliffs
going sheer down to the water's edge; but the three other sides were well-
nigh open (fig. 35). A straight wall, about fifty feet in height, carried
along the cliffs on the side next the river; but the walls looking towards
the plain rose to eighty feet, and bristled with bastion-like projections
(A.B.) jutting out for a distance of fifty feet from the curtain wall,
measuring thirty feet thick at the base and thirteen feet at the top, and
irregularly spaced, according to the requirements of the defence. These
spurs, which are not battlemented, served in place of towers. They added to
the strength of the walls, protected the walk round the top, and enabled
the besieged to direct a flank attack against the enemy if any attempt were
made upon the wall of circuit. The intervals between these spurs are
accurately calculated as to distance, in order that the archers should be
able to sweep the intervening ground with their arrows. Curtains and
salients are alike built of crude brick, with beams bedded horizontally in
the mass. The outer face is in two parts, the lower division being nearly
vertical, and the upper one inclined at an angle of about seventy degrees,
which made scaling very difficult, if not impossible. The whole of the
ground enclosed by the wall of circuit was filled in to nearly the level of
the ramparts (fig. 36). Externally, the covering wall of stone was
separated from the body of the fortress by a dry ditch, some 100 to 130
feet in width. This wall closely followed the main outline, and rose to a
height which varied according to the situation from six to ten feet above
the level of the plain. On the northward side it was cut by the winding
road, which led down into the plain. These arrangements, skilful as they
were, did not prevent the fall of the place. A large breach in the
southward face, between the two salients nearest to the river, marks the
point of attack selected by the enemy.
[Illustration: Fig. 37.--Syrian fort.]
[Illustration: Fig. 38.--The town-walls of Dapür.]
[Illustration: Fig. 39.--City of Kadesh, Ramesseum.]
[Illustration: Fig. 40.--Plan of the pavilion of Medinet Habu.]
[Illustration: Fig. 41.--Elevation of pavilion, Medinet Habû.]
New methods of fortification were revealed to the Egyptians in the course
of the great Asiatic wars undertaken by the Pharaohs of the Eighteenth
Dynasty. The nomadic tribes of Syria erected small forts in which they took
refuge when threatened with invasion (fig. 37). The Canaanite and Hittite
cities, as Ascalon, Dapur, and Merom, were surrounded by strong walls,
generally built of stone and flanked with towers (fig. 38). Those which
stood in the open country, as, for instance, Qodshû (Kadesh), were enclosed
by a double moat (fig. 39). Having proved the efficacy of these new types
of defensive architecture in the course of their campaigns, the Pharaohs
reproduced them in the valley of the Nile. From the beginning of the
Nineteenth Dynasty, the eastern frontier of the Delta (always the weakest)
was protected by a line of forts constructed after the Canaanite model. The
Egyptians, moreover, not content with appropriating the thing, appropriated
also the name, and called these frontier towers by the Semitic name of
_Magdilû_ or Migdols. For these purposes, or at all events for cities which
were exposed to the incursions of the Asiatic tribes, brick was not deemed
to be sufficiently strong; hence the walls of Heliopolis, and even those of
Memphis, were faced with stone. Of these new fortresses no ruins remain;
and but for a royal caprice which happens to have left us a model Migdol in
that most unlikely place, the necropolis of Thebes, we should now be
constrained to attempt a restoration of their probable appearance from the
representations in certain mural tableaux. When, however, Rameses III.
