I will attempt no further description of this extraordinary

edifice. The reader will perceive, from the inspection of the

plan (Plate XIII.), how utterly impossible it is to give a more

detailed, and, at the same time, clear, description of its various

compartments. The confusion of successive rooms, corridors, small

and large courts, and temples, together with the total absence of any

attempt at regularity, excited my curiosity to find out the nature of

this singular construction. It has evidently been built by wretched

architects, at different periods, in an age when the art had sadly

declined in Ethiopia; but, before alluding to the different surmises

concerning the object of its erection, I will first give a detailed

description of the principal temple in the centre. The view (Plate

XIV.) will give a good idea of its present state of preservation. The

columns in Plates XIII., XIV., and vignette, executed architecturally,

will sufficiently indicate the style of art: a few fragments of

capitals alone remain, and those are on the north-east side of the

temple. It will be seen by Plate XIV. that the forms only of several

of the capitals are visible, but only one fragment has the appearance

of having been finished. (See vignette.) Their form is somewhat

similar to that usual in the Ptolemaic age of architecture in Egypt;

but the ornaments of the fragment, above alluded to, consist only of

parallel lines: whether these terminated in the lotus flower cannot

be ascertained, but there certainly is a resemblance, though not

complete, to a Ptolemaic capital. Under the capital of this column

are seven rows of beading; the rest of the shaft, consisting of five

pieces, is fluted, except the lowest stone, which is ornamented with

the lotus flower. The style of the fluting is Grecian. The shaft

swells out a little towards the lower part, and is rounded off at

the bottom. It bears another resemblance to the Egyptian style in

the base it rests upon being circular. There remains one fragment

(see vignette), of a fluted column with a smooth panel in the centre,

in which a wreath is sculptured in imitation of the leaves of the

palm tree. Another fragment of a column is ornamented with sculpture,

and at the base the triangular ornament not unlike the Egyptian.

[Illustration: COLUMNS AT WADY EL OWATAIB.]

The sculpture is in very high relief—not less than 1¾ inch; but

the style is decidedly bad: the figures are generally from about 3

to 4 feet in height; and, notwithstanding their defaced condition, I

could distinguish that some of them are _en face_; but the rudeness of

the execution of what remains perfect, demonstrates an epoch when the

arts had wofully degenerated in this their parent land. At Uffidunia,

in Lower Nubia, an edifice well known to be Roman, there is a piece

of sculpture on the detached propylon very much in this style. The

view (Plate XV.) represents fortuitously almost all the most perfect

fragments which now exist; and so completely shows the style of

the sculpture, that I regretted the less not having time to make

separate drawings, particularly as not a single hieroglyphic remains,

or has ever existed, to elucidate the sculpture. I trust, therefore,

that the accurate notes I took on the spot, of every fragment I

could find, and the specimens of the style in my drawings, will be

considered quite sufficient. What sculpture remains, is chiefly on

the lower part of two columns and on several fragments which lie

scattered about: some of the figures are _en face_, and some _en

profile_. Notwithstanding their defaced condition, I distinguished

the following:—Thriphis with the lion’s head, _en profile_;

the hawk-headed divinity (Horus); two figures, seemingly goddesses,

but not very discernible, _en face_; a divinity with a vase; Kneph,

_en face_, with a globe at his breast; a goddess, _en face_, in a

kind of monolithic temple. On another fragment I discerned a figure

presenting offerings with one hand, and the other raised behind

his head. On another large fragment, Isis, Horus, and a king were

discernible: the ovals of his name seem never to have been filled

up. On another fragment I observed a border consisting alternately

of a lion and the goddess of truth with outstretched wings. As there

are no hieroglyphics, the names of these divinities are, of course,

only inferred from the presence of their usual attributes. Except

on these fragments of columns in front of the central temple,

there are no other remains of sculpture in any part of these ruins,

with the exception of the two fragments of colossal statues I have

before alluded to as ornamenting the façades of the small temple

to the east. There are some other ruins at a short distance from the

great enclosure, but they are of little importance. One of the rooms

contains the remains of six columns, on one of which is sculptured

an elephant destroying a dog with his trunk, and on another a winged

lion is represented killing a man.

[Illustration: Pl. 15.

_On stone by W. P. Sherlock, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

WADY OWATAIB.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

I have now only to advert to the singular situation of these ruins,

their probable use, and the age when they were most probably

erected. In a direct line, they are distant from the river six

hours’ journey, which may be sixteen or eighteen miles. About a

quarter of a mile from the ruin, I saw three or four blocks of stones,

but no indication of their having formed part of an aqueduct, and

there are no traces of wells; but both may have existed, and be now

entirely buried by the sand of the desert. I could not, however,

observe or hear of any decided traces of aqueducts between the

ruin and the river. The occupants of the edifice may have been

supplied with water by geerbahs, as the peasants of Metammah and

other villages distant from the river are at this day.[21] If

the edifice was only used as a residence during the season of the

malaria, the rain water might have been preserved in cisterns and

in the sacred lakes; but rain does not invariably fall here every

year, and would afford, therefore, only a precarious supply. Those,

however, who constructed such a building would certainly know how

to sink a well, and, from the appearance of the ground, the trees,

and the vicinity of the mountains, I do not conceive it would be a

very laborious undertaking to find water.

Cailliaud considered this edifice to have been a college of priests;

and Professor Heeren supposes it to be the celebrated Ammonium. I

think neither of these suppositions probable. With regard to

the first, we know that the priests were always surrounded with

representations of the divinities and the mysterious language of

hieroglyphics; but is it not remarkable that there is no structure

either in Egypt or Ethiopia so destitute of the sacred writing as

this? The priests, also, are supposed, with great probability, to

have themselves executed the sculpture and hieroglyphics; and they

cannot be imagined to have been unacquainted with that language. It

must, on the contrary, have formed a principal branch of their

education. I think it, therefore, very improbable that the place

where they would be occupied in teaching hieroglyphics should, of

all the ruins in the valley of the Nile, be the only one destitute

of them; that where instruction was given in the mysteries of their

religion, there should be so few representations of the gods, and

those few almost of no use to the student, from being unexplained

by hieroglyphics. One would imagine they would have gladly availed

themselves of the opportunity of the unoccupied walls to exercise

the skill of the students. If this were a college, their system of

education must assuredly have been very defective, if they did not

take care to have the mysteries they taught represented on the walls

of the universities, and not on those of the temples only. We must

consider the Ethiopians as ignorant indeed, if we suppose that they

neglected to place them where they would have been really useful,

while they covered with these subjects their temples, where they

would be less observed, and the interior of the porticoes of their

tombs, which were rarely opened. Had it been a college, some urchin

would have shown his progress in the study by carving his name in

hieroglyphics; and, considering that this was more the fashion with

the ancients than the moderns, we should have as long a list of

Ethiopian names _here_ as we have of English at Eton or Harrow. In

such a seminary, I conceive, the walls of the chambers, corridors, and

temples, inside and outside, like the temples and palaces of Egypt,

would have been decorated with sculpture. The walls are not rough,

but smooth and finished; it has therefore not been the original

intention to embellish them with such subjects.

Had this edifice, as Professor Heeren supposes, been the Ammonium,

the original seat of the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, at whose command

those religious colonies issued forth, which carried civilisation,

arts, and religion from Ethiopia to the Delta; had this been the

centre and stronghold of the superstitions of the Nile; the priests,

the guardians of the sacred rituals, would not have omitted to

decorate the abode of their great divinity with art and magnificence

proportionate to the wealth and power of so great a nation. Well

aware of the awe with which the appearance of mysterious learning

inspires the vulgar, they would not have neglected to adorn the walls

with imposing and mysterious subjects, to augment their veneration,

to excite them to devotion, and to munificence in their offerings to

the god. It accords in no degree with the religious pomp elsewhere

displayed by the Ethiopians and Egyptians, to conceive that this

unfinished and comparatively insignificant temple contained the golden

altar, the “holiest of holies,” of their great divinity. That

the great Ethiopian oracle, whose celebrity even Homer has testified,

should not have had a more magnificent habitation than this, cannot

be admitted. We know, from Pausanias and others, the costly presents

which were made to the oracles of Greece; and can we conceive that

the Ethiopians, probably equally, if not as more ancient, a much

more religious and superstitious people, would have allowed their

celebrated Ammonium to be the least finished, least magnificent

and imposing, of all the temples which now exist in the valley of

the Nile?

It is a more probable supposition that, as the wealth of the oracle

of Apollo at Delphi exposed it from the beginning to the enterprises

of avaricious and impious men, and was too powerful a temptation

even to the Phocians, in the same manner the great oracle of Ammon

in the valley of the Nile, particularly in a country like Ethiopia,

where history tells us that gold was once so plentiful, might suffer

from the celebrated altar which was dedicated to its worship being

loaded with the valuable and magnificent devotional offerings

of a wealthy and superstitious people. Such parade and splendour

would serve as incentives to the enemies of their religion, equally

anxious to appropriate the spoil and eradicate the superstitions of

the worshippers of Ammon. But it is most probable that, at the time

when the religion of the Gospel was widely spread in this part of

Africa, some Christian king of Ethiopia, zealous, and desirous of

obliging his subjects to embrace the true religion, and aware that,

if his faith prevailed at all, it must prevail, to use the language

of Paley, by the overthrow of every statue, altar, and temple in

the world, may have utterly destroyed not only the Ammonium, but

also many of the other temples; and this may account for the few

remains of sacred edifices which are now found in Ethiopia. Another

argument, in answer to the supposition of Professor Heeren, is, that,

among the numerous representations of the divinities on the columns

of the principal temples, there is not one single figure of Ammon,

except with the attributes of Kneph.

This edifice may have been a _château de chasse_ of the king, or a

palace in which he passed the rainy season, which might then, as now,

be unhealthy near the Nile. The objection to this supposition is,

that the kings as well as the priests were generally, and probably

always, surrounded with religious pomp and ceremony. I conceive it,

therefore, a more reasonable conjecture that it was an hospital, to

which invalids, particularly those suffering from malaria, were sent

during the rainy season. This will account for the immense courts and

chambers, and the insignificance of the temples, evidently intended

for persons of little consideration. From the experience I have

had of the climate of the desert, I must say I consider them much

more healthy, in any season, than the valley of the Nile. At the

instigation, I conceive, of some person acquainted with this fact,

the Pasha established a splendid hospital and college at Abou Zabel,

situated in the Desert, about twelve miles from Cairo. The dryness of

the atmosphere, the sand immediately absorbing any rain that falls,

renders these wildernesses in the highest degree salubrious. The

stones of which this edifice is constructed are nearly the same size

as those of the pyramids of Meroe; that is, about 1 foot high and 2½

feet long, and are apparently quarried from the neighbouring hills.

