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E G Y

363

E G Y

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A small chamber and two niches are perforated in the

' v est wall; at the upper end a step leads to an unfi-a chamber, 17 feet by 43, supported by a row of four

H a *' S - •

Cd feet

- square, ornamented with two pillars and a4t 0ll ~ bench (hewn, like the rest of the tomb, in the rock)1 t ' lree of its sides, four feet high, with four shallowCo fli j Ses °n each face, and surmounted by an elegant Egyptiantti)le 8 Ce ‘. ' s difficult to account for the purport of it,ftiUtA • hs level summit served as a repository for thebut it - les the inferior persons of the king’s household ;

“t!? taore probable that these were also deposited in pits.Vjtj. le total horizontal length of this catacomb is 320 feet,PerpgA.the inclined descent below the sarcophagus, and itsfset, j 'Cular depth 90, or, including that part, about a 180the spot where it is closed by the fallen rock.”e * ec ut 8 , (iCon< t description is of tombs of more recent date,tetitn during the twenty-sixth dynasty in the seventh'it)if ( ,„ y before our era ; they are of great extent, and unusual

Corujn 'Smallest, which are those behind the palace of Remeses ,Mll a ,. a r>Ce w 'th an outer court decorated by a peristyle ofttself’ a, A to this succeeds an arched entrance to the tombSv ?'°h consists of a long hall, supported by a double! f , “ Ur pillars, and another of smaller dimensions beyondtaur pillars in the centre. The largest of them, andA all the sepulchres of Thebes , are those in theS>ho A one of which far exceeds in extent any one of thekings.

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Its outer court, or area, is 103 feet bya flight of steps descending to its centre from thewhich lies between two massive crude brick walls,r ea t‘ i JOl 'ting an arched gateway. The inner door, cut likethe tomb in the limestone rock, leads to a second

ce,

J e,li nd"le ,>ta

feet by 67, with a peristyle of pillars on eitherwhich are two closed corridors ; that on the

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lia.v'-" a ' n ' n g a P' 1 a "d one sma A square room, the oppositelnsr a similar chamber, which leads to a narrow

f ’ ° Uc e closed in two places by masonry, and evidently‘‘ G 0tw a Se Pulchral purpose.

f a ° Se a 'I 1 u ’ n S through the«second area you arrive at a porch,> ^ summit, hollowed out of the rock, has the light, ; a s mall segment of a circle, and from the surface

6l P „, nrier wall are relieved the cornice and mouldings of

l“ ’i'hiAo doorwa y-

a j °P en s on the first hall, 53 feet by 37, once supporteds ° c 11 .^ ne y ° ur P)liars, dividing the nave (if Ile^hed V '*■) from the aisles, with half - pillars as usualt 0 0 the end-walls. Another ornamented doorwayAb r 0 ^ le _ second hall, 32 feet square, with two pillars inni^berq dis Posed as in the former. Passing through

'Or,

you arrive at a small chamber, 21 feet by 12,

eil( l-wall is a niche, formed of a series of jambs,AUi n f Sa ccessively to its centre. Here terminates the

C a M direction - '

A square room lies on the left (enter-“ef an 011 t ' le r 'gbt another succession of passages, ore M [! a !' tmeuts > leads t0 tw0 fl ‘ghts of steps, immediatelyUpier p a is another door on the right. Beyond these isCljH Sa ge, and a room containing a pit 45 feet deep,Aber 08 at about one-third of its depth on a lateral

to t r “ ae of direction, at right angles with the former,i, i* a s le f ight, and terminates in a room, at whose upper\Hrm ared pedestal.

^'Vq 8 .,g through this range of passages, and re-ascendingi®t't i r ° ases > t b e door above alluded to presents itselfSe , lan fl. You shortly arrive at a pit (opening on°‘ rooms, beneath the level of the upper ground-

plan), and after passing it, a large square, surrounded bylong passages, arrests the attention of the curious visitor.At each angle is the figure of one of the eight followinggoddesses:—Neith, Sate, Isis, Nephthys , Netpe, Justice,Selk, and Athor , who, standing with outspread arms, presideover and protect the sacred inclosure, to which they front, andare attached.

“ A gentleman, an author, whose reading is far morerespectable than his judgment, has not failed to discoversomething extraordinary in the position of these figures,referring, as he supposes, to the crucifix, adopted by theChristians.

“ Eleven niches, in six of which are small figures of differentdeities, occur at intervals on the side-walls, and the summitis crowned by a frieze of hieroglyphics. Three chambers liebehind this square, and the passage which goes round it,descends on that side, and rejoins, by an ascending talus onthe next, the level of the front. A short distance furtherterminates this part of the tomb, but the above-mentioned pitcommunicates with a subterranean passage opening on avaulted chamber, from whose upper extremity another pitleads, downwards, to a second, and ultimately through theceiling of the last, upwards, to a third apartment, comingimmediately below the centre of the square above noticed.This has one central niche, and seven on either side, thewhole loaded with hieroglyphical sculptures, which cover thewalls in every part of this extensive tomb.

“ But to give an idea of its length, and consequentlyof the profusion of its ornamental details, I shall briefly statethe total extent of each series of the passages both in the upperand under part of the excavation. From the entrance of theouter area to the first deviation from the original right line,is 320 feet. The total of the next range of passages to thechamber of the great pit, is 177 feet. The third passage, atright angles to this last, is 60 feet ; that passing over thesecond pit, is 125 ; and adding to these three of the sides ofthe isolated square, the total is 862 feet, independent of thelateral chambers.

“ The area of the actual excavation is 22,217 square feet, andwith the chambers of the pits 23,809, though, from thenature of its plan, the ground it occupies is nearly one acreand a quarter, an immoderate space for the sepulchre of oneindividual, even allowing that the members of his familyshared a portion of its extent.”

At Hermontis, a short distance south of Thebes , are the ruinsof a small temple, consisting of a colonnaded court with porticoand sanctuary, and some distance beyond this, more extensiveremains at Esneh, or Latopolis, but the only portion uncoveredis a portico of considerable pretensions. Passing by severalmonuments more or less remarkable, we arrive at Edfou , orApollinopolis Magna , the temple of which has already beendescribed; and beyond this at Ombos , where are ruins oftwo temples, one of which is remarkable for having a doubleentrance, and two sanctuaries side by side. In our way tothe islands of Pliiloe and Elephantina, we would stop for amoment at Syene to notice the quarries of granite from whicha great portion of the stone for building was supplied, previousto the working of the quarries near Philoe. The islands ofPhiloe and Elephantina are rich in remains, but moreespecially the former, which we accordingly select for illus-tration. Denon says:—

“ As soon as I could set foot in the island (Philoe) I beganfirst by going over all the inner part, to take a general surveyof the various monuments, and to form a kind of topographicalchart, containing the island, the course of the river, and theadjacent characteristic scenery. I found a convincing proofthat this group of monuments had been constructed at different