erected his memorial temple[3] (figs. 40 and 41), he desired, in
remembrance of his Syrian victories, to give it an outwardly military
aspect. Along the eastward front of the enclosure there accordingly runs a
battlemented covering wall of stone, averaging some thirteen feet in
height. The gate, protected by a large quadrangular bastion, opened in the
middle of this wall. It was three feet four inches in width, and was
flanked by two small oblong guard-houses, the flat roofs of which stood
about three feet higher than the ramparts. Passing this gate, we stand face
to face with a real Migdol. Two blocks of building enclose a succession of
court-yards, which narrow as they recede, and are connected at the lower
end by a kind of gate-house, consisting of one massive gateway surmounted
by two storeys of chambers. The eastward faces of the towers rise above an
inclined basement, which slopes to a height of from fifteen to sixteen feet
from the ground. This answered two purposes. It increased the strength of
the wall at the part exposed to sappers; it also caused the rebound of
projectiles thrown from above, and so helped to keep assailants at a
distance. The whole height is about seventy-two feet, and the width of each
tower is thirty-two feet. The buildings situate at the back, to right and
left of the gate, were destroyed in ancient times. The details of the
decoration are partly religious, partly triumphal, as befits the character
of the structure. It is unlikely, however, that actual fortresses were
adorned with brackets and bas-relief sculptures, such as we here see on
either side of the fore-court. Such as it is, the so-called "pavilion" of
Medinet Habu offers an unique example of the high degree of perfection to
which the victorious Pharaohs of this period had carried their military
architecture.
Material evidence fails us almost entirely, after the reign of Rameses III.
Towards the close of the eleventh century B.C., the high-priests of Amen
repaired the walls of Thebes, of Gebeleyn, and of El Hibeh opposite Feshn.
The territorial subdivision of the country, which took place under the
successors of Sheshonk, compelled the provincial princes to multiply their
strongholds. The campaign of Piankhi on the banks of the Nile is a series
of successful sieges. Nothing, however, leads us to suppose that the art of
fortification had at that time made any distinct progress; and when the
Greek rulers succeeded the native Pharaohs, they most probably found it at
much the same stage as it was left by the engineers of the Nineteenth and
Twentieth Dynasties.
[3] At Medinet Habû.
3.--PUBLIC WORKS.
A permanent network of roads would be useless in a country like Egypt. The
Nile here is the natural highway for purposes of commerce, and the pathways
which intersect the fields suffice for foot-passengers, for cattle, and for
the transport of goods from village to village. Ferry-boats for crossing
the river, fords wherever the canals were shallow enough, and embanked dams
thrown up here and there where the water was too deep for fordings,
completed the system of internal communication. Bridges were rare. Up to
the present time, we know of but one in the whole territory of ancient
Egypt; and whether that one was long or short, built of stone or of wood,
supported on arches or boldly flung across the stream from bank to bank, we
cannot even conjecture. This bridge, close under the very walls of Zarû,[4]
crossed the canal which separated the eastern frontier of Egypt from the
desert regions of Arabia Petraea. A fortified enclosure protected this
canal on the Asiatic side, as shown in the accompanying illustration (fig.
42). The maintenance of public highways, which figures as so costly an item
in the expenses of modern nations, played, therefore, but a very small part
in the annual disbursements of the Pharaohs, who had only to provide for
the due execution of three great branches of government works,--namely,
storage, irrigation, mining and quarrying.
[Illustration: Fig. 42.--Canal and bridge, Zarû, Karnak.]
[Illustration: Fig. 43.--Cellar, with amphorae.]
[Illustration: Fig. 44.--Granary.]
The taxation of ancient Egypt was levied in kind, and government servants
were paid after the same system. To workmen, there were monthly
distributions of corn, oil, and wine, wherewith to support their families;
while from end to end of the social scale, each functionary, in exchange
for his labour, received cattle, stuffs, manufactured goods, and certain
quantities of copper or precious metals. Thus it became necessary that the
treasury officials should have the command of vast storehouses for the safe
keeping of the various goods collected under the head of taxation. These
were classified and stored in separate quarters, each storehouse being
surrounded by walls and guarded by vigilant keepers. There was enormous
stabling for cattle; there were cellars where the amphorae were piled in
regular layers (fig. 43), or hung in rows upon the walls, each with the
date written on the side of the jar; there were oven-shaped granaries where
the corn was poured in through a trap at the top (fig. 44), and taken out
through a trap at the bottom. At Thûkû, identified with Pithom by M.
