particularly at some distance, though it is extremely barren. It is
surrounded by rocks of granite in all directions, forming part of the
main land, and part of other islands. The style of the hieroglyphics
proves, that the edifice on it is of the last era of the Egyptian
nation: in my opinion, of the time of the Ptolemies. There are reasons
enough to remove all doubts of this, if any were entertained: in
particular, the peripteral temple, supposed to have been at the
landing-place at the east of the island, is evidently of the last
school, and not half finished. The work of the columns is in a much
lighter style than the old Egyptian, evincing, if that nation had
continued its existence, it would have improved gradually; and in due
course of time, by amalgamating the Grecian elegance with the vast and
lofty magnificence of its own works of art, would have formed an
architecture of which we have no idea, but, no doubt, most sublime.
There are other proofs that this temple is a more modern structure,
formed of the materials of an older edifice. In one of the columns,
opposite the gate in the portico which leads to the sanctuary, there is
in the centre a stone, sculptured with hieroglyphics inverted; and
another stone of this kind is to be seen in the same column on the west
side, near the ground. The whole edifice consists of two temples, nearly
united together. The small temple, dedicated to Isis, is within the
peristyle of the larger, which was dedicated, I believe, to the same
goddess, to Serapis, and to the rest of the gods. The building faces the
south, with a large portal or propylæon, flanked by two porticoes or
colonnades, the capitals of the pillars of which are different from each
other. At the entrance of the first portal lies the obelisk of granite,
thrown down, as mentioned before, its pedestal having a Greek
inscription on it, which is a complaint of the priests, addressed to
Ptolemy and Cleopatra, against the soldiers and the government of the
place, and proves that the Egyptian priests had no influence in the
government at that period. The inscription was discovered by an English
traveller, Mr. Banks, who, not having time to dig it out, left it, and
Mr. Beechey took a copy of it. Part of another obelisk and pedestal are
to be seen in the mud wall opposite. There are also two lions, of
granite, which were at the sides of the stairs formed by four steps,
that must have been in this situation, as I observed, that the bases of
the colonnades are lower than the bases of the propylæa.
After passing the first portal is the entrance to the pronaos; on the
west of which is the small temple of Isis, surrounded by square pillars,
with the head of the goddess as the capital. The inner part consists of
three apartments: the portico, the cella, and the adytum. The
hieroglyphics on it are nearly perfect, but almost covered with mud, as
it has served as a Greek chapel. On the east of the pronaos is a gallery
with several cells, no doubt for the use of the priests; and the north
is the second portal, covered with colossal figures like the first. On
passing this we come to the portico, which is reckoned the most perfect
and beautiful part of this building. The hieroglyphics are entire and
highly painted, as are the capitals of the columns, which are ten in
number. The figures on the wall of this portico are all divided into
several groups, forming compartments of five feet high; those on the
columns forming the ornaments of this hall are highly beautiful. There
are other ruins on the west of the island, which formed the entrance
into the temple by the water-side; and on the north-east are the remains
of three arches made by the Romans. Here must have been the
landing-place to the island. The middle arch has fallen down. On the
key-stones the words “sanctum, sanctum, sanctum,” are cut; affording
clear evidence, that this island served as a holy seat not only to the
Egyptians and Greeks, but also to the Romans. There are palpable marks
of the whole temple having been fitted up for Christian worship. The
walls are covered with mud, to hide the hieroglyphics on them; and some
figures peculiar to the Christian religion were painted on this; but
time uncovered the hieroglyphics again, as the mud lost its hold in
several places. At the back of the temple, or on the north side of it,
are the foundations of a building that served for a Greek church, and
was formed of the stones from the ruins of the other buildings, as is
obvious from the hieroglyphics on them. I cannot avoid observing, that
this island is the most superb group of ruins I ever beheld together in
so small a space of ground. The whole island, which is not more than a
thousand feet in length, and less than five hundred in breadth, is
richly covered with ruins; and being detached from the other barren
islands which surround it at some distance, has a very superb
appearance. On the island to the west of Philoe are the remains of a
small temple, which has also served for Christian purposes. There are
but few hieroglyphics to be seen, and the remains of two sitting figures
in granite much mutilated. On the south of this temple is a
burying-ground, so much like that of Gournou, that I was led to suppose
it may have been the burying-place of the inhabitants of Philoe, though
there are other tombs in the mountains on the east of the island.
During our stay in Philoe I made a model in wax of the portico of the
great temple. The beautiful capitals and other ornaments of the columns
induced me to do this. It was the month of May, and the heat was so
great, that wax incorporated with resin could scarcely be kept in a mass
of sufficient solidity to be reduced into form. The thermometer stood as
high as 124° of Fahrenheit in the shade; but the mercury had risen to
the top of the glass, so that we could not judge what degree it would
have reached had the tube been longer.
