forty-seven of these tombs were entered in their sacred registers, only
seventeen of which remained in the time of Ptolemy Lagus. And in the
180th Olympiad, about 60 years B.C., when Diodorus Siculus was
in Egypt, many of these were greatly defaced. Before Mr. Belzoni began
his operations in Thebes, only eleven of these tombs were known to the
public. From the great success that crowned his exertions, the number
of them is nearly double. The general appearance of these tombs is that
of a continued shaft, or corridor, cut in the rock, in some places
spreading out into large chambers; in other places, small chambers pass
off by a door from the shafts, &c. In some places, where the rock is
low and disintegrated, a broad excavation is formed on the surface,
till it reaches a sufficient depth of solid stones, when it narrows,
and enters by a door of about six or eight feet wide, and about ten
feet high.
The passage then proceeds with a gradual descent for about a hundred
feet, widening or narrowing, according to the plan or object of the
architect, sometimes with side chambers, but more frequently not.
The beautiful ornament of the globe, with the serpent in its wings,
is sculptured over the entrance. The ceiling is black, with silver
stars, and the vulture, with outspread wings, holding a ring and a
broad-feathered sceptre by each of his feet, is frequently repeated on
it, with numerous hieroglyphics, which are white or variously-coloured.
The walls on each side are covered with hieroglyphics, and large
sculptured figures of the deities of Egypt, and of the hero for whom
the tomb was excavated. Sometimes both the hieroglyphics and the
figures are wrought in intaglio; at other times they are in relief;
but throughout the same tomb they are generally all of one kind.
The colours are green, blue, red, black and yellow, and, in many
instances, are as fresh and vivid as if they had not been laid on a
month. Intermixed with the figures, we frequently meet with curious
devices, representing tribunals where people are upon their trials,
sometimes undergoing punishment; the preparation of mummies, and
people bearing them in procession on their shoulders; animals tied
for sacrifice, and partly cut up; and occasionally the more agreeable
pictures of entertainments, with music and dancing, and well-dressed
people listening to the sound of the harp played by a priest, with his
head shaved, and dressed in a loose, flowing white robe, shot with red
stripes.
Two other colossal statues, called also by some the statues of Memnon,
are in the plain, about half-way between the desert and the river. They
are about fifty feet high, and seated each on a pedestal six feet in
height, eighteen long, and fourteen broad. The stone of which they are
formed is of a reddish grey.
These two statues are by the Arabs familiarly called Shamy and Damy.
* * * * *
MEDINET HABOO.--One outward inclosure, or brick wall, seems to
have contained three distinct, though connected, buildings, to which
we may arbitrarily assign the names of the chapel, the palace and the
temple. The principal entrance to the palace from the plain being
blocked up, it is only to be approached now by a side doorway from the
pronaos of the chapel. Of this building, which may once have been the
residence of the sovereigns of Egypt, one tower only is remaining. This
was divided into three stories, in each of which are two apartments.
The stone pavement of the lower rooms is still perfect, but the
upper floors and the wooden beams which supported them have entirely
disappeared. The interior walls have not such a profusion of sculptures
as those without. At each side of one of the windows is an Isis, with
the hawk's wing, kneeling, and wearing the lunar crescent on her head.
At another window are four projecting sphinxes; and in a corner of one
of the rooms are two females, with baskets of lotuses on their heads,
carrying a plate of cakes to the king, who is sitting; before him
stands another female, with the same head-dress, stretching out her
arm, while he puts some of the delicacies into his mouth.
Ebek, the most northern of all the Theban monuments, is only remarkable
because the plan on which it is constructed is very different from
that of all other temples in Egypt. It has a single row of columns in
front, and the rest of the building is distributed into a variety of
comparatively small apartments.
* * * * *
MEMNONIUM.--The term Memnonium is used by Strabo to designate
that part of ancient Thebes which lies on the western side of the
river. The French _savans_, however, without sufficient reason, have
restricted it to the magnificent ruin which we are going to describe.