Naville,[5] the store-chambers (A) are rectangular and of different
dimensions (fig. 45), originally divided by floors, and having no
communication with each other. Here the corn had to be not only put in but
taken out through the aperture at the top. At the Ramesseum, Thebes,
thousands of ostraka and jar-stoppers found upon the spot prove that the
brick-built remains at the back of the temple were the cellars of the local
deity. The ruins consist of a series of vaulted chambers, originally
surmounted by a platform or terrace (fig. 46). At Philae, Ombos,
Daphnae,[6] and most of the frontier towns of the Delta, there were
magazines of this description, and many more will doubtless be discovered
when made the object of serious exploration.
[Illustration: Fig. 45.--Plan of Pithom.]
[Illustration: Fig. 46.--Store-chambers of the Ramesseum.]
[Illustration: Fig. 47.--Dike at Wady Gerraweh.]
The irrigation system of Egypt is but little changed since the olden time.
Some new canals have been cut, and yet more have been silted up through the
negligence of those in power; but the general scheme, and the methods
employed, continue much the same, and demand but little engineering skill.
Wherever I have investigated the remains of ancient canals, I have been
unable to detect any traces of masonry at the weak points, or at the
mouths, of these cuttings. They are mere excavated ditches, from twenty to
sixty or seventy feet in width. The earth flung out during the work was
thrown to right and left, forming irregular embankments from seven to
fourteen feet in height. The course of the ancient canals was generally
straight: but that rule was not strictly observed, and enormous curves
were often described in order to avoid even slight irregularities of
surface. Dikes thrown up from the foot of the cliffs to the banks of the
Nile divided the plain at intervals into a series of artificial basins,
where the overflow formed back-waters at the time of inundation. These
dikes are generally earth-works, though they are sometimes constructed of
baked brick, as in the province of Girgeh. Very rarely are they built of
hewn stone, like that great dike of Kosheish which was constructed by Mena
in primaeval times, in order to divert the course of the Nile from the spot
on which he founded Memphis.[7] The network of canals began near Silsilis
and extended to the sea-board, without ever losing touch of the river, save
at one spot near Beni Sûef, where it throws out a branch in the direction
of the Fayûm. Here, through a narrow and sinuous gorge, deepened probably
by the hand of man, it passes the rocky barrier which divides that low-
lying province from the valley of the Nile, and thence expands into a
fanlike ramification of innumerable channels. Having thus irrigated the
district, the waters flow out again; those nearest the Nile returning by
the same way that they flowed in, while the rest form a series of lakes,
the largest of which is known as the Birket el Kûrûn. If we are to believe
Herodotus, the work was not so simply done. A king, named Moeris, desired
to create a reservoir in the Fayûm which should neutralise the evil effects
of insufficient or superabundant inundations. This reservoir was named,
after him, Lake Moeris. If the supply fell below the average, then the
stored waters were let loose, and Lower Egypt and the Western Delta were
flooded to the needful height. If next year the inundation came down in too
great force, Lake Moeris received and stored the surplus till such time as
the waters began to subside. Two pyramids, each surmounted by a sitting
colossus, one representing the king and the other his queen, were erected
in the midst of the lake. Such is the tale told by Herodotus, and it is a
tale which has considerably embarrassed our modern engineers and
topographers. How, in fact, was it possible to find in the Fayûm a site
which could have contained a basin measuring at least ninety miles in
circumference? Linant supposed "Lake Moeris" to have extended over the
whole of the low-lying land which skirts the Libyan cliffs between Illahûn
and Medinet el Fayûm; but recent explorations have proved that the dikes by
which this pretended reservoir was bounded are modern works, erected
probably within the last two hundred years. Major Brown has lately shown
that the nucleus of "Lake Moeris" was the Birket el Kûrûn.[8] This was
known to the Egyptians as _Miri, Mi-ûri,_ the Great Lake, whence the Greeks
derived their _Moiris_ a name extended also to the inundation of the Fayûm.
