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Guide to the Antiquities of Upper Egypt from Abydos to the Sudan Frontier, by Arthur E. P. Weigall (Inspector General of Upper Egypt, Dept. of Angtiquities)
[Published in 1910 by Methuen & Co., London.]
PREFACE (p.vii)
This
volume has been prepared for the use of visitors to the monuments of
Upper Egypt, that is to say, all those situated between Balianeh, the
southernmost town of Middle Egypt, and Adendan, the last Egyptian
village on this side of the Sudan frontier. The majority of visitors,
after leaving Cairo and its neighbourhood, do not make more than one or
two excursions in Middle Egypt; and the fact that the present writer
has not the opportunity to describe the ancient sites between Cairo and
Balianeh, will not be found greatly to lessen the scope of the book.
The
only claim which is made for this Guide is that each chapter has been
written actually in, or in a few cases a stone's throw away from, the
temples or tombs therein described. The information supplied is
derived from careful and prolonged personal observation and thought,
checked and augmented by the study of the handful of pertinent books
which alone could be carried; and there is no antiquity or ancient
site, however small, (p.viii) here recorded which has not been
personally seen and examined.
Fig.1: Map of the sites in Upper Egypt covered in Guide.
The object of the Guide being
alone the describing of the ancient remains and the explaining of their
purpose, no other information has been given, except a few hints as to
the best methods of visiting the various sites.
[A. E. P. W., Luxor, 1909]
CHAPTER I
ABYDOS
The
temple of Seti I at Abydos is of such beauty and interest that it
should be visited by all those who are able to undertake the somewhat
taxng excursion. Most of the tourist-steamers stop at Balianeh, the
nearest town on the river, sufficient time to allow of a visit being
made to Abydos, which lies some six or seven miles west of the Nile.
Good donkeys are to be obtained at Balianeh, and there are also one or
two carriages for hire. The excursion may be made by train from Luxor
with comparative ease. One leaves Luxor early, reaching Balianeh at
about mid- morning, and one returns by the train which passes Balianeh
about 8 p.m., arriving at Luxor just before midnight.
The History of Abydos
Near
the site of the later Abydos there stood at the dawn of history a city
named This or Thinis,[1] in which resided the powerful chieftains who
ruled the land for many miles to the north and south. Several of these
chieftains having reigned in succession, there arose a ruler named Selk,
“the Scorpion," who conquered all the country as far south as Edfu, or
Gebel Silsileh, and perhaps as far north as Assiut. He built for
himself a southern capital at Kom el Ahmar (p. 307), where he was
acknowledged (p.2) by the local title of “Hawk-Chieftain," and
assumed the name of Ka. He continued to reside at Thinis also, and when
he died he was buried in the western desert behind Abydos. His
successor, Narmer, extended his conquests towards the north, and
presently came into collision with the kings of Lower Egypt, who
reigned at Buto, not far from the sea. Narmer seems to have forced a
marriage between the heiress of that kingdom and himself; and in the
person of the son of this union, Mena, Upper and Lower Egypt were
united. King Mena for political reasons was obliged to found for
himself another capital, which he named Memphis, and placed at the
point where the Nile valley opens into the wide plain of the Delta. He
was, however, crowned at Kom el Ahmar, and he still resided for part of
the year at Thinis, where it is probable that he was buried. The
fragment of a vase bearing his name was found amongst the ruins of the
latter city.
These ruins are situated in that part of the site
known as the Temenos or Enclosure of Osiris—an open space at the
north-west of the modern village of El Arabah el Madfuneh. Here there
was a small mud-brick temple, dedicated to the jackal god Wepwat, "the
Opener of the Ways," who was the primitive deity of the district. The
royal residence was probably situated in the desert, a short distance
back from the town; and still farther westward there was the royal
burying-ground. The objects found in the town show that already a high
state of civilisation had been arrived at, and an ivory statuette of a
king of this period found here is executed with a degree of artistic
skill never surpassed at any time in Egyptian history.
As
each of the kings of the Ist dynasty died he was buried here at Thinis,
which was now a city of some size. Of King Zet, the third Pharaoh [2]
of the dynasty, part of a slate-stone bowl has been found in the town;
while many other objects undoubtedly dating from this period have come
to light. Two large fortresses were now erected in the desert, and here
the troops of the province were quartered. In the IInd dynasty, Kings
Khasekhemui and Perabsen resided at Thinis, and clay sealings bearing
their names have been found in the fortress, known as the Shunet es
Zebib, and in the town. The Pharaohs of this dynasty were still buried
here with their ancestors, although they had now come to regard Memphis
as their home.
Fig.2: Plan of Abydos.
In the IIIrd dynasty (p.3) the custom of
burying the Pharaohs here ceased, though the place had now gained such
fame as a royal necropolis that it had become the chief seat of the
priesthood of the dead. With the primitive god Wepwat, the god
Khentamenta, “the Chieftain of the Underworld," [3] was now worshipped;
and in the IVth dynasty a temple of some size was erected in their
honour. Here King Khufu left a small ivory statuette of himself, which
was recently foumd; while of King Menkaura a sealing has been
unearthed.