With regard to the antiquity of the ruins, it does not appear to me to

be very great. The sculpture, which, in the absence of hieroglyphics,

forms the only criterion, resembles, as already mentioned, that

on the propylons at Uffidunia; not exactly indicating that they

were built at the same period, but that they belonged equally to

the last stage of sculpture in the two countries; and, as the arts

first flourished in Ethiopia, they may have decayed there earlier

than in Egypt, particularly as the wealth and power of this country

diminished more rapidly, the Nile washing down to the lower valley

the source of their affluence and prosperity. From the Grecian

character of the fluting of the columns, as well as from the plan

of the temple and sculpture, it is not improbable that this edifice

was constructed about the period of Ergamenes, whose reign was coeval

with that of Ptolemy II. Diodorus describes this king of Ethiopia as

having had a Greek education, and having introduced into this his

native country a taste for the philosophy of Greece, and delivered

himself and his people from the tyranny of the priests; and perhaps,

I may add, he endeavoured, by the introduction of foreign ornaments,

to regenerate a taste for architecture and sculpture: but in this

specimen we only see the last effort of a people whose greatness was

passed away, their taste corrupted, and all the lights of knowledge

and civilisation just expiring. The elegant pyramids of Meroe differ

as widely, in taste and execution, from the immensely extensive

but ill-planned ruins of Wady el Owataib, as the best sculpture at

Thebes, during the age of Rameses II., differs from the corrupted

style under the Ptolemies and Cæsars.

CHAPTER IX.

DEFICIENCY OF WATER. — RETURN TO THE NILE. — WILD ANIMALS. —

ANCIENT CANAL. — TEMPLE OF ABOU NAGA. — DIFFICULTIES. — THE

MODERN CAPITALS OF ETHIOPIA. — SENNAAR. — THE DIFFICULTY OF

PENETRATING TO THE SOURCE OF THE BAHR EL ABIAD. — TRIBE OF ARABS ON

ITS BANKS. — WATER LESS SWEET THAN THAT OF THE BAHR EL AZRUK. —

ARAB DESCRIPTION OF THE RIVER. — INUNDATION OF THE NILE. — RETURN

TO SHENDY. — MAMELUKE EXERCISE.

I had intended to have proceeded from the ruins of El Owataib to

those of El Mecaurat, farther in the Desert; but my stock of water

was almost exhausted, in consequence of my guide and camel-driver

not having brought their own supply, according to agreement,

also on account of several of my own geerbahs proving bad, and our

consumption, owing to the extreme heat, having been twice what we

expected. Signor Bandoni seems to be apprehensive of a deficiency,

and anxious to guard against it; for yesterday evening I found him

in my tent with his mouth at a three-gallon geerbah. His draughts

were profounder than his philosophy, for by his earnestness he seemed

intent on trying whether he himself possessed that valuable faculty

which his experience in the desert had taught him the camels possess;

that of imbibing, at one draught, a sufficient store for a week. We

left the ruins at half-past twelve, and arrived at the Nile at half

past six. We saw on our road numerous traces of the lions, hyenas,

tigers (nimr), wild asses, and ostriches, and near the river,

guinea-fowls. Shortly before arriving at the Nile, we passed the

bed of a canal which seemed to be ancient. They informed me that it

extends very far into the Desert towards the ruins of Mecaurat.

_March_ 11. We left this morning at seven, and reached the ruins

of Abou Naga at nine. The two square pillars which remain of

this temple, are very curious. On each side is a representation

of what is generally called a figure of Typhon, above which is

the head of Isis or Athor. These figures are very much injured,

but the style is extremely bold and decidedly very ancient. The

people above Meroe, says Diodorus, worship Isis and Pan, and also

Hercules and Zeus. This Typhonian figure is called Pthah by many,

and considered as an immediate emanation from Jupiter. We have here

two more divinities to add to the Ethiopian list: I use this name,

for of all the antiquities existing in the valley of the Nile, these

have the most ancient appearance. The drawing will give an exact

idea of the style of the sculpture. The reader will remark that

this is no effort of a feeble and corrupt taste, no imitation of a

foreign (Egyptian) style, but the spirited work of an early period,

when the productions of art would naturally be more remarkable for

force and vigour than for exquisite or delicate finish. There are

no hieroglyphics, nor any appearance of there ever having been any,

which may be considered another proof of their great antiquity, an

edifice in which they are absent must either be of the most ancient

or most modern date: and certainly this latter description cannot

belong to the present structures. The style has evidently the stamp of

originality, and I therefore think it may be considered a fragment of

perhaps one of the most ancient temples which has ever been erected

in honour of the two great divinities, Isis and Typhon, or rather,

I should say, of the two principles of good and evil existing in the

world: for Isis, the Ceres of the Greeks, is a type of that benevolent

care of the Deity which furnishes men with the fruits of the earth;

and she is worshipped under the form of a woman, emblematical of

the maternal fondness of the great divinity. Under that view, she is

sometimes represented with her son, the infant Horus, on her knees,

as the source of the multiplication and increase of the human race.

[Illustration: TEMPLE OF ABOU NAGA.]

The figure which, in deference to the general opinion, I have called

Typhon, has been considered by many to be that of Pthah, from the

circumstance of almost similar representations having been found with

the name of that divinity in hieroglyphics; but, in the absence of

any inscription to decide the question of what this figure has been,

I must confess that I conceive it not impossible that it may be the

Hercules of the Ethiopians. Hercules, or the god of strength, would

be a type of the attribute of power in the great divinity; and that

this should be a leading representation in the primitive ages, is

not surprising, as, of course, muscular strength would then be the

endowment most highly prized. The fables of Hercules clearing the

earth of monsters were very probably partly derived from Ethiopia,

together with the worship of the divinity. The mythology of the

Ethiopians, as I may, perhaps, venture to mention more particularly

on a future occasion, appears by no means to have been a gross

polytheism. I do not mean to say that the “uncultivated mass,”

as Gibbon styles them, very little removed in point of intellect

from their fellow-labourers the oxen, could have entertained very

pure notions of religion; I only agree with those who conceive that

the more educated and enlightened classes worshipped these different

symbolical forms, not as separate and equally powerful divinities, but

as the types of the different attributes of the One great Deity. This

temple, which was about 150 feet long, seems to have been ornamented

with six pilasters, five feet square; but it was impossible to trace

the plan satisfactorily: and as I conceive the materials to have

been carried away, an excavation would be of little use. The plan

(2300 feet in circumference) shows that the town has been small,

and built of sun-burnt bricks.

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE RUINS NOW CALLED ABOU NAGA.]

I had intended to have gone from this place to the ruins of Mecaurat,

at eleven hours’ distance in the desert. The soldier who officiated

as my guide, on leaving the ruins of Wady el Owataib yesterday,

said that we could not visit the ruins of Mecaurat, as they were

situated farther in the desert; that we should most probably meet

with lions on the road; and that the danger would indubitably be

much greater than on the preceding night; that, at this season of

the year, it was folly to think of going there without a guard

or large caravan; and, to conclude, that he would not incur the

responsibility of taking me. This morning, to my surprise, he said

he was willing to accompany me, if I desired. In this uncertainty I

asked for information from the sheakhs and different peasants I met;

and the result of these enquiries was, that, Mecaurat being farther

in the mountains, lions are much more numerous there than at Wady

el Owataib; that we should probably fall in with them on the road;

that this was the most dangerous season, from their food being

scarce, and that none of the peasants lead their flocks there,

since fires do not always succeed in repelling them. A few years

ago there were few or none; but now the number was so great that I

ought not to hazard going. In fact, not one, by bribes or threats,

could be induced to join our caravan.

Notwithstanding this discouraging information, I was anxious not

to leave any of the antiquities of Ethiopia unexplored; and I felt

that I might have gone without very great risk, because we had a

proof, the night before last, of the effect of fire in frightening

lions away; and I believe, as long as there are camels, or any kind

of cattle, they would not, if unmolested, attack a human being. I

had learned, also, that there was one edifice not much ruined, and

conceived that in it a fortification might soon be made, which a lion

could not penetrate. My servants seemed evidently afraid, but said,

wherever I went they would accompany me; but my artist made so many

objections that I told him, in disgust, he might go or not, as he

thought proper. He took me at my word, and refused to accompany

me. I at first determined to go alone: but, after considering

that I should have to leave two camels and a servant with him;

that my caravan would thus be reduced in number; and as no other

camels could be procured, their owners being afraid of the lions,

I should not be able to take enough of water to enable me to stay

at the ruins a sufficient time to make all the drawings that would

be necessary; I gave up the expedition, conceiving that it was of

little importance. My funds, also, are now considerably reduced,

and I am not in a country where I can easily replenish them. The

heat is every day more intolerable. I ought, for private reasons,

to have long since been in Europe; my health has for several days

been very indifferent, from these annoyances, the excessive heat,

which for the first few days of its commencement is always most

prejudicial, and I must confess myself not a little disgusted.

I must be satisfied with having been at Meroe, on the site of the

capital of Ethiopia, which appears to me a satisfactory termination

to my more important labours in the lower part of the valley of the

Nile; and when the reader considers that I have now been nearly

fourteen months above Cairo, leading almost the life of an Arab,

without any of the comforts and charms of the civilised world,

I think he will not reproach me for not extending my travels to

Sennaar and the banks of the White River. Indeed, even had not

a private duty _obliged_ me to return to England, I should not,

I think, have gone very much farther south, as I could spend my

time much more usefully at Thebes; for, except those in the desert,

there are no antiquities beyond this point.

As to the modern capitals of Ethiopia, nothing can be more miserable

than those I have already seen. Sennaar, I am told, great, splendid,

and beautiful as the Arabs represent it, is very little larger,

and has not much more the appearance of a capital, than Shendy,

which, as I have said before, cannot be compared to many of the

small towns in Egypt. The poetical minds of the Arabs are fond of

describing in glowing terms the beauty of distant objects; as the

ancients placed the Garden of the Hesperides in the most remote

region; but the descriptions of modern travellers, and the accounts

of many sensible Turks, have satisfied me that Sennaar is not worth

half a day’s journey, and certainly not twenty-two, which would

be necessary to go thither and return.

As to the Bahr el Abiad, or White River, it would be extremely

difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate to any distance on

its banks; and it is now more than ever impracticable to attempt

the discovery of its source. The Governor at Kordofan has his

_gazwah_, or hunt for slaves, on the banks of that river: there is,

therefore, scarcely a family in that part that has not lost some

relation,—fathers their sons, husbands their wives, brothers their

sisters, children their parents,—and all would rejoice to avenge

their loss on the first white man who should imprudently venture into

their territory. The source of the Nile could only, I conceive, be

discovered by an armed force; and even that method would present great

difficulties. It would require a large army to subdue the great extent

of country through which the Bahr el Abiad probably passes. Not only

the chiefs, but the whole population, instead of any of them joining

the standard of the invader, or furnishing him with provisions, would

resolutely oppose him. Each man would fight with desperation for the

preservation of his property, family, and liberty. The Shillooks,

Numrum, and other brave and warlike tribes on the White River, are

not ignorant of the wretched lot of their brethren in Cairo. Many

a fugitive slave has carried the intelligence to his tribe of the

misery and hardships they endured after they were taken prisoners;

their sufferings from the scanty allowance of water in the desert;

the numbers who perished from fatigue, heat, and thirst; their painful

journey on foot, bound in the most cruel manner; their wretched food;

their ignominious exposure for sale in the Cairo market; and, perhaps,

the cruelty of their taskmasters. These are injuries, I think,

sufficient to sharpen their sabres, and inflame their hatred and

thirst for revenge, on all Mahometans and white men. The traveller

being French or English would be of no avail. They distinguish but

two races, Pagan and Mahometan, and two colours, black and white,

their friends and enemies.