If Herodotus did actually visit this province, it was probably in summer,
at the time of the high Nile, when the whole district presents the
appearance of an inland sea. What he took for the shores of this lake were
the embankments which divided it into basins and acted as highways between
the various towns. His narrative, repeated by the classic authors, has
been accepted by the moderns; and Egypt, neither accepting nor rejecting
it, was gratified long after date with the reputation of a gigantic work
which would in truth have been the glory of her civil engineers, if it had
ever existed. I do not believe that "Lake Moeris" ever did exist. The only
works of the kind which the Egyptians undertook were much less pretentious.
These consist of stone-built dams erected at the mouths of many of those
lateral ravines, or wadys, which lead down from the mountain ranges into
the valley of the Nile. One of the most important among them was pointed
out, in 1885, by Dr. Schweinfurth, at a distance of about six miles and a
half from the Baths of Helwan, at the mouth of the Wady Gerraweh (fig. 47).
It answered two purposes, firstly, as a means of storing the water of the
inundation for the use of the workmen in the neighbouring quarries; and,
secondly, as a barrier to break the force of the torrents which rush down
from the desert after the heavy rains of springtime and winter. The ravine
measures about 240 feet in width, the sides being on an average from 40 to
50 feet in height. The dam, which is 143 feet in thickness, consists of
three layers of material; at the bottom, a bed of clay and rubble; next, a
piled mass of limestone blocks (A); lastly, a wall of cut stone built in
retreating stages, like an enormous flight of steps (B). Thirty-two of the
original thirty-five stages are yet _in situ_, and about one-fourth part of
the dam remains piled up against the sides of the ravine to right and left;
but the middle part has been swept away by the force of the torrent (fig.
48). A similar dike transformed the end of Wady Genneh into a little lake
which supplied the Sinaitic miners with water.
Most of the localities from which the Egyptians derived their metals and
choicest materials in hard stone, were difficult of access, and would have
been useless had roads not been made, and works of this kind carried out,
so as to make life somewhat less insupportable there.
[Illustration: Fig. 48.--Section of dike at Wady Gerraweh.]
In order to reach the diorite and grey granite quarries of the Hammamat
Valley, the Pharaohs caused a series of rock-cut cisterns to be constructed
along the line of route. Some few insignificant springs, skilfully
conducted into these reservoirs, made it possible to plant workmen's
villages in the neighbourhood of the quarries, and also near the emerald
mines on the borders of the Red Sea. Hundreds of hired labourers, slaves,
and condemned criminals here led a wretched existence under the rule of
some eight or ten overseers, and the brutal surveillance of a company of
Libyan or negro mercenary troops. The least political disturbance in Egypt,
an unsuccessful campaign, or any untoward incident of a troubled reign,
sufficed to break up the precarious stability of these remote
establishments. The Bedawîn at once attacked the colony; the workmen
deserted; the guards, weary of exile, hastened back to the valley of the
Nile, and all was at a standstill.
The choicest materials, as diorite, basalt, black granite, porphyry, and
red and yellow breccia, which are only found in the desert, were rarely
used for architectural purposes. In order to procure them, it was necessary
to organise regular expeditions of soldiers and workmen; therefore they
were reserved for sarcophagi and important works of art. Those quarries
which supplied building materials for temples and funerary monuments, such
as limestone, sandstone, alabaster, and red granite, were all found in the
Nile valley, and were, therefore, easy of access. When the vein which it
was intended to work traversed the lower strata of the rock, the miners
excavated chambers and passages, which were often prolonged to a
considerable distance. Square pillars, left standing at intervals,
supported the superincumbent mass, while tablets sculptured in the most
conspicuous places commemorated the kings and engineers who began or
continued the work. Several exhausted or abandoned quarries have been
transformed into votive chapels; as, for instance, the Speos Artemidos,
which was consecrated by Hatshepsut, Thothmes III. and Seti I. to the local
goddess Pakhet.[9]
[Illustration: Fig. 49.--Quarries of Silsilis.]
[Illustration: Fig. 50.--Draught of Hathor capital in quarry of Gebel
Abûfeydeh.]