In Lower Egypt, and especially at Memphis at
this time, the The god Osiris was held in high honour, and
traditions seem to have been already in circulation, relating how
this deity once ruled as king of Egypt, and taught the arts of
civilisation to his subjects. The first king of Egypt was naturally the
greatest of the inhabitants of the Underworld, and thus he came to be
identified with Khentamenta of Thinis. Tradition stated that Osiris had
been murdered, and that his body had been torn into many fragments; and
since at Thinis the early and now half- forgotten kings of Egypt had
been buried, and the city had become famous for its necropolis, it is
not surprising that gradually there grew up the belief that the
mutilated body of Osiris himself had been interred here. This god now
took his place beside Wepwat and Khentamenta in the affections of the
people of Thinis. Great honour was paid, in consequence, to the tombs
of the archaic kings, for one of them sheltered the body of Osiris; and
soon the tomb of King Zer of the Ist dynasty came to be regarded as the
actual divine sepulchre, for what reason we do not know. Meanwhile,
however, other cities were also making claim to the possession of the
body of Osiris; and although this fact never wholly banished the belief
of the Thinites that the corpse of their god lay here, it became more
generally acknowledged that the head
only of Osiris was buried in this necropolis. One now begins to hear of
another deity also, Anhur, who seems to have been one of the early gods
of Thinis; but as yet his power does not seem to have been great.
In the Vth dynasty the head of Osiris came to be the recognised
emblem of the district, and while the site of the old city
retained its name of Thinis, the neighbourhood was now known as
Abdu, “The Mound of the Osiris-head Emblem." This word Abdu,
or perhaps Abidu, was altered in Greek times to Abydos, in memory
of the Abydos in Greece. The province, however, was still named after
Thinis. The name of King Userkaf of the Vth dynasty was found on a
sealing in the town; of Neferarkara, another king of this dynasty, a
decree has been found allowing the priests to be exempt from forced
labour; there is a sealing inscribed with the name of King Shepseskaf;
an alabaster vase bearing the name of Userenra was also discovered;
while of about this date there is an inscription referring to a “Prince
of Abdu," which is the earliest instance of the use of this name. A
decree dating from the reign of Teta of the VIth dynasty was found
here; King Pepi I seems to have built a temple on the site of the
early shrine of Wepwat; King Merenra restored or added to this temple;
and of Pepi II an inscribed vase has been unearthed, and a statue is
referred to in an inscription.
Nothing is heard of Thinis or
Abydos during the obscure period of the VIIth-Xth dynasties; but in the
XIth dynasty we find the kings carrying on extensive building
operations here. A king of Thebes, named Nubkheperra Antef, states that
he extended his dominions as far north as the northern frontier of the
Thinite nome, conquering the troops of a Lower Egyptian king with whom
he was contesting the Egyptian throne. This King Antef undertook large
building works here, dedicating them to Anhur, Lord of Thinis, and also
left a stele in the temple. King Sankhkara Menthuhotep built or
repaired a temple; and King Nebharpetra Menthuhotep also built here.
Senusert
I of the XIIth dynasty swept away a large part of the early temple,
and erected a much larger edifice in its place. The work was carried
out by a certain Menthuhotep, who says, “I conducted the work in the
temple, I built the god's house, dug the sacred lake, and built the
well." He also built the sacred barge of the god, erected altars
adorned with lapis lazuli, bronze, electrum, silver, and copper, and
made ornaments of malachite and costly stone. This temple seems to have
been dedicated either to Osiris of Abydos or to Anhur, who had now
become a deity of much importance in Thinis; for elsewhere one reads
that Senusert Ist erected temples to these two gods, and placed therein
costly gold, silver, copper, and bronze utensils. During this reign
also we read of an official who visited Abydos on his way to collect
recruits for the army in the oasis of El Khargeh, to which a good road
runs from Abydos.
Under the great King Senusert III
extensive works were carried on at Abydos. This king, desiring to be
buried beside the (p.5) archaic kings of Egypt and tlicir chief Osiris,
and yet feeling it incumbent upon him to erect a pyramid at Memphis,
resolved to be interred at both places. He therefore constructed a huge
rockcut tomb for himself at Abydos, and here it is probable that he was
buried for a short space of time, his body afterwards being removed to
his northern pyramid. The officials whom he sent to superintend the
temple works have left some records of themselves. We read of one who
erected a statue of the king. Another tells us how he was sent to adorn
the secret place of Osiris with gold obtained in the king's Nubian
wars. A portable shrine of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, carob-wood, meru-wood,
and other costly materials was made; and the official in charge states
that he also decked the statue of Osiris with electrum, malachite,
lapis lazuli, and every precious stone.