This beautiful relic of antiquity looks to the east, and is fronted
by a stupendous propylon, of which two hundred and thirty-four feet
in length are still remaining. The propylon stands on the edge of the
soil; but the area cultivable, or space for the dromos behind it, is
floored by the solid rock, on which the rest of the temple is erected.
The eastern wall is much fallen down, and both ends are greatly
dilapidated. Every stone in the propylon appears to have been shaken
and loosened in its place, as if from the concussion of an earthquake,
for no human violence seems adequate to produce such an effect in such
an immense mass of building as that under consideration. A stair enters
from each end, by which to ascend to the top of the propylon, from
which passages go off in a number of chambers, as in the temples of
Phylæ Edifore, &c.
This colossus measures six feet ten inches over the foot, and sixty-two
or sixty-three feet round the shoulders. It has been broken off at the
waist, and the upper part is laid prostrate on the back; the face is
entirely obliterated, and, next to the wonder excited at the boldness
of the sculptor who made it, and the extraordinary powers of those who
erected it, the labour and exertions that must have been used for its
destruction, are most astonishing. It could only have been brought
about with the help of military engines, and must then have been the
work of time. Its fall has carried along with it the whole of the wall
of the temple which stood within its reach. It was not without great
difficulty and danger that we could climb on its shoulder and neck, and
in going from thence upon its chest, assisted by Arab servants.
* * * * *
DENDERA.--The centuries that this great temple of Venus has
seen have scarcely affected it in any important part; and have given
it no greater appearance of age and ruin than what serves to render
it more venerable and imposing. After seeing innumerable monuments
of the same kind throughout the Thebaid, it seemed as if we were now
arrived at the highest pitch of architectural excellence that was ever
attained on the borders of the Nile. Here we found concentrated the
united labour of ages, and the last effort of human art and industry
in that regular uniform line of construction, which had been adopted
in the earliest times. After admiring the general effect of the
whole mass, its elegance, solidity, correct proportions and graceful
outlines, it was difficult to decide what particular objects were to
be first examined. Whether its sculptures or paintings, typical and
ornamental, the distribution of the interior apartments, the details
of the capitals and columns, the mystical meaning of particular
representations here seen for the first time; the zodiacs,[14] or the
other celestial phenomena, sculptured on the ceilings, all seemed
objects of high interest and importance, all invited a nearer and
closer inspection. The portico consists of twenty-four columns in three
rows, each above twenty-two feet in circumference, thirty-two high, and
covered with hieroglyphics. The peculiar form of the square capital,
with a front face of the goddess on each side, particularly attracted
our attention. We were at first struck by the singularity of an idea
so foreign to the common notions of Greek architecture; but the eye
is soon reconciled to it; and the solemn and mild monotony of these
faces impresses the spectator with a silent, reverential awe, a willing
conviction of the immediate presence of the deity of the place in her
most gracious character; and, indeed, the Greeks, in their Caryatides,
seem in some degree to have added their sanction to the principle.
[Footnote 14: The principal zodiac has since been removed.]
The sekos, or the interior of the temple, consists of several
apartments, all the walls and ceilings of which are in the same way
covered with religious and astronomical representations. The roofs are,
like the rest in Egypt, flat; the oblong masses of stone resting on
the side walls; and, when the distance of these is too great, one or
two rows of the columns are carried down the middle of the apartment,
by which the roof is supported. The capitals of these columns are very
richly ornamented with the budding lotus, the stalks of which being
carried down some way below the capital, give the shaft the appearance
of being fluted, or rather scolloped.
The following, gleaned from other sources, will, perhaps, be also
acceptable as a guide to the sight-seer.