An Arab now arrived from Cairo with a letter from Mr. Salt. He had
performed his journey in eighteen days, all by land. The letter brought
us a supply of money; and, to my great satisfaction, Mr. Salt complied
with my wishes of opening the temple of Ybsambul, which I had so often
suggested to him; and I must give him much credit for risking the
expense of such an undertaking, the uncertainty of which would have
deterred most people from doing it, particularly as he himself
entertained strong doubts of the existence of a temple there; for he
said, in the same letter, that he thought we should find no entrance,
but that it would turn out to be like some of the mausoleums round the
pyramids.
A few days previous to this the two captains, Irby and Mangles, had
arrived in the island. They were going up the Nile, as far as the second
cataract, and as there was some difficulty in obtaining two boats, we
made a joint party, and contented ourselves with one only. We had to
send our interpreter to Esne for provision, nothing being to be had at
Assouan. The fourth of June arrived, and our jolly companions, Captains
Irby and Mangles, proposed to commemorate the birth-day of his Majesty
George III. Accordingly we took an old flag we had in the boat, and
planted it on the highest propylæon in the island. At noon we brought
out all our fire-arms, and went through the regular salute of twenty-one
guns. Having only five, we had to load them again immediately after
being fired; and from the heat of the fire and that of the sun, the
barrels soon became so hot, that we could not touch them with our hands.
At night we repeated our rejoicings, and frightened all the natives
round, who could not imagine why we wasted so much powder without
killing somebody. However, it convinced them, I believe, that we were
well prepared in case it should be requisite to make our defence. The
next day Mrs. Belzoni arrived from Cairo, a voyage which she performed
accompanied only by the Irish lad, James. I could not contrive to take
her higher up the Nile with us, as we had only one boat; and therefore
left her in the island till our return. The account of her stay there
will be given by herself.
On the 16th of June we left the island of Philoe. Our company consisted
of Captains Irby and Mangles, Mr. Beechey, and myself; two servants, and
Mahomed, a soldier sent to us by Mr. Salt. On our voyage up we had much
trouble with our crew, who were five men and three boys, all of one
family.
On our arrival at Ybsambul, we found that the Cacheffs were not there,
but at Tomas, opposite Deir. We sent an express to inform them, that we
were to open the temple, and meanwhile we proceeded to the second
cataract. Previous to our arrival at Wady Halfa, or the second cataract,
we followed the west side of the Nile, as far as we could go with the
boat, and then landed, and walked three or four miles to the Rock Upsir;
for as I had seen such beautiful views there on my first voyage, when
the water was high, I wished to see how they appeared at this season,
and to show them to my companions. I found them not so interesting as
the first time; the islands did not appear so numerous; nor did the
water form those foaming eddies, which so finely interspersed the views
with white and green. Notwithstanding this, the whole was very grand,
and I was gratified in seeing it again.
Having returned to our boat, we passed the night on the same side of the
river. The next morning we crossed the water, and entered into an inlet
of the Nile, where we moored our boat near the village of Wady Halfa.
The crew took it into their heads to extort money from us by force, for
which purpose they landed, and said we might return by ourselves if we
liked. They knew we could not effect this without some difficulty, as
the boat was surrounded by sand banks. We had intended to proceed by
land to see the cataract on the east side, as I had done the year
before, but under the present circumstances we deemed it imprudent to
leave the boat, lest all we had in it should be plundered; for the crew
had collected several of the natives, who were apparently disposed to
aid them in their undertakings. We would not give up to them, and they
protested that they would not come on board, unless we first gave them
some money. We then took the resolution to try what we could do
ourselves, but it was more in appearance than reality, for we never
could have got the boat out of that place. However, the appearance of
our attempt to strike the sail, which must be done to fall down the
river with the current, had the intended effect; for these fellows
immediately sent one of the crew to a parley. We told him, if they took
the boat out into the middle of the river, we would give them a bakshis,
but not till then. This was agreed on, and at last, after losing the
whole day in this business, we returned towards Ybsambul. During this
day the natives came to examine every thing we had on board; but they
perceived that we were too well armed for them, and quite ready for
defence in case of necessity.
On our reaching Ybsambul we found that no answer had been sent from
Mosmos. We waited three days, and on the fourth a messenger arrived on a
camel. He said he came to see whether I were the same person, from the
English consul, who was there the preceding year, and wished to open the
temple. On recognizing me, he returned immediately.
Three days after, the two Cacheffs appeared, and took up their abode in
small huts made of rushes, on a sandy bank of the river. We waited on
their highnesses, and were well received, as we were much respected for
what we might bring with us. We presented Daoud Cacheff with a fine gun,
powder and ball, a shawl, some soap, and some tobacco. This distinction
unfortunately caused a jealousy between the two brothers. Khalil
considered himself his brother’s equal since the absence of his father.