At this time the
god Osiris had become the chief deity of Abydos, and the ceremonies in
connection with his worship were of an elaborate nature, In the reign
of Senusert III we read of a kind of religious drama which was here
enacted, and which purposed to relate the story of the conflict between
Osiris and his enemies. The first ceremony was "The Going Forth of
Wepwat when he proceeds to Champion his Father"; and the priests then
repelled the attacks of the enemies upon the sacred barque. Then came
the feast called “The Great Going Forth," when the sacred barque was
carried to the supposed tomb of Osiris in the western desert. Here a
mimic battle was fought, and very possibly "the slaying of the enemies"
was represented by actual human sacrifices. The sacred barque was then
carried around the upper desert, was conveyed to the east bank of the
river, and finally was brought back to the temple. The official in
charge of this ceremony then tells us how he followed the statue of the
god into his house, "to tend him when he resumed his seat." In this
drama we catch a glimpse of the prehistoric history of Egypt, for in
the partisans of Osiris one must sec an early conquering tribe who
defeated the aboriginal races. In the temples of Hieraconpolis (Kom el
Ahmar) and Edfu one again meets with traces of this tradition, which
will be discussed in their correct place.
King Amenemhat III
of the XIIth dynasty sent an official to Abydos to assist at some such
festival as the above, and this and this personage also conducted work
on the sacred barge, "fashioning its colours"; and, by virtue of his
office as Master of Secret Things, he clothed the statue of the god
with its ceremonial robes. In the XIIIth dynasty Sebekhotep III built
onto the temple of (p.6) Osiris, and also restored the tomb of Senusert
III. In the second year of Neferhotep the king states that, finding
Abydos in ruins, he searched in the library of Heliopolis, and there
found documents relating to the Osiris temple, from which he was able
to reconstruct the ceremonies and re-establish the priesthood of
Abydos. When his orders had been carried out he visited Abydos in
state, sailing up the canal which connected the town with the Nile. In
his fourth year he issued a decree regulating the boundaries of the
necropolis, and ordering all trespassers to be branded. The name Abdu
or Abydos seems now to have become the general name for the double city
of Thinis and Abydos, though in speaking particularly of one or the
other part of the city their individual names were used. King
Sebekemsaf built onto the temple; an otherwise unknown sovereign named
Penthen left his name here; and under King Khenzer [4] a certain
Amenysenb cleansed the temple of Senusert I, renewed the painting of
the reliefs and inscriptions, and rebuilt the altars of the god with
cedarwood.
Aahmes Ist, the first king of the XVIIIth dynasty,
restored the ruined temples of Abydos, and also erected a pyramid here
for himself, in order that he might be buried temporarily beside his
ancestors before being interred in Thebes. He also constructed a
mortuary chapel near this pyramid for his grandmother Tetashera. The
next king, Amenhotep Ist, built a temple in honour of his father
Aahmes. Thothmes Ist, the succeeding Pharaoh, ordered a barque to be
built for Osiris, made of cedar, the bow and stern being of electrum. A
portable barque was also made, being decorated with gold, silver, black
copper, lapis lazuli, and other precious stones; and he ordered statues
to be erected, their standards being of electrum. He further presented
the temple with offering tables, sistrums, necklaces, censers, and
dishes. The name of Thothmes II is found in the temple together with
that of Thothmes III.
This latter king took much
interest in Abydos, and built largely onto the ancient temples, setting
up also the statues of Senusert IIIrd, his ancestor. The high priest of
Osiris at this time, named Nebuana, states that he conducted many works
in the temple of Osiris, using gold, silver, malachite, lapis lazuli,
and "every splendid and costly stone" in the decorations. "I was
summoned," he writes, speaking of himself, "to the god's golden house,
and my place was amongst his princes. My feet strode in (p.7) the
splendid place; I was anointed with the finest ointment; and a wreath
was around my throat."
The yearly tax which had to be paid
into the treasury at this time by the four chief officials of Abydos
consisted of three debens [5] of gold, a quantity of linen, honey, and
grain, and some oxen. The tax of Thinis was six debens of gold and half
a deben of silver, together with bread, grain, honey, and cattle in
vastly larger quantities than those demanded from Abydos. For example,
62 sacks of grain were asked of Thinis and only 3 sacks of Abydos; 17
head of cattle were asked of Thinis and about 4 or 5 of Abydos; while
20 sacks of unknown contents were demanded from Thinis and none from
Abydos. Thus it is seen that still in the XVIIIth dynasty the city of
Thinis was very wealthy, and was the actual, as well as the nominal,
capital of the province. In this reign we read of a prince of this
Thinite province, named Antef, who controlled the entire oasis region
of the western desert; and the products of these oases must have been a
source of considerable wealth.
At this period, then, we are to
imagine the administration of the province as being conducted from
within the walls of the enclosed city of Thinis, at the north-west end
of the modern village; and here we may picture the rich temples rising
amidst the houses, their altars blazing with gold, and their halls
ringing with the noise of sistrums and the sound of the chants of
Osiris. To the south of this enclosure, and possessing the tombs of the
archaic kings in the desert, was the city of Abdu or Abydos, and
perhaps it already was enriched with temples dedicated to Osiris and
Khentamenta, besides those dedicated to these gods within the enclosure
of Thinis. Another deity had now been joined to the company of gods
worshipped in Thinis and Abydos. This was Unnefer, who was identified
with Osiris, and who afterwards came to be one of the greatest gods of
Egypt.