As to the source of the Bahr el Abiad, and the situation of the

Mountains of the Moon, as the Arabs of this neighbourhood have

never been there, or seen any person who has visited either the one

or the other, their suppositions are not worth more, if so much,

as the conjectures of any intelligent man in London. I think it

more candid to confess that these subjects are still involved in a

mystery, which the armies of the Pasha may possibly one day clear up;

yet he can never subdue that country with the facility with which

he made himself master of the valley of the Nile: the difference of

creed, and the deep-rooted hatred against him which prevails there,

would oblige him almost to exterminate the whole population before

he could enjoy a peaceable possession of the territory. If his

ambitious views are diverted by European interference from another

track with his immense resources, large and disciplined army,

and the great superiority derived from fire-arms and artillery,

he might penetrate even to the source of the White River, and solve

that problem which has perplexed the literary men of every age. No

private individual would be so rash as to attempt this discovery. Were

there any possibility of success, for the hope of immortality,

men could be found to encounter fearlessly the heat and fatigue,

and other ordinary dangers of the journey; but no one would be so

foolish as to expose himself to the certain death which would be

the result of any attempt made at this period.

This discovery would have been more easily accomplished before the

Pasha’s conquest; before the war of colour, if I may so describe it,

commenced: but there does not seem to have been any recent intercourse

between the inhabitants of the kingdom of Shendy and the tribes on the

banks of the White River. If any credit can be given to the accounts

of the Arabs, there are cannibals not very far up its stream. I was

told that twenty days above its junction with the Bahr el Azruk, there

is a tribe of Arabs mixed with the Pagans. I can scarcely believe

this latter statement, otherwise it would present a somewhat less

difficult method of penetrating to a certain distance. I have been

assured by several Arab merchants, and also Turks, that the water of

the river is less sweet than that of the Azruk, that the caravans

stationed on what they call the Island, between the two rivers,

universally prefer the water of the latter. The Egyptians, therefore,

are indebted to the Azruk for the singular sweetness of the waters of

the Nile. The Arab’s invariable description of the Bahr el Abiad is,

that it has waves like the Red Sea, but the current is not powerful

like that of the Blue River; that a boat would sail rapidly up,

on account of the prevailing northerly winds, but it would be more

difficult to descend. It is not improbable that the reason of the

superior rapidity of the Blue River is its greater proximity to its

source in the mountains, whilst the Bahr el Abiad may pass through

immense districts, where the surface is more level and uniform.

Of the inundation of the Nile I will speak hereafter; only remarking

at present, that during the whole of this journey I have not met

one sensible Arab, who was ignorant that the rains in Ethiopia were

followed by the rise of the river, and that, according to the wetness

of the season, the inundation was more or less beneficial. I do not

mean to say that they are acquainted with the real causes of those

rains,—the rarefying of the air by the sun in his approach towards

the tropic, and the consequent rush of vapour from the neighbouring

seas; but the circumstance of the peasants here all being aware of

the rain as the season of the inundation, excites my surprise how

the ancients, particularly as many of them visited Meroe, could be

so ill acquainted with, or, indeed, have the slightest doubt of,

the true cause. The flourishing state of the country at that period,

and the probable extent of its commerce, renders this still more

singular. If they had not been actual witnesses to the tropical rains,

(and, according to Pliny, many were,) they must have heard of them,

over and over again, from authentic sources. The most uneducated

peasant in Europe, were he to see the rain fall in torrents for

a long period, the little rivulets running into a river in his

vicinity, and yet not be aware why the latter was swollen, would be

considered to display a tenfold degree of stupidity. It can only

be accounted for by their preferring to ornament their works with

ingenious speculations rather than admit an explanation which they

could not account for.[22] We arrived at Shendy this evening at nine.

_Metammah.—March_ 12. This morning the katshef at Shendy, with

his servants and dependants, went through the Mameluke exercise

for our amusement. Six entered the list on each side. Their lances

were stalks of the palm tree, about four or five feet long. The

combatants were about 300 or 400 yards apart at the commencement,

but when the contest became more animated, not more than 100. Each

one sallied out when he liked, armed with a single lance, and, when

there was no opponent in the field, rode near the opposite party,

and generally, when at the distance of from twenty to thirty feet,

flung his lance at his adversaries within their limits, to excite them

to come forth; otherwise, when the field was full, at those who were

galloping back from pursuing their adversaries. The attacked party

trusted to the speed of the horse to save him from the lance of the

one who followed him, who, having in his turn flung his lance, was

rode after by another of the opposite party, and thus the ball was

spiritedly kept up. The requisites for these manœuvres are, perfect

management of his horse, dexterity in avoiding his adversary’s

lance, and catching it, if possible, with his hand, which enables

him to turn again upon the assailant. They are only, as I have said,

allowed to go out with one lance, and when they have thrown it, are

dependent on their agility, and the swiftness of their horses, to

save themselves from their pursuers; but the qualities most admired,

and most necessary, are strength and dexterity in throwing the lance,

and fearless indifference to blows. Each well-directed and successful

aim was hailed with a shout of admiration, and those who seemed to

fear the contest were evidently despised. The exercise is fine, but

the wounds received are sometimes not slight. There is no ostensible

respect of persons. The servant throws his lance at his master,

and the master at the servant; yet, somehow, the katshef escaped

always amid the numbers of lances which were showered around him:

a clever courtier knows how to direct his aim. Between the servants

the game sometimes became serious, and blows were exchanged with

the appearance of real enmity.

I saw this morning a number of mats and baskets made by the women,

some of which are very beautiful. They make here, also, very neat

sandals, almost exactly resembling those of the ancients. At noon I

crossed to Metammah. I found that the katshef was absent. The soldier

he had deputed to perform the duties of his office promised me eight

camels, to cross the desert of Bahiouda to Meroueh.

CHAPTER X.

METAMMAH — DIFFICULTY OF FINDING CAMELS TO CROSS THE BAHIOUDA

DESERT. — WRETCHED STATE OF THE PEASANTS WHEN ATTACKED BY

ILLNESS. — INTERMITTENT FEVERS. — COSTUMES OF METAMMAH. —

WOMEN OF HIGH RANK. — THEIR LONG NAILS, MANNER OF INCREASING THEIR

LENGTH. — BAHIOUDA DESERT. — WELLS AT ABOULAY. — REFLECTIONS

ON THE DESERT LIFE. — SHAGEEA TRIBE. — WELLS CALLED GAGDOOL. —

SIGNOR B. UNWELL. — HASSANYEH TRIBE. — ANIMALS OF THE DESERT. —

GREYHOUND DOG. — WELL OF MAGAGA. — DANGEROUS ILLNESS OF SIGNOR

B. — WELL OF DELICIOUS WATER CALLED HALESS. — BEAUTY OF THE

SCENERY. — SHEPHERD BOYS. — CHARACTER OF THE ROCKS. — WELLS

OF GOOD WATER CALLED HANNEK AND PRASOLI. — THE MANNER THE SHAGEEA

SALUTE. — COPTIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH. — ARRIVAL AT THE TOWN OF

MEROUEH. — HIEROGLYPHICS ON A SLAB IN THE CASTLE.

_Metammah.—March_ 13. A sufficient number of good camels, or

rather dromedaries, being difficult to find, I was detained the

whole of the day near this miserable little town, where there is

nothing to be seen. The country, even at this season, is not free

from malaria. Several peasants suffering from intermittent fever

applied to me for relief. Some I saw wretchedly ill, lying on their

angoureebs, without any advice, or, apparently, any person to attend

them, left to live or die according to the violence of the attack or

the strength of their constitutions. When the rains extend to this

place, which is not always the case, fevers are very prevalent:

dysentery also is very common: I have had an attack myself, and

two of my servants suffered severely from it. I used successfully a

powerful dose of opium and calomel. To my servant, who was very ill,

I gave six grains of calomel and one of opium at a time.

Once a week, in each of these small towns and villages, there is a

bazaar; a curious scene, on account of the different costumes of the

Arabs who resort to them from the country. At Metammah many of the

inhabitants have adopted the fashion of their conquerors, and shaved

their heads. The costumes of some of the women of high rank are said

to be very beautiful, but it is difficult to obtain a sight of them;

and I must confess I have not enjoyed that good fortune. My dragoman,

however, an impudent fellow, contrived, upon some pretext, to enter

the harem of the present melek of Shendy, whose wife is daughter

of the celebrated Nimr, who murdered Ismael Pasha. Her husband has

gone to the war with Hourshid Bey. The intruder found this queen,

as he called her, in a large room reposing in a most dignified

manner on a beautiful angoureeb, covered with the fine mats of the

country. She was reclining at full length; her head was supported by

a wooden pillow of about the width of a hoop, and of a semicircular

form to admit the head, and sustained by a column 4 to 6 inches high

with a broad flat base, [Symbol]. They are almost exactly similar to

those often found in the ancient tombs of the Egyptians, and which,

notwithstanding their apparent discomfort, are now very generally used

in every part of Upper Nubia. The ladies of Shendy, however, value

them highly, since, being so narrow, they do not disarrange their

hair; a serious consideration, if it be true, as I am informed, that

the _coiffure_ of the Shendyan beauties requires nine hours’ work

to be quite _comme il faut_. This lady’s hair was very curiously

dressed, beautifully plaited, and bushy at each side, projecting

behind and flat above the forehead. On this flat part were two plates

of gold, one above the other, and in the centre of her forehead was

a large gold ring. She wore two handsome gold earrings, and bracelets

of massive gold on her arms, and the same above her ankles. She wore

the cotton dress of the country, but finer than usual, and over her

neck was a beautiful shawl of Souakim with a broad silk border. He

represented her features as being extremely small and delicate; her

eyes very large and fine, and her complexion much fairer than that

of the women of the country in general. He described her as the most

beautiful woman he had seen since leaving Cairo, and doubted if,

in his life, he had observed any one superior to her. She looked,

he said, like a queen.

In a circle, squatted on the ground beneath, were about twenty

female slaves, some very beautiful, busily employed in pounding and

preparing spices for the ointment with which they perfume their

persons and soften their skins. Her nails were extremely long;

a decided indication, in this country, of high rank, as proving

that the person never condescends to employ her fingers in any

work. To promote their growth, they are held over small fires of

cedar wood. This is an ancient custom, and Cailliaud mentions having

observed, at Naga, a representation of a queen with long nails;

and it still prevails among the Chinese of the highest rank. This

wife, or queen, of the melek, possesses a large fortune, said to

amount to 50,000_l._ sterling; an enormous amount for a country

like this. She increases it daily by commerce, keeping constantly

in her employ Arab merchants, who trade in caravans on her account

to Abyssinia, Kordofan, Sennaar, and Cairo. Their chief traffic now

is in slaves. Two of her merchants were in the room when my dragoman

entered. She eyed him at first fiercely and haughtily, and asked him

whether he was one of the Christians just arrived, and how he dared

to enter there? Being a clever insinuating fellow, with the advantage

of being a Mahometan, he soon ingratiated himself into her favour,

and had some dinner ordered for him. As she was the first queen he

had ever seen, and the daughter of the celebrated Nimr, he examined

her very attentively. The reader will perhaps be dissatisfied with

a description thus given upon hearsay; but I should state that,

from numerous enquiries, I have found it perfectly applicable to the

great ladies in this country; and my dragoman, although an Arab, is

the most intelligent clever servant I have met with any where. The

account of this great lady may remind the reader of Bruce’s Sittina.