The most important limestone quarries are at Tûrah and Massarah, nearly
opposite Memphis. This stone lends itself admirably to the most delicate
touches of the chisel, hardens when exposed to the air, and acquires a
creamy tone most restful to the eye. Hence it was much in request by
architects and sculptors. The most extensive sandstone formations are at
Silsilis (fig. 49). Here the cliffs were quarried from above, and under the
open sky. Clean cut and absolutely vertical, they rise to a height of from
forty to fifty feet, sometimes presenting a smooth surface from top to
bottom, and sometimes cut in stages accessible by means of steps scarcely
large enough for one man at a time. The walls of these cuttings are covered
with parallel striae, sometimes horizontal, sometimes slanting to the left,
and sometimes to the right, so forming lines of serried chevrons framed, as
it were, between grooves an inch, or an inch and a half, in width, by nine
or ten feet in length. These are the scars left upon the surface by the
tools of the ancient workmen, and they show the method employed in
detaching the blocks. The size was outlined in red ink, and this outline
sometimes indicated the form which the stone was to take in the projected
building. The members of the French Commission, when they visited the
quarries of Gebel Abûfeydeh, copied the diagrams and squared designs of
several capitals, one being of the campaniform pattern, and others prepared
for the Hathor-head pattern (fig. 50).[10] The outline made, the vertical
faces of the block were divided by means of a long iron chisel, which was
driven in perpendicularly or obliquely by heavy blows of the mallet. In
order to detach the horizontal faces, they made use of wooden or bronze
wedges, inserted the way of the natural strata of the stone. Very
frequently the stone was roughly blocked out before being actually
extracted from the bed. Thus at Syene (Asûan) we see a couchant obelisk of
granite, the under side of which is one with the rock itself; and at Tehneh
there are drums of columns but half disengaged. The transport of quarried
stone was effected in various ways. At Syene, at Silsilis, at Gebel Sheikh
Herideh, and at Gebel Abûfeydeh, the quarries are literally washed by the
waters of the Nile, so that the stone was lowered at once into the barges.
At Kasr es Saîd,[11] at Tûrah, and other localities situate at some
distance from the river, canals dug expressly for the purpose conveyed the
transport boats to the foot of the cliffs. When water transit was out of
the question, the stone was placed on sledges drawn by oxen (fig. 51), or
dragged to its destination by gangs of labourers, and by the help of
rollers.
[Illustration: Fig. 51.--Bas-relief from one of the stelae of Ahmes, at
Tûrrah, Eighteenth Dynasty.]
[4] The bas-relief sculpture from which the illustration, fig. 42, is taken
(outer wall of Hypostyle Hall, Karnak, north end) represents Seti I.
returning in triumph from one of his Syrian campaigns. He is met at
Zarû by the great officers of his court, who bring bouquets of lotus-
blossoms in their hands. Pithom and other frontier forts are depicted
in this tableau, and Pithom is apparently not very far from Zarû.
Zarû, Zalu, is the Selle of the Roman Itineraries.--A.B.E.
[5] See _The Store City of Pithom and the Route of the Exodus,_ by Ed.
Naville, with 13 Plates and 2 Maps; published by the Egypt Exploration
Fund. First edition 1885, second edition 1885. Trübner & Co., London.
--A.B.E.
[6] For an account of the explorations at Daphnae (the "Tahpanhes" of the
Bible, the _Tell Defenneh_ of the present day) see Mr. Petrie's
memoir, entitled _Tanis, Part II, (including Nebesheh, Gemayemi,
Defenneh, etc.)_, published by the Egypt Exploration Fund.--A.B.E.
[7] The remains of this gigantic work may yet be seen about two hours'
distance to the southward of Medûm. See Herodotus, book II.; chap.
99.--A.B.E.
[8] See _The Fayûm and Lake Moeris_. Major R.H. Brown, R.E.
[9] Officially, this temple is attributed to Thothmes III., and the
dedicatory inscription dates from the first year of his reign; but the
work was really that of his aunt and predecessor, Queen Hatshepsût.
[10] See also an exact reduction of this design, to scale, in Mr. Petrie's
work _A Season in Egypt_, 1887, Plate XXV.
[11] Chenoboscion.--A.B.E.