King Thothmes IVth appears to have taken great interest in Abydos. He presented 1200 stat
of land to the temple, and regulated the supply of cattle,
poultry, &c., for its altars. He also made endowments for the
tomb of Aahmes Ist. Amenhotep IIIrd erected a large temple in Thinis;
but this was abandoned during the heretical period which followed on
the death of this king. Of Akhnaton a scarab was found in the
town.
King Ramesses I of the XIXth dynasty, and King
Seti I restored some of the buildings within the Thinis enclosure;
but the energies of the latter were mainly given to the erection
of his (p.8) splendid temple in Abydos proper, dedicated to Osiris,
Isis, and Horus, and also to other gods not closely connected with the
district. It is this temple which forms the main objective of the
modern visits to Abydos, and it may be said to be perhaps the most
beautiful temple in Egypt. Here the mysteries of Osiris were performed,
and the souls of the dead kings were worshipped.
Ramesses II
built another temple near that of Seti I, and he also restored some
of the ancient buildings. His activity here was due to the fact that
when he visited Abydos in his first year, he had found the funds of his
father's temple misappropriated, and parts of it still unfinished. With
the assistance of his vizir, Parahotep, and the high priest of Osiris,
named Unnefer, he soon placed matters here upon a sound basis; and
during his reign Abydos may be said to have reached the height of its
power and wealth. The high priest Unnefer was a personage of great
importance at Abydos, and came of a family of high sacerdotal
dignitaries. His father was high priest of Osiris before him; his
step-father and half-brother were in turn high priest of Anhur, at
Thinis; while his grandfather seems to have been a high priest of Amen.
Numerous statues and steles inscribed with his name have been found at
Abydos, where he seems to have ruled in undisputed power. A certain
interest attaches to his half-brother, who was named Minnies; for,
besides the office of high priest of Anhur here, he held the position
of chief ritual-priest, or in other words chief magician, of the king.
As Ramesses II is generally regarded as the Pharaoh of the oppression,
this chief magician will be a personage of some interest to Biblical
students.
At the back of the temple of Seti I, King
Merenptah constructed some underground chambers, in the darkness of
which the mysteries of Osiris were performed; and perhaps human
sacrifices were here made. By this time Osiris had become one of the
most important deities of Egypt, and Abydos was regarded as the chief
seat of his worship. We now hear little more of the primitive god
Wepwat; and the other deities, Khentamenta and Unnefer, are at this
time merely names of Osiris. The traditions relating to him have so far
developed that his enemies are now designated as the worshippers of the
god Set; his wife is the goddess Isis; and his son, who avenged his
murder, is the god Horus. The power of Osiris covered a wide province
in the religion of Egypt. He was a sun-god, a moon-god, a god of
vegetation, a god of the Nile, and, above all, the great god of the
Dead and of the Underworld. Every person who died in the (p.9) faith,
so to speak, was identified with Osiris; and one spoke of "Osiris"
So-and-so in the same way that nowadays we would use the words “the
late."
The Chancellor Bey, on behalf of King Septah of
the XXth dynasty, left his name at Abydos. King Rameses IIIrd
built a temple in Thinis for the god Anhur, and seems to have erected a
palace for himself in or near it. He speaks of having built a large
enclosing wall also, with ramps and towers, and with doors of cedar
fitted onto doorways of stone. This is perhaps the great wall which
still rises to a great height around the ruins of Thinis. Ramesses IV
added to this temple; and he also erected a stele on which is inscribed
a prayer to Osiris that he may grant a long reign to the king. Another
Pharaoh of the name of Rameses, sometimes called Ramesses VII, also
erected a stele here, praying in very humble terms, and in beautiful
language, that his life may be spared—a prayer, however, which was of
no avail. King Paynezem II of the XXIst dynasty is stated to have
sent a statue of a great Libyan chieftain named Namlot to be erected at
Abydos.
Inscriptions of Kings Takeloth Ist and IInd have
beeii found in the Thinite enclosure. During the reign of Taharka
the vizir Mcnthuemhat visited the royal tombs at Abydos, and
inscribed dynasties, his name on the rocks near by. King Haabra of the
XXVIth dynasty undertook some building works here, as did his successor
Aahmes IInd. The latter king sent an official named Pefnefdeneit to
superintend the work, and this personage records that he restored the
ruins of earlier temples, re-established the priestly revenues, planted
arbours of date palms, and made vineyards. These vineyards he supplied
with foreign slaves, and they then yielded 30 hin
of wine per day. He confiscated the property of the local prince, who
apparently had been held responsible for the disorder which obtained;
and he applied this income to meet the burial dues of the necropolis,
in order that all persons might be freely interred in the holy ground.
He also states that he arranged and conducted a performance of the
Osiris drama, which has been mentioned above. Kings Nectanebo Ist and
IInd also turned their attention to Abydos, and the former Pharaoh
erected a temple of some size.