No person ought to leave Egypt without visiting Assowan and Philoe,
particularly if he go up as high as Thebes; for he can form no correct
judgment of Egypt and her wonderful and gigantic works, unless he sees
the temples and shrubberies at Esireh Fdjou, Koon, Ombes, Assowan, and
Philoe, as well as those in the Thebaid and at Tentyra. By traversing
Egypt from Alexandria to Assowan, you can with ease inspect all those
wonderful remains of labour and art, unequalled in the world for extent
or size as architectural works, and which, to the mind of the observer,
place beyond doubt the wealth, the power, the science, and great
population of ancient Egypt. To attempt to convey to a person who has
not seen structures of the kind, any idea of what these ruins are, is
out of the question. In the granite quarries at Assowan, from whence
these immense monuments were taken, are two unfinished sarcophagi and
an obelisk cut and formed, but still attached to the native rock. The
obelisk is shaped out and cut round on all sides except its under one,
a bed which still attaches it to the rock. It measures 76 feet in
length, and 12 feet broad, and in depth to the drift-sand in which it
has imbedded itself 6 feet thick. The marks of the workman's chisel and
wedge, with which instruments, it appears, these immense masses have
been disjoined from the native rock, are as fresh as if they had been
applied but yesterday. It is inconceivable how such entire masses could
have been taken from their bed to the Nile, a distance of at least a
mile and a half, and from thence transported to where we see them still
standing, seventy, eighty, and ninety feet in height, and eight, ten
and twelve feet square at the base, as at Luxor, Karnak, Helipolis,
Frorun, and at Alexandria, covered with deeply engraved figures and
hieroglyphics, in some places still bearing a glossy and fresh polish.
In the island of Philoe there are some beautiful and extensive
remains of Egyptian, as also one of Grecian, architecture. Leaving
Luxor in the night of the third of May, we arrived at Khenneh the
following day, and, after visiting the temple of Hentyra or of Isis, on
the opposite bank of the Nile, and remaining an hour or two at Khenneh,
we left that place for Cairo, where we arrived on the sixteenth of the
same month.
Passing through the palm-tree grove which covers the high ridge, or
mound, formed by the ruins of the ancient Memphis, the traveller
approaches a small open circular plain, which is supposed to have
been the Archerusian Lake of the city; on the south side of this, the
large colossal statue of Sesostris is to be seen. It was discovered
and laid open by Mr. Sloane and M. Coriglier, and is the most perfect
statue in Egypt, and the most beautifully formed. It lies with its face
downwards. It is broken off below the ankle, and the entire length of
the block now remaining is thirty-six feet six inches. The ruins of
the edifice before which it had stood are apparent under the rubbish
which surrounds the place. The ancient Necropolis of Paccachia, or,
as some writers suppose, of the city of Memphis, extends for miles
round the pyramids. Indeed, from the pyramids of Dashores to those of
Cheops and Copprieves, is one continued burying-ground. The pyramids
of Dashores, as well as those of Saccachara, and the excavations and
tombs in the rocks, may be inspected in one day. We landed at Goza, and
took donkeys, and passed the day in visiting the large pyramids. The
following morning we passed the island of Rhode, visited the Nilometer,
and, after sailing down about half a mile, and passing the aqueducts
of Lubuddia, about one-hundred yards, landed again on the island, and
entered the gardens of Ibrahim Pacha.
Another writer gives the following outline of the interesting sights to
be seen on the Nile.
On the eastern bank, eight miles to the south of Cairo, quarries of
Maasara, from which the stone used for part of the casing of the
pyramids was taken. Some hieroglyphic tablets, in one of which oxen
are represented drawing a stone placed on a sledge. A little beyond
the modern village is an inclined road, which leads from the quarries
to the river. Thirty miles further to the south, on the same bank, is
Atfëeh, mounds of Aphroditopolis, no ruins. False pyramid on opposite
bank, three miles beyond El Feshu, and on eastern bank, remains of
crude brick, the walls of an ancient village, called El Héebee and some
hieroglyphics.
