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put together ; the whole being originally cased with others : it has not had its interiordescribed.
Pyramid of fflahoon is built round a knollof rock, which lias been faced with crudebrick; the body of the pyramid being formedof the same material, is supported by stonewalls, which cross the pyramid at its twodiagonals, and others proceeding out of(hem, running parallel with the sides. Thebricks are laid in mortar, and measure 16^inches by 8£ inches, and are 5 inches or morein thickness : they are formed of Nile earthand chopped straw The outer casing wasof stone, and the present base measures360 feet, and height 130 feet.
The use of unburnt bricks was generalthroughout Egypt , and their manufacturegave employment to a great body of la-bourers ; this simple material, in our ownday, is often found more economical thanstone, quarried or obtained upon the spot;gardens, and even inclosures to the templesof the gods, in Egypt , were often surroundedby walls of crude brick, merely baked inthe sun. The demand being at one periodso great for bricks, the government under-took to manufacture them, and to supplythe public at a reasonable price; to dothis in a manner to improve the revenue,the seal of the king or his authorised agentwas stamped upon them, and all personsforbidden to engage in the manufacture.
Pyramid of Howara is constructed of crude bricks, containing chopped straw : they measure17J inches by 8j, and are 5j inches thick, laid on a fine gravel : originally it was cased withstone. Its present base measures 300 feet, and its height 106 feet.
Southward of this pyramid are the ruins of an extensive labyrinth, as it is supposed.
Pyramids of Biahhmoo are five miles from Medeenet el Faioum: they consist of two masses,about 30 feet by 22, and about 30 feet in height.
Pyramid of El Koofa , in latitude 25° 10', has its present base 59 feet 6 inches square:there are 27 courses, built in three several degrees, 38 feet 6 inches in height above therock.
Ethiopia . — The Island of Meroe, which is formed by the conflux of the Astapus andAstaboras, according to Diodorus Siculus is in length 375 miles, and in width 125. Itis situated between the twelfth and eighteenth degrees of north latitude, and was long theseat of empire of the kings of Ethiopia .
The Pyramids at Meroe , which at this dav remain, are above 80 in number, and some ofthem contain hieroglyphics and sculpture of no ordinary kind : they are all constructed ofred sandstone, from quarries in the neighbouring hills, which lie to the east of them ; thestone is of a soft quality, and of a brownish red tint, and the blocks, which are 2 feet 6inches long, are laid in regular courses, a foot high.
These pyramids vary in dimension from 20 feet square to 63, and their height is aboutthe same as the length of their base; at the angles of some, instead of an arris, or sharpedge, is a hold bead, and in many, at about 12 or 14 feet from the top, is a small window.But the most singular part of their arrangement is that of having on their east sides a portico
ILLAHOON.