The Ptolemies do not seem
to have given much attention to Abydos, and the Romans also
omitted to build here. This must have been due to the decline of the
power of Osiris at Abydos, or rather to the change of the seat of his
worship to Philae. Very (p.10) little more is heard of the once wealthy
city. The temples fell into ruins, and the unchecked town rose over
them. The graves in the necropolis were looted for the gold which they
contained, and the once holy tombs of the archaic kings were given over
to the thieves. Even the god Osiris, who in Ptolemaic times had become
the hero of many complicated legends, gradually lost favour in late
Roman days, and finally became a demon of minor but hostile
power.
The Temple of Seti I
When Seti I, the second king of a new dynasty, came to the
throne, he must have realised that he could offer no better proof of
the legitimacy of his descent from the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt than
by displaying an active regard for their souls' welfare. In building
this temple at Abydos, dedicated to the main gods of Egypt, and
especially to Osiris, he caused the worship and ceremonies to centre
around the paramount fact of his descent from the archaic kings, and of
these kings' collective identity with Osiris. Sety Ist selected a
stretch of desert land behind the town of Abydos for the site of his
temple, about a mile east of the city of Thinis.
Fig.3: Plan of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos.
If
the reader will look at the plan of the building (fig.3) he will see
that, unlike all other Egyptian temples, this building has a wing or
annex on its east side; and all those who have studied the building
have come to the conclusion that the chambers forming this wing were
originally intended to be built onto the south end of the axial line,
but that for some unknown reason they were finally placed at the side.
Mariette stated that the builders had struck rock at this point, and
had had to extend their work eastward to avoid it; but recent
excavations behind the temple have shown that there is no such rock
here, and indeed there is none within a mile of the spot.
These
recent excavations have disclosed a number of subterranean chambers and
passages built at a later date in more or less the axial line, and
these are evidently the buildings referred to by Strabo, who states
that they led down to a spring which, rising here in the sand,
discharged itself into a small channel, and so finally joined the Nile.
The reason, then, for the turning aside of the back rooms of the temple
is surely obvious: the builders found that they were approaching moist,
unstable sand, upon which the (p.11) foundations could never rest
secure, and they were obliged to abandon all hope of building in
this direction. Owing to the delay thus caused, the temple was many
years in process of (p.12) building, and was still unfinished at the
death of Seti. It was completed, however, by Ramesses II, his son,
who, in spite of his many protestations of filial piety, placed his own
name and figure as conspicuously as possible on all the walls, and even
renamed the building after himself.
The Pylons (p.12)
and Forecourt of the temple are still buried under the houses of the
village, and the visitor first enters the open Second Court, of which
only the southern end is now preserved. At this end there is a raised
terrace, approached by a gently graded stairway; and on this terrace
rise the stumps of twelve square pillars, built, like the temple, of
limestone, but having sandstone bases. These pillars supported a roof
which has now disappeared, and thus a kind of portico or pronaos was
formed along the front of the main building.
The
reliefs on the pillars show Ramesses II embraced by the
principal gods of Egypt. On the outer walls of the main temple
there is at the east end a long inscription which tells how Ramesses
II came to Abydos, and, finding the temple unfinished, decided to
continue the building. Farther along (1) one sees a large figure of the
king offering the symbol of Truth to Osiris, Isis, and his father Seti
I. Next (2) there are the figures of Horus, Isis, and Seti I, after
which (3) Ramesses is shown standing beside a sacred tree, on the
leaves
of which Ptah writes his name, while Thoth records the number of his
years. He is presented at the same time with the royal crook and flail
by Harmachis, behind whom Osiris stands. Ramesses is next (4) led
forward by Horus (?) and Khnum, preceded by the standards of the Jackal
which represents Wepwat of the south, and that of the uninterpreted
emblem of Thebes. The king then (5) addresses Osiris; and on the west
wall (6) there is a damaged scene in which he is shown slaughtering
Asiatic prisoners before Amen-Ra.
One now enters the
first Hypostyle Hall, the roof of which is supported by two rows of
twelve columns. To obtain some idea of the magnificence of this hall,
the visitor should look at it from the extreme east or west end,
allowing the eye to travel down the whole length of the rows of
columns. In the original plan this hall was entered from the Second
Court through seven doorways, but all but two were later blocked up by
Ramesses II. Seven corresponding doors lead from this hall into the
second Hypostyle Hall, from which again seven shrines open. These
shrines from east to west are dedicated to Seti I, Ptah, Harmachis,
Amen-Ra, Osiris, Mut, and Horus; and thus the two Hypostyle halls are
also divided into seven sections, each dedicated respectively to one of
these gods.
The visitor, however, will find it
best to examine all the main reliefs in this first Hypostyle Hall
without regard to these divisions. Commencing from the first scene on
the east side of the main entrance (7) one sees Ramesses between (p.13)
Amen-Ra and Tum of On, who throw over him the signs of "life “and
“stability." Above this the king is shown offering vases before a
ram-headed form of Amen-Ra. Next (8) Ramesses holds a religious standard
before the shrine of Ptah: and above this scene he kneels upon the
symbol of the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, while the stems of the
papyrus and lotus plants, emblematic of the two countries, are
interlaced by Wepwat and Horus(?).