From Beuisooef is the road to the Fyoom, which, when the Nile is low,
may be visited conveniently. A brick pyramid at Illahoon, another at
El Howâra, and vestiges of the labyrinth, obelisk at Biggig, ruins on
and near the lake Moeris, and at Qasr Kharoon. From Aboogirgeh is the
shortest road to Bahnasa (Oxyriuchus) mounds, no ruins, Gebel é Tayr,
north-end, grotto or rock temple, called Babyn, convent further to the
south; eight miles below Minyeh is Tehneh (Acoris) on eastern bank,
a Greek Ptolemaic inscription on the face of the cliff, tombs hewn
in the rock, with small inscriptions at the doors, Roman figures in
high relief, on the upper part of the rock, some hieroglyphic tablets,
quarries on the top of the mountain, a tank, &c.
Same (eastern bank) seven miles above Minyeh, Komahmar, some grottoes,
and ruins of an old town; nine miles farther (eastern hank), Beni
Hassan, very fine grottoes, with curious paintings; and about a mile
and a half farther, a grotto, or rock temple, of Pasht (Bubastis, or
Diana), the Speos Artemidos, cat mummies in the ravine.
Antinöe, now Shekh Abadeh, few remains of the town, a theatre, the
principal streets, baths, &c., outside the town, on the east, is the
hippodrome. The grottoes in the mountain are unsculptured, and have
some Christian inscriptions. A little to the north of Antinöe are the
remains, apparently, of Besa, scarcely worthy of a visit.
At El Bersheh, a grotto on the mountain, in which a colossus is
represented on a sledge. At Oshmoonayn (western bank) no remains of
Hermopolis Magna. At Gebel Toona, a mountain, skirting the desert to
the west are mummy-pits, a tablet of hieroglyphics, and statues in
high relief. At Mellawee, and at Tamoof Tanis, superior mounds, but no
ruins. At Shayda, at corner of mountains, on eastern bank, crude brick
walls, and some grottoes.
At Shekh Said, the mountains recede to the eastward, leaving the river,
and a little beyond is the village of Tel el Armarnar, to the north of
which are the remains of a small town, and to the south the ruins of a
city, which I suppose to be Alabastron: all the stone buildings have
been quite destroyed, but some of the brick houses remain; near the
crude brick towers of the temple are the largest houses. To the east
are several fine grottoes in the face of the mountain, with curious
sculptures, and on the summit of it is an ancient alabaster quarry.
Six miles below Maufaloot, at El Haryib, ruins of an old town, in a
ravine of the Gebel Aboolfaydee; numerous dog and cat mummies, near El
Maabdeh, opposite Maufaloot; crocodile mummies in chambers of great
extent in the mountain.
At E'Sioot (Lycopolis), the capital of Upper Egypt, grottoes, wolf
mummies; the modern cemetery is prettily laid out. Gow (Antoepolis)
a few stones of the temple, close to the river; some grottoes at the
corner of the mountain, to the north, below Gow, but not containing
good sculptures. Shekh Hereedee, small grottoes; Roman statue at the
base of the mountain, cut out of a piece of a rock. The snake of Shekh
Hereedee is still supposed to perform cures.
To the west of Soohag, near the corner of mountains, old town of
Athribes, a Greek inscription in the ruined temple, grottoes in
the mountain; and to the north is the white monastery, or Dayr
Amba Shuoodee, nearly opposite Soohag is E'Khmim (Panopolis) Greek
inscription of the temple of Pan, and some remains of other stone
buildings.
Mensheeh (Ptolemais Hermii), western bank, eight miles above E'Khmim,
remains of a stone quay. From Girgh go to Abydos, three hours ride,
and send on the boat to Bellianeh, returning to it in the evening, two
hours ride; or, coming down the river, stop at Bellianeh, and send on
the boat to Girgeh. At Abydos two temples and many tombs.