I was not aware of this, as the first year he was merely an attendant on
his brother Daoud. He was in a terrible rage, and informed us, that he
was as great a man as his brother. We told him, that we would give him
one of our guns; but our endeavours to appease him were all to no
purpose. We passed the whole day without knowing our fate. Daoud kindly
insisted that we should stop and dine with him; but I declined it on
account of his brother not being there, who had retired to his hut. He
went over to bring him to dinner, but in vain. I then went myself to
speak to him, and after much ado, I succeeded in making peace with this
great potentate. He took one of our guns, and some powder and ball; and
it was concluded, that we should begin to work in the morning with
thirty men.
In the morning the men appeared rather late, but we recommenced the work
at the temple with much enthusiasm and good hopes. I perceived the
necessity of drawing the sand from the sides of the door, so that it
might run off from the centre; toward which, on the contrary, if the
sand were taken from the centre, that from the sides would continually
run. The enterprising Count de Forbin, who never was within five hundred
miles at least of the place, judged that the sand might have been easily
thrown into the river. I wish he had been there once in his life, and
then he might have seen, whether it were such a trifle as he represents
it. It was a mass of sand accumulated by the winds for many centuries,
and to have had it removed, and thrown into the river, would have been
an undertaking, that all the people the adjacent country afforded could
not have effected in twelve months. I was contented to make it my
principal object to reach the door, as the most speedy means of entering
the temple.
This day I divided the men into two parties, and stationed one on each
side of the colossal figure that stood over the entrance. They worked
pretty well, but were so few that the little sand they removed could
scarcely be perceived. Seeing that it would be a very tedious business
that way, in the evening I made a proposal to the Cacheff to pay three
hundred piastres for opening the temple, which was agreed to by the
Cacheff and the working men. They continued their labour for three days
with much ardour, for they supposed they could finish it in that time,
as their number was increased to eighty by order of the Cacheff; but on
the evening of the third day there was as little prospect of seeing the
door as on the first. They got tired at last, and under the pretext that
the Ramadan was to commence on the next day, they left us with our
temple, the sand, and the treasure, and contented themselves with
keeping the three hundred piastres, which were partly paid to them
previously to their beginning, and partly on the third day. During this
time the Cacheffs dined with us. Our mess was in company with them and
all their followers. Our banquet consisted of a small piece of mutton,
the water in which it was stewed, some bread, and a little butter or
fat. No sooner was the dinner set on the ground, than a scramble took
place. Every one crowded round the earthen bowl: the Cacheff was the
first to dip in his hand, and immediately the rest followed his example.
We four, the two Captains Irby and Mangles, Mr. Beechy, and myself,
contrived to keep as close together as possible, that we might all eat
out of the same side of the dish, and by this means have some chance of
a cleaner meal. The Cacheff seeing that we stood no chance against his
people, who at last plunged their hands into the dish from all quarters,
politely picked out the most fleshy parts from the bowl, which he
distinguished from the bones by a squeeze with his hand, placed them on
the sleeve of his gown, and then continued to eat till the bowl was
nearly emptied. When all had done eating, he presented each of us with a
piece of the fleshy parts he had reserved as a compliment, which we
gladly devoured, as there was no other chance of our having a morsel to
eat till the next morning.
This day being the first of Ramadan, the Fellahs could not work, but
they could feast according to their holy law; for, though they know very
little of religion, they keep their own festivals as correctly and as
regularly as an European. The next day again nobody came near us, and
the two Cacheffs Daoud and Khalil went away.
From that time we took the resolution to work at the sand ourselves. We
were only six, including the interpreter and the Janizary, but the crew
offered their services, and thus our party amounted to fourteen in all.
Finding that one of us did as much work as in the proportion of one to
five of the Barabra, we were well satisfied, and resolved to continue.
We rose every morning at the dawn of day, and left off two hours and
half after sunrise. Our perseverance and independence drew some of the
peasants, to offer their services, which we accepted; but as many of
them were from the opposite side of the Nile, they could not agree with
those of Ybsambul, and there was a perpetual warfare between them;
besides, from jealousy, they increased to such a number, that we could
not employ them all, which gave rise to fresh disputes, so that we
resolved to dismiss them all, and continue the work by ourselves. They
still persisted in offering their services to what number we pleased;
but we saw it would not prevent their having quarrels and fighting every
day, and we therefore refused their offer.