Ramesses is then (9)
shown worshipping Min, behind whom are the mystical insignia of his
cult; and above this the king draws by a rope the sacred barque of
Seker, which rests upon a sledge. On the east wall (10) Ramesses is
purified with the water of life by Thoth and Horus; and above this he
performs a ceremonial dance [6] before a seated figure of Ptah, behind
whom stands the lion-headed consort of that god, Sekhmet. Next (11) he
is suckled by Hathor of Per-kau, Hathor of Alabastronpolis, Hathor of
Diospolis Parva, and Hathor of Dendereh; and he is dandled by Isis(?).
This scene is intended to demonstrate the divine upbringing of the
king; and the next scene (12), which represents the god Khnum, who made
man on a potter's wheel, presenting the newly-fashioned child to Ptah,
is intended to show his divine origin.
On the
south wall between the doorways the reliefs continue. First (13)
Ramesses is introduced by Mut to Ptah and Sekhmet, and Ptah records his
royal name. Above this he stands before a shrine containing the barque
of Seker. Then (14) he is blest by Harmachis, while behind him stand
two goddesses, one of which is Hathor. Above this he offers a figure of
Truth to Amen-Ra and Hathor. Next (15) he makes an offering to Amen-Ra
and Mut; and above there is a variation of the same subject. Next (16)
he offers kneeling statuettes to Amen-Ra and Mut; and above this he
burns incense before Amen-Ra and Khonsu. He is then (17) seen receiving
the symbol of Jubilees from Osiris, and behind him stand Harseisis and
Isis. Above this his name is inscribed upon his shoulder by Thoth, in
the presence of Osiris. He next (18) receives the royal cobra, the
Hathor symbol, and a necklace from Isis, and the double crown from
Horus. Above this he is suckled by Isis in the presence of
Horseisis.
On the west wall (19) Ramesses offers
various golden symbols to Osiris, Isis, and Horseosiris; and above this
his name is written on the sacred tree by Thoth, he himself kneeling
amidst the foliage. He is then (20) led by Wepwat of the south and by
Harendotes to Hathor of Dendereh; and (21) he is purified with (p.14)
the water of life by Thoth and Horseisis; while above this he dances
before a god and is embraced by other deities. On the north wall (22)
he performs one of the well-known but little understood foundation
ceremonies before Horseisis, who projects towards him the symbols of
"power," "stability," and "life." Above this he worships Horseisis. He
then (23) performs the foundation ceremony of pegging out the limits of
the temple in the presence of Osiris; the goddess Safkhet, the patron
deity of archives and records, assisting him. Above this he breaks
ground with a hoe before Osiris. Finally he receives life from Amen-Ra,
while Osiris stands behind him; and above this he offers incense and a
libation to Amen-Ra.
The
visitor has now seen the main
reliefs in this hall, and should pass through one of the seven doorways
into the second Hypostyle Hall. The roof is supported by three rows of
twelve columns, of which the third row stands on a raised platform or
terrace, which forms the threshold of the seven sanctuaries. The
reliefs on the east and north wall of this hall do not attract one's
attention. Those on the west wall, however, are perhaps the most
beautiful temple reliefs now preserved in Egypt. From this point
onwards practically all the workmanship is that of the reign of Seti I,
and the superiority of these reliefs over those of Ramesses II,
which have already been seen, is at once apparent. Under Seti I
Egyptian art reached one of its highest levels; and the delicate
cutting of the stone displayed here, and in his tomb and temple at
Thebes, is worthy of the best periods of the old kingdom.[7] The scenes
on this west wall have lost their original colour, but the white
limestone only serves to increase their beauty.
We
first see Seti I (25) burning incense and pouring a libation before
Osiris and Harendotes. Above this he kneels before a god. He next (26)
presents offerings before (27) a shrine containing Osiris seated
between the goddesses Maat and Renpet on the one side, and Isis,
Amentet-Hapet, and Nephthys on the other. Above this he pours (p.15) a
libation before Osiris and Isis. He then (28) offers a figure of Truth
to Osiris, Isis, and Horseisis; wliile above this lie kneels before
Horus and Isis, receiving the curved sword, the crook, and the flail
from the former.
One should now enter the first
sanctuary at the west end, which was dedicated to Horus. On its walls
Seti is shown worshipping that god; and especially noticeable are
the beautiful reliefs on the of the east side (29), where one sees the
sacred barque of Horus standing second in its shrine, the king burning
incense before it, while below he makes various offerings to
Horus and Isis. At the end of the sanctuary is a false door which was
heavily inlaid with metal, as is shown by the deep cutting between the
ornamentation. One may notice the grass mats rolled up at the top of
each panel of the door, as was the custom in the case of real doorways.
Between the entrance of this sanctuary and that of the next there is a
recess in which the deities Isis, Unnefer, and Horseosiris are shown;
and above this there is a large relief (30) showing the king receiving
emblems of royalty from Horus and Isis.