_March_ 14. We started this morning at noon; and now, thank Heaven,

my face is toward the north, and every day will bring me nearer

England. I have still a journey of nearly 1600 miles before I even

reach Alexandria, with deserts to pass and hardships to undergo.[23]

We have suffered already very severely from heat and fatigue. For

some time past the thermometer, between eleven and four, has been

96° to 100° in the shade; on one day as high as 104°, and another,

110°. The wind blows almost every day very strong from the north;

but in the interior deserts of Africa, the atmosphere soon becomes so

heated, by the scorching sun, that the wind which, in other regions,

braces and invigorates man, is felt as hot and oppressive. It is

refreshing at night, and near the river; but in the desert, for a

great part of the day, almost insupportable. Our umbrellas, with

which we sheltered ourselves from the sun, have been all broken by

the wind, and others we had constructed met to-day a similar fate;

but we protect ourselves with our sheets as well as we can. There is

no apparent ascent from the Nile into the desert. After five hours’

journey we encamped for the night. The desert is slightly covered

with sand, but not so much as to impede the camels: in other respects

it almost resembles a park, covered, to a great extent, with trees

and herbage, though the latter has rather a burnt appearance. The

trees are chiefly acacias, bearing full yellow flowers, and in their

forms sometimes resembling small oaks, others the tops of the Italian

pine trees.

_March_ 16. We have been ten hours _en route_ this day. As we

advanced into the desert, I observed not quite so many trees,

and also less herbage. After five hours’ journey—that is,

ten after leaving the Nile—we arrived at a spot called Aboulay,

where numerous wells occur. The Arabs filled their water-skins; and,

had I not been well provided from the Nile, I should have drunk of

it without hesitation, as it seemed tolerably sweet and wholesome.

On this journey I could not escape from some serious and even

painful reflections. However the traveller may be fascinated with

this kind of life,—free from the restraints and passions of the

world; living in the patriarchal style; mounted on his dromedary;

sleeping under a tent, and sometimes without one; covered with no

other canopy than the blue sky;—exquisite as may be the pleasure of

exploring unfrequented lands, treading unbeaten paths, and leading his

caravan over these terrible wildernesses; still, there are thoughts,

not to be resisted, which crowd upon the mind, and unnerve even the

strongest. This is not the land of our birth; we are strangers to

the customs, manners, language, and religion of the people: their

hospitality and civility are merely the effort of their benevolence,

and the performance of a duty. No tie of relationship, no chain of

affection, no sympathy of ideas, no bond of union, exists between

us. The dissimilarity of our colour, of the climate and aspect of

the country, as compared with ours, is not more complete than that

of our habits and feelings. All that we love, all that we care

for, is separated from us by immense tracts of desert sands; and

we have to pass rivers, seas, and several thousand miles before we

reach the land of our home. I can also assure my fair countrywomen

that it is no trifling deprivation to see and converse with none

but these swarthy savage beauties, from whose society no man of any

refinement can derive the slightest gratification. My Italian artist,

who sings remarkably well, entertains me sometimes with the favourite

airs from Rossini’s and Bellini’s operas, and he talks to me so

much of “la bella Italia,” that I long to be again there—_but

on my way to England_.

My camel-drivers, with the exception of two Ababdes, whom I met and

engaged as they had passed the Nubian desert with me, are of the

tribe of the Shageea—fine tall warlike-looking fellows, with their

hair dressed almost like the Ababdes; but the Shageea generally wear

beards and mustachios. Their complexion is decidedly darker than that

of the Ababdes, which is a dark brown; but theirs is a darker brown,

and sometimes approaches almost to a black, but still very different

from the cold colour of the negroes. The Shageea have occasionally

wider nostrils than we should think correct, and rather thick lips,

otherwise their features would resemble exactly the European. We

have seen numbers of gazelles, and several flocks of sheep, and

passed many isolated hills: the sand is firm, and not fatiguing for

the camels. Six inches below the surface is sandstone rock.

_March_ 17. We have been ten hours on the road. Had it not been

for the extreme heat, and my health being indifferent, I should have

enjoyed my journey through this desert; for, although not picturesque,

the abundance of acacias makes it extremely beautiful. We have passed

several isolated hills; and on the sand yesterday, as well as to-day,

I observed many of the round balls of iron-flint, or iron-glance,

sometimes of a red, but generally of almost a black, colour. A

distinguished mineralogist has informed me that they are common sand,

agglutinated by oxide of iron, such as may be seen on Hampstead Heath,

&c., rolled by water. They are similar to those observed during my

first two or three days’ journey in the great Nubian desert.

_March_ 18. After four hours’ ride I arrived at a range of

mountains, the crust of which consists of quartz and decomposed

granite; but the basis of most of the rocks in this quarter is

sandstone. At a distance I fancied we were approaching a passage cut

through the mountains; but on arriving it proved a deep recess in

the rock, having the appearance of being worn by a torrent, and now

forming a well, or rather cistern, almost entirely protected from

the rays of the sun by a projecting rock. During the winter, and

when the tropical rains extend so far north, the water is above five

times its present depth, which is only eight feet. It is now green,

and disagreeable to the taste; but, fortunately, my stock of Nile

water is not finished, as I must confess I should not have relished

to quench my thirst, under a burning sun, with this beverage. My

satisfaction was the greater when I observed that my camel-drivers,

when they had filled their water-skins, bathed and washed themselves

in the pool; doubtless the usual custom of the caravans. We expected

to find flocks here, and procure an additional supply of meat. My

artist being extremely unwell, and wishing for soup, I gave a

backsheesh of ten piastres to one of the camel-men, who mounted

an unloaded dromedary, and went out of the road, towards the west,

to a source of water, where he said there were Arabs of the tribe

of the Hassanyeh: he joined us after three hours, having succeeded

in purchasing a goat for five, and an excellent gazelle for two,

piastres. We have seen numerous herds, of five or six each, of the

latter, but have never been able to approach within shot of them. At

a short distance from hence, they tell me that there are antelopes

(Arabic, _buggera el Atmoor_). It is singular that, on this side of

the river, ferocious animals are rare. There are some few hyenas, but

the panthers and lions seem confined chiefly to the Island of Meroe.

This reservoir of water, called Gagdool, is out of the direct road;

we went from it due west for a short time, and then resumed our course

towards the north-west. I should have made a drawing of these rocks,

but I was really so unwell that I felt unequal to the exertion. At

noon we reposed for a short time under our tent. There are abundance

of acacias, but they afford little shade; whence the Arab proverb,

“The friendship of man is like the shade of the acacia.” At Shendy

I bought a splendid greyhound dog; perhaps of a larger species than

ours, stronger, and with more bone, but showing much breeding. I was

surprised to find the true race of greyhound dog in the centre of

Africa; but, in fact, there is a representation of it on the walls

of a tomb at Thebes, forming part of magnificent offerings received

from Ethiopia. (See Plate XLVI.) I should have been glad to have

brought him to England, but he died in consequence of the heat,

added to his fatigue in following the camel, and perhaps not having

sufficient water, although I spared him as much as I could out of my

own individual stock[24], in order that I might save him. I placed

him on the back of a camel; but he would not remain.

_March_ 19. Nine hours this day. We arrived at eleven at a well,

in a valley at the commencement of a range of granite rocks of the

usual round formation by which they are always known: quartz nodules

were scattered in the valley. The water of this well is the best we

have tasted since we left the Nile, yet not what I should like to

drink. The Arabs say that we shall arrive at a better to-morrow. The

source is called Magaga. We encamped earlier than usual this evening,

my artist being unable to go any farther. Last night he had a severe

attack of bilious fever. Calomel is the best remedy for that complaint

in this climate. I gave him a dose of six grains, and this morning

he was wonderfully better, but the fatigue and heat of the day have

brought on a relapse. He wants spirit to assist in throwing off the

disease, is afraid of dying in the desert, and thinks it impossible

he shall live to see the Nile again. He fancies that without plenty

of sustenance he cannot exist; and therefore forces his appetite,

instead of living abstemiously, as he ought. I have given him six

grains more this evening, but have found great difficulty in inducing

him to take them, although he is sensible of the benefit he derived

from the others. I am exceedingly anxious about the effect of the

medicine, from the responsibility I feel in having brought him into

the deserts. His reproaches on the subject are harassing, although

unjust; for he was engaged under the condition of making this journey.

_March_ 20. My artist was exceedingly ill the early part of last

night, but at last he fell into a profuse perspiration, after which

he dropped asleep, and awoke this morning quite relieved. He allows

a certain merit to the pills, but much more to his having vowed

to present wax candles to the Madonna on his return to Italy:

he has made other promises of the same kind for deliverance from

various dangers. An hour after starting this morning, we arrived at

a well called Haless, situated, like the one we passed yesterday,

in a valley. The water is most delicious, quite equal to that of

the Nile. We emptied all our geerbahs of the water they contained,

which, from the extreme heat, had become black and bad, and filled

them from this delicious fountain. I never enjoyed any luxury so

much as this cold, clear, fresh draught.

We encamped after nine hours’ ride. Although the scenery is

not sufficiently bold to be termed picturesque, it is impossible

to conceive a more beautiful desert; valleys and rocks with

mountains, whose forms are varied, broken, sometimes conical, but

never monotonous. The low grounds are covered with sweet-smelling

acacias. The herbage has certainly, at this season, a very burnt

appearance; but had there been a greensward, instead of these yellow

sands and this long discoloured grass, few spots would be more lovely

than the Desert of Bahiouda.

_March_ 21. We rode ten hours to-day. The plains are rather more

extensive, but still beautiful. We met, this morning, shepherd boys

with geerbahs on their arms, containing their provision of water, and

they had a few loaves of dourah bread tied in their garment. In this

way they conduct their flocks to the pasturages distant from the well,

and return when their stock of provision is consumed. I observed,

several times, this morning, traces of torrents. The mountains in this

desert are generally of grey and pink-coloured granite, often of the

description called syenite; many are of sandstone, hornblende, and

conglomerates; while others are of decomposed granite and decomposed

felspar. At eleven o’clock we passed a well of good water called

Hennek, now forty feet deep and proportionally wide. There are no

traces of its being recently excavated, nor any thing to mark it

as ancient, but it is too great an undertaking for the Arabs of the

present age to have accomplished. We are encamped near another source

of rain water, called Prasoli. There are about twenty houses or sheds

scattered around, inhabited by peasants and their flocks. We have

met two caravans of merchants from Dongolah. The manner the Shageea

salute, leaning their right arms over the breasts and shoulders

of each other, has a very dignified and noble appearance, and is

quite in harmony with that frank sincerity and honest affection,

which characterise the Arabs of the desert.