How (Diospolis parva) has very few remains of Ptolemaic or Roman time.
In mounds at the ridge of the desert, a mile and a half south of How,
some tombs; one of Dionysius, son of Ptolemy, has some sculpture.
Qasr e Syad (Chenoboscion), remains of a quay; about one mile beyond
the eastern mouth of the canal of this village, are some very ancient
grottoes, with kings' names. Dendera (Teutyris) opposite Qeneh, two
temples, inscriptions, zodiac, &c. Qeneh is famous for its manufacture
of porous jars; from it, roads lead to Kossayr on the Red Sea.
Qoft (Coptos), ruins of the old town, and of a temple, a Christian
church, canals, &c.; at the village of El Qala, to the north, is a
small Roman Egyptian temple.
Qoos (Apollinopolis parva), no more ruins left; at a well on the north
of the town is a Ptolemaic monolith, with hieroglyphics, converted into
a tank, and a few stone remains of early time in the plain to the west,
near a Shekh's tomb. Thebes (Diospolis magna), on the eastern bank,
Karnac and Lugsor; on the west, the tombs of the kings, private tombs,
several temples, colossi of the plain, &c.
Erment (Hermonthis), west bank, temple and early Christian church.
Tuot, or E`Selemeëh (Tuphium) on eastern bank, Ptolemy temple, much
ruined, and concealed by the hovels of the peasant. Gebelaun, _i.e._,
"the two hills," a small ancient town in ruins, and grottoes, not
worthy of a visit. At Tofnees and Assfoon, mounds of ancient towns, no
ruins.
Esneh (Latopolis), fine portico, zodiac and quay. At Edayr, three miles
to the north of Esneh, remains of a small temple of the Ptolemies and
Cæsars, lately destroyed. Thirteen miles from Esneh, near El Qenan,
ruins of a quay; on west bank and three miles farther, a small stone
pyramid, opposite the quay, is the junction of the limestone and
sandstone. Four miles beyond, on eastern bank, is El Kab (Eilethyas),
ruins of a very ancient town, the temples lately destroyed, curious
grottoes in the mountain, and a short distance up the valley are three
small temples. In the bed of the ravine are ponds encrusted with natron.
Edfoo (Apollinopolis magna) two temples. Eleven miles above Edfoo, and
on the eastern bank, remains of an old town, on face of hill, fortified
with towers of Arab construction. Silsilis (now Hagar Silsili),
quarries of sandstone, used for building the temples of Upper Egypt,
tables and grottoes. Komombo (Ombos), two temples; ancient stone
gateway, in a crude brickwall on the eastern side of the enclosure of
the temples; houses burnt.
At E'Sooan (Syene), ruins of a small temple of Roman date, some
columns, Saracen wall, and Cufic tombstones; granite quarries, in one
of which is a broken obelisk; Latin inscription of Caracalla near
another quarry; road to Philæ, and wall; numerous hieroglyphic tables
on the rocks. Island of Elephantine; opposite the projecting rocks of
E'Sooan is the Nilometer, which is a staircase, with Greek inscriptions
relating to the rise of the Nile. Granite gateway, bearing the name of
Alexander, the son of Alexander the Great.
At the northern end of the cataract, in the island of Sehàyl, few
vestiges of a temple; hieroglyphic tablets on the rocks. Go from
E'Sooan to Sehàyl in a boat, and ride to Philæ. At Philæ, temples and
ruins. Islands of Biggeh, opposite Philæ, to the west, ruined temple,
tablets, &c., &c.
NUBIA.
Dabode (Parembole), temple, west bank. Kerdassy, ruins and quarries.
Tafa (Taphis), two small ruins, and stone enclosures. Kalabshee
(Talmis), large temple, quarries, and, on hill behind it, to the
northward, a small, but interesting temple, called Bayt el Wellee, cut
in the rock. Dandoor, temple. Gerf Hossayn (Tutzis), temple, cut in the
rock, of the time of Rameses II.