The second
sanctuary is dedicated to Mut, and on either wall one sees the sacred
barque of the goddess, before which the king burns incense. The rest of
the reliefs show him making various offerings to Mut. The recess
between this and the next sanctuary contains figures of Nut, Osiris,
and Isis; and above it (31) the king is seen kneeling and burning
incense between Osiris and Isis.
The third
sanctuary is that of Osiris, and through it one passes into the
chambers specially dedicated to his worship, which will be described
later. On the east wall (32) the king is seen burning incense before a
shrine containing the emblem of Abydos: the wig and head of Osiris
raised upon a pole. In front of the shrine are five standards, namely,
the Jackal Wepwat of the south, the Jackal Wepwat of the north, the
Ibis of Hennopolis, the Hawk of the Horus tribes, and the figure of
Anhur of Thinis. On the opposite wall (33) there is the sacred barque
of Osiris; and one may here notice the rich and elaborate
ornamentation: the coloured fans and plumes, the head of Osiris above
the shrine in the barque, and the fruit offerings of grapes,
pomegranates, figs, &c. Between this and the next sanctuary the
recess in the wall is decorated with the figures of Mut, Amen-Ra, and
Khonsu; and above it (34) the king is seen kneeling between .Amen-Ra
and Osiris, bedecked with the magnificent insignia of
royalty.
The next sanctuary, which lies in the
axial line of the temple, is dedicated to Amen-Ra, the great god of the
empire. In the reliefs he is sometimes shown in the form of (p.16) Min,
as at the Luxor temple and elsewhere. One sees the sacred barque of the
god, accompanied by those of Mut and Khonsu; and again one observes the
gaudy fans, plumes, and insignia. Fruit and flowers are heaped before
the barque: grapes, figs, pomegranates, trailing vines, festoons of
flowers are shown; and jars of wine, golden statuettes, &c., are
here seen. Outside this sanctuary the next recess in the wall contains
the figures of Harmachis, Amen- Ra, and Mut; and the relief above it
(35) shows the king kneeling between Amen-Ra and the ram-headed
Harmachis, receiving from the former a curved sword and a mace. The
king holds a tame bird in his hand.
The following
sanctuary is that of Harmachis, and the reliefs are not unlike those
already seen. The next recess contains the figures of Sekhmet, Ptah,
and Harmachis; and the large relief above it (36) shows the king in the
sacred tree, on the leaves of which Ptah and Horus (?) write his
name.
The next sanctuary is dedicated to Ptah, but
it is much ruined. One here notices again the clean white of the walls,
which so admirably shows off the fine workmanship of the reliefs.
Between this and the next sanctuary the recess in the wall contains the
figures of the king with Thoth; and above this (37) he is seen offering
to Ptah (damaged) and Sekhmet.
The last sanctuary
is dedicated to Seti I himself. On its walls we see (38) the king
enthroned and carried by three hawk-headed beings called “The Spirits
of Pe” a city in the Delta), and three jackal-headed beings called “The
Spirits of Nekhen,” i.e. Kom el Ahmar (p. 307). These two cities were
the archaic capitals of Lower and Upper Egypt. Before him go the
standards of the shield and crossed arrows of Neith, the so-called
scorpion sign, the emblem of Thebes, the disc and feathers of Amen-Ra,
the hawk of the Horus tribes, the ibis of Hermopolis, and the jackals,
Wepwat, of the south and north. Above this the king, holding the crook
and flail, stands between Thoth and Nekheb on the one side and Horus
and Uazet on the other. The goddesses Uazet and Nekheb are the patron
deities of the two above-mentioned capitals. We next (39) see the
barque of the king; for, like the gods, he possessed an image which was
carried in this portable vessel in the temple processions. Another
interesting scene here (40) shows him seated above the sign of union
between Nekheb and Uazet, while Horus and Thoth lace together the stems
of the papyrus and lotus plants, and Safkhet records the ceremonial
union.
Between this last sanctuary and the passage on
the east side, closed with an iron door, there is an open doorway
leading into a (p.17) three-columned hall, known to the Egyptians as
the Hall of Seker. On the north wall thc reliefs show the king
worshipping the hawkheaded Seker and the human-formed Timi. On the east
wall are four recesses, of which the first contains the figures of
Turn, Thoth, and Seker; the second of Osiris, Min-Ka (?), and a god
whose name is now lost; the third of Seker, Ptah, and Seker again; and
the fourth of Osiris, Tum, and Hor-ur of the south. Between these
recesses the king is shown worshipping the gods. On hie west wall he
offers four times to the hawk-headed Seker.
Two rooms
lead odd the southern end of this hall, the first having a vaulted
roof, and the second being now roofless. The first is the chamber of
Tum, and in the reliefs one sees the king adoring that god and the
associated deities. On the east wall (41), at the top, the king kneels
before a shrine containing the humanly-formed Ptah-Thenen, a
disk-headed Amen-dwelling-in-Aten, a ded-headed Osiris-Unnefer, [8] a sphinx representing the king, and the lion-headed Sekhmet.