_March_ 22. We set out, as usual, at seven, and, at twelve o’clock

of the eighth day from Metammah, arrived again at the river. A short

distance from the Nile, in a wild solitary situation, we passed some

fine ruins of a large Coptic church. It is built of stone covered with

cement. There are several windows, and naves in the interior. There

are also several doors, and over them the Maltese cross. At the

top of the building are remains of an Egyptian cornice and beading,

but the plan of the interior is evidently that of a church. It was

built, probably, of the materials of a temple, of which the peasants

inform me that the traces were recently visible, but are now entirely

buried by the encroaching sands of the desert. I went to the place

where it was said to have existed, but could find no vestiges of

it. We were detained some time on the south side of the Nile, but,

after firing repeatedly, a boat came over for us.

Immediately on arriving at the town of Meroueh, I paid a visit to

the katshef who has the command of this district. I found him very

anxious to be of service to us; and his assistance was most useful

in enabling me to procure a fresh supply of bread; a thing difficult

to be had in a country where very little of any grain except dourah

is either raised or eaten. I was fortunate in obtaining as much

rice as I was in need of from the soldiers, who were very willing

to sell their rations. Our sugar and tea is consumed: the latter,

of course, is not to be procured in such a region as this. In this

village, or rather little capital of the province of Dar Shageea,

and in the country around, we could only find one loaf of sugar,

which was black, and the owner made me pay ten times its value.

We left the camels, which brought us across the desert, on the

other side of the river: we, therefore, cannot go on to Gibel el

Birkel this evening, since no other camels can be found to carry

the luggage. As the distance is more than an hour’s walk, I have

not time to go and return before dark, and am therefore obliged to

restrain my curiosity until to-morrow.

Meroueh is an ill-built miserable place. In the fortress where the

katshef resides, and which formerly belonged to Melek Shoush, is a

pedestal of basalt, on which are two ovals, with names and titles

on them, which I could not copy, on account of the accumulation of

filth that covered them. I had it washed, and traced sufficient of

the hieroglyphics to perceive that the name is the same as that of

an Ethiopian king I afterwards found on the great temple at Gibel el

Birkel. In the court of the same castle is a fragment of a statue of

the same material, the sculpture of which is good. The coincidence

between the modern name of Meroueh and the ancient capital Meroe

is curious. Was this the commencement of the kingdom of which Meroe

was the metropolis?

CHAPTER XI.

ANTIQUITIES OF GIBEL EL BIRKEL. — DESCRIPTION AND DIMENSIONS OF THE

MOUNTAIN. — TEMPLE BUILT BY THE TIRHAKA OF THE BIBLE. — VARIOUS

OTHER INTERESTING REMAINS AND TEMPLES. — PYRAMIDS. — CIRCULAR

AND POINTED ARCH INVENTED IN ETHIOPIA.

Gibel el Birkel is situated an hour’s walk, or three miles and a

half, to the east of the small town of Meroueh, and the mountain is

5150 feet distant from the Nile. It is an insulated hill, situated in

a large plain; and below it, on the south side, are the ruins, also

the cultivated land and the river. The other sides of the mountain

are bordered by the desert, which has, no doubt, made encroachments

on what was once cultivated land. The height of the eminence is about

350 feet. The exterior is rough, part of it having been worked to

furnish materials for the temples, and more recently large masses

have fallen, and almost entirely buried two temples which were

situated beneath. The hill is of sandstone, of a soft description,

which accounts for the dilapidated state of all the remains; for

not only would the influence of time and the seasons be greater,

but the difficulty would, of course, be less in destroying them. In

some parts, the mountain is nearly perpendicular: the form is very

picturesque, and highly imposing, particularly at a distance.

My general view (Plate XVIII.), drawn by myself with the camera

lucida, will give a correct idea of the site of the ancient city;

but it differs so much from the view Cailliaud has published, that

it will scarcely be recognised as the same place; and, indeed,

nearly all our plans and drawings are equally dissimilar. I can

only state, that neither time nor pains were spared, either by my

artist or myself, to render ours as accurate as possible. The total

circumference of the mountain (see Plate XVII.) is about 5000 feet,

which may be divided thus:—

Feet.

From the temple of Isis or Typhonium to the temple

destroyed by the mountain 400

From the latter to the Grand Temple 100

To the point where the mountain takes a direction

almost to the north, passing the traces of the town,

which extends for 500 feet 600

Direction towards the north 700

Ditto towards the north-west 1100

Ditto towards the south-west 100

Ditto nearly south 2000

----

5000

----

[Illustration: Pl. 17.

_From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr. & L. Bandoni._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The form of the eminence is not very unlike that of the Acropolis

of Athens, but there certainly never was any fortification on this

rock. Some broken pottery and bricks, on the eastern side, indicate

the site of the town. On the opposite, or western side of the

mountain, but more in the desert, are two groups of pyramids. One

consists of nine, the other, still farther in the desert, of

eight. They are surrounded by sand, on the surface of which great

quantities of quartz pebbles are disseminated.

Besides the two temples, mentioned as having been destroyed by the

falling of a part of the mountain, there are the remains of eight

other edifices, principally temples. The one I first arrived at,

situated at the south-west corner of the mountain, is perhaps the

most interesting of all. (See Plate XIX.)

I admired exceedingly the beautiful and picturesque form of Gibel el

Birkel; but the ruins in the distance, scattered beneath the southern

side of the mountain, excited to the greatest degree my curiosity. I

felt, indeed, that I was undoubtedly approaching the site of the

capital of a formerly rich and flourishing region. The situation

at once announces it, and the magnificent remains bear testimony to

its importance, and, I may truly add, to the taste, knowledge, and

refinement of the ancient inhabitants of this now deserted city. Plate

XX. is a view of the ruins which first engaged my attention. It shows

the remaining fragment of the propylon, and the manner in which

the columns forming the first court were ornamented. The head of

Isis adorns the eastern and western sides of the columns, fronting

the avenue and enclosure, where they would be seen conspicuously,

but the other two sides have merely the lotus flower; an economy of

sculpture never seen in Egyptian edifices. This drawing also shows

the entrance into the chambers which were excavated out of the

rock. Plate XIX. is the best point of view that I could fix upon,

and indeed a better could not be desired, as it shows seven columns,

ornamented with the capitals of the head of Athor, which are all that

remain; and it also comprises the only Typhonian pillar that is now

entire in the portico. My drawings will, I trust, give the reader

a full idea of the imposing appearance of these ruins. I will now

enter into a more detailed architectural description of this temple,

of which we have given the plan and section, Plates XXI. and XXII.

The length of this temple is 115 feet 6 inches, the breadth (in the

interior) 50 feet 2 inches. The pylon is almost entirely destroyed,

but sufficient is left to prove that its depth was 11 feet 3 inches,

and total width 62 feet 6 inches: there are no remains of the

entrance into this portico, but I have restored it according to

the usual form. This pylon leads into a portico 59 feet long and

50 feet 2 inches wide. I know not why Cailliaud and others have

made two rooms of this portico, and a difference in the diameter of

the columns. My artist had sufficient time to make the plan, which,

with the section, were drawn out, as I give them, on the spot. This

was our habitation, and in my examination of the ruins I did not

see any authority to induce me to suppose that there had been two

apartments. All the columns were so easily traced, that the plan,

with the exception of the propylon, may be considered entire.

[Illustration: Pl. 18.

_On stone by W. Walton, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

GENERAL VIEW OF GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

This portico consists of two rows of seven columns each, and two rows

of the same number of square pillars. The latter form the centre

avenue, while the columns are arranged between the pillars and

exterior wall. The centre rows, forming the avenue into the temple,

are ornamented on the side fronting the avenue with figures of the

deformed Pthah, or what is generally called Typhon, above which

is a capital, decorated with representations of the lotus flower,

supporting ovals; between the latter are branches of palm trees. One

of these pillars remains entire, and the traces of the others

are visible. Behind them are circular columns, with the capitals

of the head of Athor, above which is the common representation of

the monolithic temple with the serpent and globe. On the reverse is

the same. The sides are decorated (as I have said in my description

of Plate XX.) with the lotus flower, instead of the head of Athor,

above which are similar monolithic temples. The sculpture of these

heads of Isis is tolerable (see Plate XIX.), but not so bold as on

the pillars at Naga. The diameter of the columns is 3 feet 6 inches;

their total height 17 feet 6 inches, including the bases. The shaft

of the column, consisting of five pieces, measures 9 feet. The head

of Athor 3 feet 4 inches, the monolithic temple 4 feet 6 inches. The

diameter of the Typhonian pillars is 4 feet 3 inches. The columns

with the Athor-headed capital rest on circular bases, 4 feet in

diameter, and 8 inches high; the figures of Typhon are 12 feet 4

inches high; the total height of the pillar 17 feet. The height of

the legs of this figure is 4 feet 6 inches; the length of the body

from the shoulder to its legs 6 feet; the head is 3 feet 8 inches

long; making in all 14 feet 2 inches. The difference from the total

height of the statue, which is only 12 feet 4 inches, is accounted

for by the circumstance of the head of the monster reaching over

its breast, the shoulders being nearly on a level with its ears,

while its belly hangs down between its legs.

The side walls of the temple seem never to have been above 5 feet

6 inches high, as may be observed in the section. Besides the wall

not being broken, the circumstance of the capitals of the columns

being ornamented, on the sides fronting the wall, with the heads

of Isis, whilst on the north and south sides the architect did

not take the trouble thus to decorate them, proves that, from the

lowness of the wall, such an ornament was there quite requisite. The

circumstance, also, of the sides of the column towards the centre

avenue being in a great measure concealed by the Typhonian figures,

would suggest the idea of this variation from the general plan, and

induce them to erect only a low wall, in order that the columns with

the Athor-headed capital might be visible. This portico leads into a

room excavated out of the rock, ornamented with two figures of Typhon:

the height of these, including a kind of basket above their heads,

and plinths (see section), is 12 feet 4 inches. The sides of this

room are ornamented with sculpture, representing the king Tirhaka,

and his beautiful and royal bride Amentikatah, making offerings and

libations to the god Amun Ra, Lord of the Rulers, with the head-dress

of a large globe and two feathers; behind whom is Maut, with a plain

helmet on her head. On the opposite side the king, with the titles,

God beneficent, Lord of the World, Beneficent King, Son of Phre

(Pharaoh), is offering vases to the divinity Io, whose head-dress

consists of four plain feathers. She has the jackal-headed staff in

one hand, and in the other the _crux ansatus_. Behind this divinity

is a representation of Koht, with the head of a lioness, sustaining

a globe. I have copied the hieroglyphics, as also the dedicatory

inscription around the room.

On the columns of the portico scarcely any hieroglyphics are legible;

those few that are so I have copied. The room last described leads

into the sanctuary, also excavated out of the rock. It is 22 feet

10 inches long, by 12 feet 8 inches broad, and is ornamented with

sculpture, representing the king making offerings to the divinities,

with the attributes of Amun Ra, Neith, Honsoo, Horus, Kneph, and

Thoth. On the west side of the sanctuary is another excavated room,

22 feet 10 inches long, and 7 feet 6 inches wide. This is also

ornamented with sculpture, much broken, representing the king making

offerings to Kneph, Thoth, and Horus.