One day we observed a boat on the opposite side of the Nile steering
towards us, and as it approached we perceived, that it was filled with
well armed men. After the Cacheffs of Ybsambul left us, there was a man
of that village, who, in spite of their orders, still remained with us,
and occasionally helped us in the work. His name was Musmar, which in
English signifies nail. Mr. Nail was a great man; told us wonderful
stories of his astonishing courage; gave us to understand, that, when
the Bedoweens from the Desert attacked the village of Ybsambul he was
the first to resist them; and vaunted, that he was not afraid of any man
in the world. We were of course charmed at having such a gallant knight
with us. On the approach of the boat he seemed agitated, and was very
anxious to know who the people were. While they were at a distance, he
said no one dared come where he was. When they were nearer, and he might
see distinctly who they were, he could not conceive what they wanted on
this side of the water. As soon as they had nearly reached the shore,
still pretending he was unable to guess who they could be, he would
ascend the mountain to observe them better. With this he took to his
heels, and ran off as fast as he could scamper. The men landed, and
ascended the hill of sand where we were. We seized our arms, for this is
the only way to be respected by these gentry. They approached.—The first
was an elderly man, who had strong traits of resolution in his
countenance. He held out his hand, which I immediately shook, according
to the custom of the country. They were the Cacheffs of Ibrim, father
and son. They seated themselves on the sand, and the others stood.
They appeared in greater style than our sovereigns of Ybsambul, and had
more swords and fire-arms. We were pleased to find them friends,
particularly as we knew they were at war with Hassan Cacheff and his
sons Daoud and Khalil. I perceived their disappointment, for our attire
did not bespeak riches. Besides, seeing us at work like labourers, they
concluded we were but poor people. They told us they were friends of
Mahomed Ali, Bashaw of Egypt, and presented us with two small and meagre
sheep. I was not pleased at this, for I knew how the politeness of such
gifts always ends: we returned this civility by paying the servant who
brought the sheep twice as much as they were worth, and told the
Cacheffs, that we were sorry we had nothing to give them, as we had
exhausted every thing, but that we should recollect them on our return
to the country. They said, they did not come thither to have any thing
from us, and hoped on our return to Cairo we would speak to the Bashaw
in their favour. We answered, we could not say any thing against them,
as they never did us any harm, or ever saw us before. Soon after they
rose, and we gave them the usual salute, but they said they were going
to see the small temple below. Our interpreter followed them, as the
boat was near that place; and when they reached the temple they took him
aside, and told him, that they were the masters of the country; that if
the other Cacheffs killed one man, they killed two; they could stop, or
let us proceed on our works, as well as the other Cacheffs, for they
were more powerful; adding, they knew we gave guns, powder, shot, soap,
and tobacco to the others—therefore they expected we should do more for
them, as they were superior, and we might expect the consequences of
refusing to comply with their demands. At such proceedings I thought we
were in as bad a situation as ever respecting our works at the temple,
for we had nothing left to give these people. Accordingly we sent them
an answer, that we had nothing for them at present, but that they might
depend on our words, that we would bring them something on our future
visit to Nubia. They replied, we had no business to come into the
country without written orders directed to them, as they were the true
masters of it. We informed them we had a firman from the Bashaw, and
sent our interpreter with it to show it them. They opened it, and
looking at it said they could not understand one word in it; besides it
was not for them, and therefore was good for nothing, and even if we had
one, it would be to no purpose, unless it was accompanied with presents
of more value than we had given to the other Cacheffs. While all this
was passing, the great potentates and their honourable followers walked
towards their boat, and hinted, that we must think on the business while
they were going to the village of Ybsambul.
We left off work at our usual time, and resumed our labour in the
afternoon, expecting that we should have some interruption in our
proceedings; but on the next day to our astonishment we heard, that the
great men were off at night. We continued our operations regularly, and
in the course of a few days more we perceived a rough projection from
the wall, which indicated apparently that the work was unfinished, and
no door to be found there. At this the hopes of some of our party began
to fail; nevertheless we persevered in our exertions, and three days
after we discovered a broken cornice, the next day the torus, and of
course, the frize under, which made us almost sure of finding the door
the next day; accordingly I erected a palisade, to keep the sand up, and
to my utmost satisfaction saw the upper part of the door as the evening
approached. We dug away enough sand to be able to enter that night, but
supposing there might be some foul air in the cavity, we deferred this
till the next morning.
Early in the morning of the 1st of August we went to the temple in high
spirits, at the idea of entering a newly discovered place. We
endeavoured as much as we could to enlarge the entrance; but our crew
did not accompany us as usual. On the contrary, it appeared that they
intended to hinder us as much as lay in their power; for when they saw,
that we really had found the door, they wished to deter us from availing
ourselves of it: the attempt however failed. They then pretended, that
they could not stop any longer with the boat in that place, and if we
did not go on board immediately, they would set off with her and leave
us. On our refusal they knelt on the ground, and threw sand over their
faces, saying, that they would not stop an instant. The fact was, they
had promised to the Cacheffs to play some trick to interrupt our
proceedings, in case we should come to the door. But even all this would
not do. We soon made the passage wider, and entered the finest and most
extensive excavation in Nubia, one that can stand a competition with any
in Egypt, except the tomb newly discovered in Beban el Malook.