Dakkeh (Pselcis), temple of Ptolemaic and Roman date; It has also
the names of two Ethiopian princes, Ergamun, or Ergamenes (mentioned
by Diodorus, iii. 6, as a contemporary of Ptolemy Philadelphus), and
Ataramun; many Greek inscriptions. Opposite Dakkeh, ruins of Contra
Pselcis, or of Metacompso.
Corte (Corti), few remains. Maharraka, or Oofideena, ruins of
Hierasycamenon, style bad, and all of late date. Isis is represented
under the fig-tree. Taboaa, temple of the time of Rameses II., with
avenue of sphinxes; the adytum is cut in the rock, the rest built.
Hassain, or Amada, a temple of Thothmes, ancient, nearly opposite to
it in Dayr or Derr, on east bank, the capital of Nubia, which has a
temple cut in the rock, of the time of Rameses II.
Ibreem (Primis parva), part of the ancient wall on south side of town;
remains of a stone building amidst the houses; some small grottoes
below the town near the river. Aboosimbel, two temples cut in the rock,
the finest Egyptian monuments out of Thebes; they are of the time of
Rameses II.
At Ferayg, nearly opposite, on east bank, a small temple in the rock.
Farras, on west bank, few remains; grottoes with Coptic inscriptions,
some distance from the river. Wadee Alfeh, remains of three buildings
on west bank; fine view of the second cataract from a rock on the same
bank, a short walk to the south of Wadee Halfeh.
A day and a half beyond Wadee Halfeh are the two small temples of
Samneh and the third cataract.
The distances from the Mediterranean to the second cataract are as
follow:--
From Rosetta to Cairo about 110 miles.
Cairo Benisoef 83
Benisoef Minyeh 85
Minyeh E'Sivot 106
E'Sivot Girgeh 97
Girgeh Qeneh 79
Qeneh Thebes 49
Thebes Esneh 38
Esneh Esooan 100
Esooan Wadee Halfeh 219
----
Total from Rosetta to Wadee Halfeh 960 miles.
----
It may be interesting to the sportsman to know that, in the course
of his river trip, he will occasionally find "food for powder." Game
is by no means abundant, but here and there a random shot may be had
at a gazelle; coveys of partridges _have_ been seen; rock-pigeons are
numerous; and the rifle may afford some sport in the land of crocodiles.
The gazelle, ibex, _kebsh_ (or wild sheep), hare, fox, jackal, wolf,
and hyæna, are still found in the valley of the Nile, or in the desert.
The "kebsh" frequents the eastern desert, principally in the ranges of
primitive mountains, which, commencing about latitude 28° 40' at the
back of the limestone hills of the valley of the Nile, extend thence
into Ethiopia and Abyssinia.
The Egyptian hare is a native of the valley of the Nile, as well as the
two deserts. It is remarkable for the length of its ears, which the
Egyptians have not failed to indicate in their sculptures; but it is
much smaller than those of Europe.
The intelligent Denon has made a just remark on the comparative size of
animals common to Egypt and Europe, that the former are always smaller
than our own species, and this is exemplified by none more strongly
than the hare and wolf.
In enumerating the wild beasts of the desert, it may not be irrelevant
to observe, that the hyæna and wolf are seldom met with in unfrequented
districts, or any great distance from the Nile, where they would suffer
from want of food, and are therefore principally confined to the
mountains lying a few miles from the edge of the cultivated land. The
wolf is very rarely seen on the coast of the Red Sea, and few even of
the watering-places of the interior of the desert are infested by it,
or the hyæna.
The hippopotamus was always rare in Lower Egypt, but in Upper Ethiopia
this amphibious animal is common in the Nile.
The crocodile, formerly an inhabitant of Lower Egypt and the Delta,
now limits the extent of its visits northward to the districts about
Inanfaloot.
APPENDIX (A).