[Illustration: Pl. 19.

_On stone by C. Hullmandel, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

TEMPLE OF TIRHAKA, GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

On the east side of the sanctuary are two rooms, the first 17 feet

long by 7 feet 7 inches wide. The sculpture represents the king, with

the attributes and titles of Thoth, addressing numerous divinities

seated, all with the same figure of a mummy and a jackal-headed staff

in their hands. Before the first is a pedestal with a lotus flower

upon it. The second room, leading out of the last I have described,

is unfinished, and is only 5 feet long and 7 feet wide. The plan

will show that the rooms on each side the sanctuary have no direct

communication with the latter, but lead out of the first excavated

chamber.

This is not only the most curious of all the temples of Gibel el

Birkel, four of the chambers being excavated out of the rock; but

it is also in every respect the most picturesque and interesting,

particularly from being in the best preservation. Though an

excavation, it is apparently not very ancient.[25] I found no other

name upon it than that of Tirhaka, which is found on the columns

of the portico, and also in the interior. This is the Pharaoh, as

will be seen by the Historical Appendix, who assisted Hezekiah in

his war against Sennacherib. In clearing out the stones and rubbish

from the sanctuary, to make it a more comfortable residence, I made

the curious discovery of a gutter, 4 inches deep and 9 inches broad,

which crosses the ancient stone floor. It was probably to receive

the blood of the sacrifices.

The sculpture of this temple has not the striking characteristics

of the true Ethiopian style; it more resembles the Egyptian, and

is good, though by no means the best. It is not improbable that

this Ethiopian dynasty, being possessed also of Egypt, introduced

into their own country a taste for the improved style of Egyptian

sculpture. Ages must have elapsed before the Ethiopian manner could

have changed to one so entirely different as this is.

The next ruin I arrived at is marked D in the plan, and is nearly

300 feet distant from the Typhonium. This space of 300 feet between

the two temples is covered with ruined fragments, doubtless part

of the city. The temple D is not remarkable for architectural

beauty. It is much injured, and the sculpture and hieroglyphics

which ornamented the interior are quite defaced; scarcely a vestige

of the latter remaining to tell that they existed. The plan of the

temple may be distinctly traced. It consisted only of two rooms:

the first ornamented with four columns; the second is the sanctuary,

in which is a plain stone for an altar: the length of the edifice

is 85 feet, and the width 65. I saw no reason to suppose that it

ever had an additional portico in front. The defaced state of the

hieroglyphics and sculpture is no proof, in this instance, of its

great antiquity, but may be accounted for by the peculiar softness

of the stone. Close or adjoining to this temple, on the east side,

are some walls and columns of other edifices (E in the plan); but,

from what remains, little, I think, would be gained by an excavation,

as there are no hieroglyphics.

At 125 feet to the north, that is, behind the last-described ruins,

are the remains of the propylon of a small temple. (See the foreground

of Plate XXIII., and to the right, in the distance, of Plate XXV.) Its

south side is ornamented with sculpture, representing the king

sacrificing prisoners to Amun; a subject so often repeated on the

propylons of Egypt. The other side of the propylon is also ornamented

with sculpture. (See Plate XXIII.) It represents a sphinx on a

pedestal, under which is a figure with feathers, and also a pedestal

with some vases. I copied the hieroglyphics which were legible. They

contain the name and titles of a king called Amun Sekon. The upper

part of the oval, on the south side of the propylon, is destroyed;

but on the north, where it is perfect, it seems to be _Strength of

Amun Sekon_. The similarity of the name Sekon and Sethus, the first

of the nineteenth dynasty, is curious. The hieroglyphics above the

sphinx seem to allude to the offering of an obelisk to the king, and

the inscription above the vases states their number to be forty. The

width of this temple is 60 feet. The _sekos_ has been destroyed by

the falling of part of the mountain; and another temple, C, close

adjoining, has suffered in a similar manner. Of the latter still

slighter traces remain: a few fragments of columns and part of a

wall alone indicate that it ever existed.

[Illustration: Pl. 20.

_On stone by C. Hullmandel, from a Drawing by L. Bandoni Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

TEMPLE BUILT BY TIRHAKA, GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

_Great Temple at Gibel el Birkel._—The temple I next arrived at, 75

feet from the latter, marked F in the plan, had attracted my attention

on first arriving at the mountain. It is now little more than an

immense confused pile of ruins. One column only remains entire;

having the capital of the form of the lotus-bud; denoting its epoch,

not only by its style, but by the name still legible on the slab

of the capital. Of the vast number of columns which ornamented the

porticoes, vestibules, and apartments of this enormous edifice, one

only remains; a sad relic of departed splendour: and this, defaced,

tottering, and almost bent with age, cannot long answer the purpose

of transmitting to posterity the name of its royal founder. It

seems almost by a miracle to have survived the ruin which surrounds

it: and we may congratulate ourselves on this circumstance; for,

if it had fallen a generation earlier, the fragments would have

been swallowed up by the desert or carried away by the Arabs; and,

consequently, the style of the architecture, and the name of the

king who, perhaps, built this splendid edifice, would have remained

wrapped in impenetrable mystery.

Few temples in Egypt are more extensive or finer than this must

once have been. Sufficient still remains to show its extent

and magnificence: traces of columns, fragments of battle-scenes,

and sacred processions, display its _architectural_ beauty and the

interesting historical events which once adorned its walls. The cruel

hand of time, some convulsion of nature, or, what is most probable,

the barbarous hand of man, have destroyed them, and thus torn many

interesting pages from the history of the world.

A general view of these ruins may be seen in the background of Plate

XXIII., which gives a correct idea of the confused mass that now

remains; and my view (Plate XXV.), the most picturesque of any that

I have of Gibel el Birkel, represents in the foreground the solitary

column before mentioned. The separate plan (Plate XXIV.) of this

temple I drew myself, and spared no pains to make it as correct as

possible, excavating for that purpose: and had I been less acquainted

with Egyptian edifices, I could not have succeeded so well. The

exact form of the first propylon of this temple is not discernible,

being quite destroyed, great part of the stones carried away, and the

rest covered almost entirely with the sand which drifts continually

from the desert. The dimensions given to the propylon in the plan,

I obtained by some little excavation, and by observations of the

ground. I do not pretend to say they are quite correct; but, from the

dilapidated state of this part of the temple, more exact measurements

cannot, I think, now be obtained. To understand fully the following

detailed description of this edifice, the reader must refer to my

plan. The total length of the temple is nearly 500 feet. The first

court is 150 feet long, and 135 wide, and was surrounded by a row

of columns, 5 feet 9 inches in diameter, resting on bases 7 feet 6

inches in diameter. Nine only of these columns are now visible. These,

however, are sufficient to afford a correct idea of what the court

has been. I obtained the intercolumniation by excavation, and have

thus ascertained that this court must have been ornamented with 26

columns, and not more, as it has been represented. There were nine

on each side, including the angles, and four at each end.

[Illustration: Pl. 21.

_Drawn by L. Bandoni._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

TEMPLE OF TIRHAKA, GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The propylon of the second court is also much injured, but not to

the same extent as the first. On the south-west side, which is less

injured than the other, I found the remains of a staircase leading

to the top of the edifice. The depth of this propylon, which is 28

feet, I was able to ascertain with more precision than the other. The

second court is 125 feet long and 102 wide. It was curiously laid

out, in a manner which first made me conceive it to have originally

formed two rooms: the first containing four rows of six columns each,

two on each side; and the second room, six rows of columns of three

each: but, on further examination, I found that there was no mark

on the side walls of its having been thus divided. There is a thin

wall, which connects together the seventh and eighth columns of the

centre avenue, that is, the last of the columns that would have

been in the first room, and the first of the second. This proves

that this could never have formed more than one court; for, had it

been divided into separate rooms, these columns could not have been

connected. I conceive it most probable that, as the architectural

part of a temple was generally constructed before the ornamental,

the columns may have been erected with the intention that it should

have been divided into two rooms; but that afterwards, as the making

the whole one apartment formed no very great architectural defect,

though it certainly was one, this arrangement was adopted, probably

in order to afford a more continued space for the procession which

adorned the walls. Otherwise, rooms leading into the sanctuaries,

ornamented with six rows of columns, of three each, agree exactly

with the general description of an Egyptian temple.

With some little excavation, I found the traces of all the columns

marked in the plan on the western side, and two on the other, with

a similar connecting wall above mentioned: the width of the centre

avenue was 17 feet. The diameter of the columns is 5 feet 5 inches;

and they rest on circular bases. A reference to the plan will show

that the nine columns on each side, forming the centre avenue, are in

an exact line. The six columns of the second row, on entering, are

in a line with the intercolumniation of the second and third rows,

of what I, at first, erroneously conceived to be a separate portico.

On the west side of the second propylon are the fragments of a

battle-scene, now almost unintelligible. Shattered pieces of a

warhorse, of a king drawing his bow, and of slain combatants, denote

that the historical representation of some celebrated conflict has

been sculptured there. The side walls of this court seem to have

been covered with splendid processions, perhaps equal to that in

the beautiful portico at Medenet Abou; but nothing remains, except,

in one place, a few heads; in another, the hawk and jackal standards,

and several fragments of feet and limbs; and here and there, one or

two hieroglyphics occur. I regret exceedingly that these sculptures

are so completely destroyed, as, doubtless, they would have made

an interesting addition to the pages of history. The battle, with

its horrors—the resistance, flight, and slaughter—the fiery

steed, trampling on the dying—the portraits and the names of the

vanquished people—the warrior’s triumph and gratitude to the

gods, and the processions in commemoration of his victory—were,

no doubt, sculptured on these walls. This once beautiful temple,

and the historical records with which it was adorned, are now almost

entirely destroyed. Sufficient only is remaining to prove the beauty

of the style, and make us sensible of the loss we have experienced

in its destruction. The nature of the event these sculptures told,

may be imagined; but as matter of history it is lost for ever.

[Illustration: Pl. 22.

_From a Drawing by L. Bandoni._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

TEMPLE partly excavated out of the Rock GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The next room is 51 feet long and 56 feet wide, and was ornamented

with a row of five columns on each side, the diameter of which is

4 feet 2 inches, and they rest on circular bases: the latter are

on pedestals. On each side of this room was a gallery, in one of

which there now remain two columns. It seems to me probable, from

the space between the last-described room and the sanctuary (see

Plan), that a gallery crossed the temple at the end of the third

room, out of which there were probably three outlets. Those at the

sides would lead into small chapels, and the centre one into the

sanctuary. As I have no authority, however, for this supposition,

I have not marked it in my plan; but the reader who has studied the

construction of Egyptian edifices will perceive its probability.

The sanctuary is, fortunately, in better preservation: its width

is about 16 feet, the length uncertain. The wall which enclosed it

could only have been of a certain height, perhaps a few feet, as,

immediately behind it, on each side, are four columns, the diameter of

which is 4 feet. Near the extremity of the sanctuary is a beautiful

granite altar, which I found almost entirely covered with rubbish,

and got it cleared. The device is very elegant, representing four

kings, or, rather, four representations of the same king, Tirhaka,

supporting the Egyptian entablature; and the base of the altar is

also tastefully ornamented. Between the figures are four ovals: two

containing the phonetic name of Tirhaka, accompanied with the titles

of Son of Phre, or Pharaoh, the Sun, always living. The other two

ovals contain the prænomen of the king Sun, very beneficent; above

which is the title King, and below it the hieroglyphics signifying

eternal life, or always living. There is a line of hieroglyphics round

the figures, containing a dedication of the buildings to his father

Amun Ra, &c. On the east side is a subject, not uncommon in Egypt,

of the two divinities of the Nile, supporting with cords a pedestal,

over which is the name of the king. I copied the hieroglyphics of

this tablet. On the west side of the altar is a subject exactly

similar to the east, but very much defaced and broken.[26] Behind

the sanctuary is a room or inner sanctuary, 37 feet long by 21 feet

6 inches wide. A door leads out of it, on the western side, into two

small rooms. To the west of the altar, before described, is a much

larger one of basalt, 8 feet 6 inches square. There are no figures

on this altar, but some hieroglyphics, all of which I have copied:

they contain the name and titles of King Pepi, or, as Rossellini,

perhaps more correctly, calls him, Pionchei. The name of this king

I found also on the walls; but, on the capital of the column which

is still remaining there is an oval almost resembling the prænomen

of Amunneith, or, according to Mr. Wilkinson, Amun m gori III. If

it be the same, I must candidly state that this is very probably an

Egyptian, and not an Ethiopian, edifice; for the name on the columns

is generally that of the builder of the temple. There are other rooms

(as will be seen by my plan), which I have not attempted to describe,

being almost quite unintelligible.

The appearance of this temple, at a distance, is very picturesque;

but there is little in the detail to interest the traveller; its

architectural ornaments and sculpture being entirely destroyed,

except the one column already mentioned, and it, too, is considerably

injured, and off the perpendicular. To the architect, this temple

is interesting, as its plan can almost be fully traced. The mere

painter, seeking only the picturesque, would find few advantageous

points of view. But to me these ruins were deeply interesting, since,

accustomed as I am to Egyptian edifices, I found sufficient, even in

the little that remains, to understand perfectly what it has been. I

easily restored, in my conception, the lofty propylons, the splendid

courts, surrounded with the most chaste forms of Egyptian columns;

the porticoes, sanctuaries, statues, and avenues of sphinxes;—every

part enriched by the art of the painter and sculptor;—the walls and

propylons covered with the representations of mythological mysteries,

military exploits, and animated battle-scenes, which form the _chefs

d’œuvre_ of Egyptian art. I could trace, also, the portraits of the

heroes, hieroglyphical tablets, containing the history of the scenes,

and displaying the king’s piety and munificence in his offerings to

the gods. Thus, I restored the temple in my imagination; and, indeed,

there was good authority for all that I have enumerated. Were I to

refer to a period still more remote, and, filling up the vague, and

not sufficiently explicit authority of the historians, describe the

bronze, gold, silver, ivory, ebony, and precious stones, with which

it was, perhaps, adorned; the Oriental magnificence which was most

probably displayed; the mysterious ceremonies of the most mysterious

of religions; the sacrifices and burnt-offerings; the deceiving

oracles, the crafty priesthood, and the ignorant multitude gazing,

with superstitious awe, at their imposing functions,—I might then

be accused of rambling into the regions of fancy; for, unfortunately,

there are no sufficient records yet to enter into this subject: but

if the study of hieroglyphics is still continued, the veil of Isis

may, perhaps, be raised. The Arabs have carried away a great part

of the materials of this temple; and, in a short time, the little

that is remaining of this, the _Selinunte_ of Ethiopian edifices,

will be entirely buried by the sand which is daily drifted in upon

it from the desert.

[Illustration: Pl. 23.

_On stone by C. Hullmandel, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

_Other Ruins at Gibel el Birkel._—Twenty yards to the west of

the Typhonium, marked in the plan, are the remains of another small

temple, excavated in the rock. The first court was ornamented with

columns, and on the walls I could distinguish traces of sculpture,

but now too much defaced to be legible. Besides the temples already

mentioned, situated under the mountain, there are the traces of

another, 200 feet from the great propylon of the large temple;

that is, about 700 feet from the mountain, towards the river. A

fragment of a wall, 6 feet by 3 feet, is all that now remains:

300 feet beyond the latter is a single column, with a lotus-flower

capital. From this column to the river are 4100 feet. The mountain

is, therefore, 5100 feet distant from the Nile.

To the north of the great temple are the ruins of buildings, chiefly

of brick, which seem to have formed part of the city, but they are of

no very great extent. Here are scattered numerous pieces of pottery,

and fragments of the same description of bread stamps which are found

at Thebes, but these are without hieroglyphic inscriptions. To the

east of the great temple, in the plain, are columns and traces of

other temples, but now almost entirely buried by the sand.

I have described all the temples now existing at Gibel el Birkel,

and mentioned the remains and traces of nine, and will now treat

of the monumental decorations of its interesting Necropolis. The

magnificence, power, and piety of the monarchs of Ethiopia are

displayed in the public works erected in honour of the gods. In

this beautiful cemetery, we have monuments either of the gratitude

and attachment of their subjects, or, more probably, of their own

ostentation. The kings of Egypt are supposed, for many reasons,

which I will mention at another opportunity, to have had their tombs

constructed long before their decease; and this instructive memorial

of the transient nature of their earthly greatness was worthy of

the wisdom and philosophy of so great a nation. The Ethiopians

probably had the same custom; and considering, as Diodorus says of

the Egyptians, their palaces only as inns where they tarried for a

day, they took care to have a more suitable habitation provided for

that state, in which they believed that they were to rest for ages.

[Illustration: Pl. 24.

_Drawn by L. Bandoni._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

GREAT TEMPLE, GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The pyramids are on the western side of the mountain. The first

group, of two, is 700 feet north-west of the Typhonium, the temple

I described as excavated in the rock. (See the General Plan and

vignette.[27]) The first, A, is 30 feet square; 40 feet to the

west of this, is the other, B, which is only 23 feet square. The

pyramid C, in the plan, is 235 feet distant from the latter, and

measures 30 feet by 26: twenty feet farther to the west is pyramid

D, which is 27 feet square. The one marked E, in the plan above,

adjoining the latter, is 36 feet square; and F, partly behind this,

is of the same size. Sixteen feet to the north of F, and north-west

of the pyramids C, D, E, is the largest one at Gibel el Birkel,

which is 88 feet square: the angle of this is more obtuse than that

of any of the other pyramids at Gibel el Birkel. The ruined state of

this large pyramid, and also of the others already described, will

be seen in the distance in Plate XXVII. One hundred and forty-five

feet to the north of this large pyramid is a small one, H, which is

only 25 feet square. The angle of this is much more acute, the height

being considerably more than the diameter at the base. It is scarcely

at all injured: the apex of the pyramids at this place, like those

in the Isle of Meroe, was never pointed. A flat space was always

left at the top for a statue, perhaps, or some other ornament. One

hundred and twenty-four feet to the west of the latter is another,

I, 23 feet square. This is very much ruined, particularly on one

side, but there are the remains of a portico before the south-east

side. The other eight pyramids, of which I have given the dimensions,

were without this ornament: at all events, there are no traces now

remaining, that induced me to suppose that any of them had porches

in front. The present state of the pyramids above described may be

observed in the distance of Plate XXVII.[28]

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE PYRAMIDS OF GIBEL EL BIRKEL.]

About 600 feet to the north-west is a fine group of eight other

pyramids, situated on an eminence, which adds greatly to their effect,

and gives them, at a distance, a still more imposing appearance. They

extend for 550 feet from east to west; five of them have porticoes,

or porches, the direction of which is about south-east, but rarely

exactly the same. (See Plan.) Plate XXVI. is a general view of

these pyramids, and the vignette represents one in detail. These

being accurate camera-lucida drawings, and every stone correct,

the reader will be able to judge of the neat construction of some

of these edifices, the regularity in the size of the stones (see

Plate XXVI.), and the manner in which they are joined together,

without cement. Plate XXVII. is a view of a group of these pyramids,

which also shows their construction; and in the distance is seen

the mountain and the other group of pyramids.

[Illustration: Pl. 25.

_On stone by W. P. Sherlock from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

GREAT TEMPLE, GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The height of these monuments varies from 35 to 60 feet. They

consist, according to their height, of from 30 to 60 steps each,

receding about 6 inches. They, therefore, may be ascended, but

with difficulty. They have smooth borders at the angles, like

some of the pyramids at Meroe. The first, marked K in the plan,

p. 149., 600 feet distant from the mountain, is about 65 feet

square. It seems to have had no portico, but it is quite in ruins;

it stood upon a stone basement. Thirty-six feet to the west of the

latter is the pyramid L. This is 33 feet square, a mass of ruins,

and no traces of the portico to be seen. This pyramid is the first

to the right in Plate XXVI.; and although rather indistinct, from

being placed in the distance, its dilapidated state may still be

observed. Ninety-five feet to the west of this is M, which is 38 feet

square. This has a portico before it: the summit of it is visible in

Plate XXVI. On the hard cement with which the interior of this portico

is covered, I observed some remains of painting, rather indifferently

executed. Fifteen feet to the south, and in the view almost covering

the last, is pyramid N. This is 44 feet square and 51 feet high,

and has a portico before it. Unfortunately, very few figures were

distinguishable; but sufficient to prove the identity of the style,

which is decidedly Ethiopian. As a further confirmation of this fact,

there is an inscription in Ethiopic characters. The masonry of this

pyramid is very well executed. This pyramid is the first that may

be remarked as entire in Plate XXVI.

[Illustration: PYRAMIDS OF GIBEL EL BIRKEL.]

There are porticoes, as I have said, before five of this group

of eight pyramids, almost similar to those before the pyramids

of Meroe. Some of these are ornamented with sculpture; but,

unfortunately, destitute of hieroglyphics, which never appear to

have been inserted upon them. I copied out of the pyramid N, the

most beautiful specimen of sculpture that now remains. (See Plate

XXIX.) The style may easily be perceived to be Ethiopian, from the

roundness of the arms, and the proportions being generally more

bulky than those of the Egyptians. This style differs so widely from

that remaining in the temple built by Tirhaka, that many ages must

certainly have elapsed before such an important change could have

taken place. The subject which I have copied is not particularly

interesting, being merely a presentation of offerings, but there is

a variety and elegance in the groups, seldom surpassed in Egyptian

productions. The offerings consist chiefly of branches of palm

trees, goats, cattle, &c., and libations. In the highest row,

Osiris is represented seated on his throne, as judge of Amenti,

and the divinities Anubis and Horus, are also in the same line. The

divinity with the globe and horns, in the second row, is probably

Isis; and the last in the second row is a figure of Typhon.

A personage larger than the others is holding incense on the

same elegant description of tray, having the form of a hand and

arm, which we see in Egypt. He is presenting it to the king, or

occupant of the tomb, who is represented seated under a canopy, on a

lion-shaped chair or throne, which differs, in a very slight degree,

from that we so often see in the sculptures of Egypt. The dress of

the king is different from the Egyptian. His necklace is curious:

he has in one hand a large and strong but beautifully-formed bow,

and in the other an arrow and a branch of the palm tree[29]: the

goddess of truth, with outstretched wings, is immediately behind his

throne. The traces of colour which still remain on this sculpture

I marked on my original drawing.

[Illustration: Pl. 26.

_On stone by W. P. Sherlock from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

PYRAMIDS OF GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

On the other side of the portico, opposite to this sculpture, is

another subject, representing about 100 figures, rather curiously

grouped; also some large figures exactly similar to those above

described.

In the other porticoes no sculpture is perceptible, except some

fragments similar to the large figures in this plate.

At the end of some of the porticoes appear traces of the funeral

boats, similar to the one I described at Meroe. Notwithstanding some

differences, they appear to have the same signification as those over

the tombs of the kings. This circumstance, and the representation

of the goddess of truth, Osiris, the president of Amenti, and the

assistant divinities, Anubis, Thoth, and Horus, are proofs that

these were indubitably tombs.

These pyramids seem to have been the object of some learned curiosity

or avarice. Deceived by the false doors beneath the boats of the sun

at the end of the porticoes, persons have endeavoured, by blasting

the stones, to discover some inner chambers, and set at rest for ever

the question how, and for what purpose, they were constructed. The

rude force of barbarians, perhaps of Arabs, animated, probably,

by the hope of discovering treasure beneath, seems to have been

exercised in utterly destroying others.

Judging from the pyramids which are almost entirely ruined, and

from those that have been partly broken down, I do not conceive that

there is any chamber in the interior, but think it more probable that

the body was deposited in a small well, above which the pyramid was

afterwards erected. Yet Diodorus says that the Ethiopians differed

from other nations in the honours which they rendered to their

dead. “Some,” says he, “throw the bodies into the river,

believing that to be the most honourable sepulture which they

can give. Others keep them in their houses, shut up in niches of

alabaster, thinking it advantageous for a child to have ever before

his eyes the image of his father; and those who wished to preserve

the memory of their predecessors enclosed their bodies in a coffin of

baked earth, and interred them in the neighbourhood of the temples.”

The reader will have perceived, from these passages of Diodorus,

that it is not impossible that these porticoes may have been used to

contain the coffins; thus enabling the friends or children to visit

them, at the same time protecting them, to a certain degree, from the

hand of violence and the inclemency of the seasons. The mummies in

the Roman tombs in the Necropolis, in the Oasis Magna, were in wells;

and the Egyptians usually, but not invariably, interred their dead in

those receptacles. Many of the pyramids have no porticoes; therefore,

in those instances, the body must be underneath, probably in a well;

but the construction of these porticoes may have had its origin in

the piety and affection of individuals wishing to have the bodies of

their relations preserved in an accessible place, where, at certain

seasons, they could visit their remains, recall past scenes, indulge

their grief in bewailing their loss, and have ever before their eyes

a memorial of the brief sojourn of man in this valley of tears.

The pyramid marked O in the plan is thirty feet distant to the west

of N. This is 53 feet square, and the height 58 feet. This pyramid

is the second in Plate XXVI., and the B of Plate XXVIII. It will be

observed, in the view, that the upper part is very dilapidated; the

portico is very much injured; and, in consequence of the broken state

of the ground, it does not appear in my view. The sculpture which

it contains is of little importance. A figure offering incense to

the king, with the head-dress of a globe, long feathers, and short

horns. There is also a representation of the funeral boat.

[Illustration: Pl. 27.

_On stone by W. P. Sherlock, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

PYRAMIDS AT GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The next (P, in the plan) is 35 feet square. This is the third,

from the left, in Plate XII., and is one of the most perfect. The

height is 48 feet, and the interior width of the portico is 6 feet 6

inches. This portico is arched. There seems to have been some ornament

(perhaps an inscription) attached to many of the façades of the

pyramids; for near the summits are circular holes, in which, probably,

rivets were inserted. Mr. Waddington found a piece of granite in

one. Near the summit of this there are three of these holes.

Q is 36 feet square. There are no traces of its ever having had any

portico. This is the second, from the left, in Plate XXVI. The summit

is very much injured.

Pyramid R is the first to the left. In the vignette, page 148.,

and Plates XXVI. and XXVII., it will be observed that it is

almost perfect, but that the roof of the portico has partly fallen

in. This pyramid is also represented as restored in Plate XXVIII. An

examination of this plate will afford to the reader a good idea of

the beauty of the architectural forms of these pyramids. A, which

corresponds with R in the plan, is 41 feet in diameter, and the

height is 46 feet. The angles of these pyramids being so much more

acute than those of Geezah, adds greatly to the elegance of their

architectural form. The small ornament at the angles is pretty, and

enhances very much the effect. The façade of the portico is also

pretty, but, as will be seen by the plates, has quite a different

form from the façades of the porticoes of the pyramids of Meroe. At

the latter place the doorway is between two towers, which, although

on a small scale, are almost similar in design to those of the great

propylons of Egypt. These, as will be seen by the plate, have more

the appearance of small temples. The façade is narrower at the top

than at the bottom, the total width of the latter being 20 feet, and

at the top 17 feet 6 inches. The square band and the cornice give it

more the appearance of a small temple. The architrave over the door is

ornamented with the globe and serpents. This pyramid is also arched.

In describing the pyramids of Meroe, I mentioned that the arch I

there found was a segment of a circle; but here it is very important

to observe that there are not only specimens of that, but also

one of the pointed arch. The latter, consisting of six stones, is

accurately drawn in the section. The stones are slightly hollowed

out to the shape of the arch, but do not advance beyond each other,

like the arch near the temple excavated out of the rock at Thebes,

but are supported only by _lateral pressure_.[30] The stones of this

arch are not joined with cement; but above the roof are a quantity

of small stones, which are kept together by a soft description of

cement. That these arches are not recently added, is proved, not only

by the appearance of the monuments themselves, being exactly of the

same description of fine hard sandstone, and of the same colour; but

still more certainly by the circumstance, that the portico I mentioned

as covered with cement, and painted in the ancient Ethiopian style,

is also, fortunately, arched. The interior of this arch is covered

with cement, which is harder than the stone, and painted.

The paintings on the arched roof, and the sides of the portico, are

evidently of the same period. As I have formerly observed, owing,

probably, to its very great antiquity, the painting is nearly defaced;

but still there was sufficient to convince me that the style is

certainly Ethiopian, of a far more ancient date than the sculpture

in the temple of Tirhaka.

[Illustration: Pl. 28.

_Drawn by L. Bandoni._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

PYRAMIDS OF GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The reader will observe, also, in the section, a specimen of a

semicircular arch. They are drawn very small, as belonging to the

pyramids, but they are not, on that account, less accurate; and,

therefore, almost equally useful as if they had been made separate

plates. The stone forming the keystone of this semicircular arch is

1 foot 9 inches in length; the stones supporting it, corresponding

precisely, 2 feet 1 inch, and the one on each side following these,

to the spring of the arch, 2 feet 4 inches. The arch, then, not

only the circular, but the pointed, had its origin in Ethiopia. The

oldest known in Europe is, I believe, that in the Cloacum Maximum,

supposed to have been built in the time of the Commonwealth. The

great antiquity, of the one on the Tiber is proved by its singular

construction, forming almost, as it were, three arches beneath

each other.

I am aware that the learned will be sceptical concerning the

antiquity of these. There are no remains in stone to prove that

the Egyptians were so far advanced in the construction of the arch

as these specimens show that the Ethiopians were. The only stone

arch that exists in Egypt is the one at North Der, at Thebes; and

that one proves that the Egyptians were acquainted with its beauty,

but not its utility and the correct mode of constructing it. The

vaulted tomb of stones at Memphis is of the time of Psammitichus,

who reigned immediately after the Ethiopian dynasty. The brick

arches in the tombs at Thebes, covered with cement, on which are the

royal name of Thothmes and Amenoph, prove that the Egyptians were,

at that period, acquainted with the arch; but it is rather singular

that there is no earlier specimen: whence, I think, we may infer,

as those were built soon after the terrible wars commenced, which are

represented on the walls at Thebes, that the Egyptians then, for the

first time, invaded Ethiopia, and there saw and became acquainted with

that useful construction. There seems to me no reason to suppose that

the knowledge of the utility and construction of the arch passed from

Egypt into Ethiopia: the contrary is much more probable, as we have

here far more perfect specimens than are found in Egypt; and as there

is no doubt of the very great antiquity of these ruins, can there

be any, that the invention of the arch had its origin in Ethiopia?[31]

The sandstone of which the pyramids are built is of a much harder

quality than that of the temples, being either from a vein in the

mountain which is now exhausted, or, as I conceive is most probable,

brought from distant quarries. This is an extraordinary proof that

the greatest pains were taken in the construction of these edifices,

to enable them to resist the ravages of time.

As to the antiquity of these structures, I conceive it to be very

great. Some of them appear more ancient than any that exist in the

valley of the Nile, with the exception, perhaps, of the pyramids

of Meroe and Nouri. They are the tombs of a dynasty of kings

whose names are now unknown. That they were royal sepulchres,

and not those of private individuals, is, I think, evident from

their being as magnificent as the pyramids at Meroe, which we know

to belong to kings from the ovals which they contain; and many

of the individuals in these tombs have the serpent, the emblem of

royalty, above their foreheads. If this had been the site of Napata,

I should conceive that the dilapidated state of the ruins might have

been caused by Petronius, who led there the Roman arms; but in the

Historical Appendix I will give the reader a further account of that

celebrated expedition. I trust that the hieroglyphic inscriptions

which I have copied will contain much valuable information; and that,

at all events, the name of a place, evidently once so considerable,

may again, with certainty, be enrolled in the list of cities. Her

habitations and her palaces are utterly destroyed: the desert is

swallowing up the remains of her temples; and the sepulchres of her

kings are fast decaying. A city where the arts evidently were once

so zealously cultivated,—where science and learning appear to have

reigned,—is now possessed by ignorant barbarian tribes. Where are

the descendants of that people who erected these splendid monuments to

their gods? Were they exterminated by the warlike tribe who now occupy

this territory, driven into other regions, or blended with the race

of their conquerors? These are questions of great importance, which I

may endeavour to illustrate in my historical chapter, but which I pass

by at present, as scarcely belonging to a topographical description.

[Illustration: Pl. 29.

_From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

SCULPTURE IN A PYRAMID AT GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

It is a circumstance, perhaps, worthy of remark, that some of the

most perfect heads sculptured on the pyramids had almost a European

profile. The Shageea—the brave tribe of Arabs who now possess

the magnificently rich and fertile plain near Gibel el Birkel, and

whose territory extends, on one side nearly to the fourth cataract,

and on the other to Dongolah—have, notwithstanding the darkness

of their complexion, nothing of the Negro features.