Below
this the king kneels before the lion- headed Tum, on whose head is his
distinctive symbol of a hawk and lotus-flower, Ptah-Osiris, Shu, the
hawk Horus perched upon the uazet sign, Isis, Nephthys (?), Nekheb, and
a woman-headed hawk of Hathor. On the opposite wall (42), at the top,
he worships before a shrine containing the mummified hawk of Seker, the
lion-headed Tum, the ibis-headed Thoth, a naos in which is a lotus and
a crescent-moon connected with the worship of Tum, a sphinx
representing the king, and the lion-headed Tum holding a flail and
sacred eye. Below this the king burns incense before a shrine
containing a figure of Tum with a hawk and lotus upon his head, Nu the
primeval water, Khepera, the dawn, with a scarab on his head, Thoth,
and damaged figures of Neith and Uazet.
The second room,
the Chamber of Osiris, has upon its walls some curious reliefs. On the
east wall (43) we see the king kneeling before a naos containing the
two hawks of Seker, and behind this is a representation of the
sarcophagus of Osiris. The god, crowned with the crown of Upper Egypt,
lies upon a bier, and Isis in the form of a hawk hovers over him, while
the goddess in human form and Horus stand at either end of the body.
Above this relief one sees Osiris holding a crook and flail, the
jackal-headed Anubis, Nekheb wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, and
three unnamed figures holding snakes and lizards, who are said to be
giving life, might, and strength to the king. On the opposite (p.18)
wall (44) one sees a shrine containing two hawks, one representing Isis
and the other Horus; and behind this is the sarcophagus of Osiris
again. He lies on the lion-couch, so common in Egyptian tombs, while
Isis and Horus bend over him. Behind this again is a shrine in which a
now damaged figure of the hippopotamus goddess Taurt is shown. From
these rehefs it is clear that in this chamber were celebrated the
mysteries connected with the resurrection of Osiris. Tradition stated
that the god, after his murder and burial, came to life for a short
time and had intercourse with his wife Isis, who afterwards gave birth
to Horus.
Behind the sanctuary of Osiris, which, it will
be remembered, is the third from the west end, there is a portion of
the temple especially dedicated to Osiris. The visitor should enter it
through the Osiris Sanctuary, and he will then find himself in a hall,
the roof of which was supported by eight columns. On the north wall the
reliefs have been intentionally damaged, but are still good. The first
relief at the top (45) shows the king offering before the shrine of
Anubis, containing a jackal; and below this he worships at the shrine
of Harendotes, in which is the figure of a hawk. The third relief (46)
shows him opening the door of the shrine of Horus, which contains a
hawk. The eighth relief (47) shows at the top the shrine of Heket, in
which is the figure of a frog; and below this the king opens the door
of the shrine of Min-Horseisis- The ninth relief (48) represents him
worshipping at the shrine of the cow SJieutait.
On
the south wall (49) is the great emblem of Abydos, the head of Osiris,
having a large ornamental wig, placed upon a pole, while the king and
Isis worship it. Next (50) is the ibis-standard of Thoth; then (51) the
great khcrp or baton of Thoth and the hawk-standard; next (52) the
ded-symbol of Osiris clothed with a girdle and skirt; and (53) the king
and Isis lift the same symbol. On the rest of the wall the reliefs show
the king worshipping various gods.
We see, then,
that the reliefs in this hall were intended to give a kind of catalogue
of the larger shrines and emblems employed in the Osiris worship. Three
sanctuaries lead off the west end of the hall. The first is dedicated
to Horus, and the fine coloured reliefs show the king offering to that
god, with whom are associated Osiris and Isis. The second chamber is
dedicated to Osiris, and to the king who is here identified with that
god. The brilliant reliefs show the king crowned and enthroned, wearing
the insignia of Osiris, while Anubis, Isis, Thoth, and Horseosiris
salute him: and on the end wall he is embraced (p.19) by Osiris, with
whom are Isis and Horns. The third sanctuary is dedicated to Isis, and
the reliefs show the king worshipping her with Osiris and Horns. The
four-columned hall with its three sanctuaries, which forms the east end
of the Osiris Halls, is now so much ruined that it does not repay a
visit.
One now returns to the second Hypostyle Hall, and
enters the passage at the east side, closed by an iron door. On
the south wall of this passage (54) is the famous list of kings.
One sees Seti I holding a censer, and the young prince Ramesses,
afterwards King Ramesses II, reading from a papyrus; and before them
in two rows are the cartouches of a large number of the Pharaohs of
Egypt, beginning with Mena and ending with himself. The third row of
cartouches is a repetition of his own names. This list has been of
great value to Egyptologists in fixing the position of certain of the
less known Pharaohs; but it does not give the names of all the
monarchs, and the spelling of some of the earlier names is
defective.
A passage leading towards the south, and
ending in a stairway, once led out to the desert at the back of the
temple; and it seems to have been used at the festivals in which the
processions visited the tomb of Osiris. The reliefs date from the reign
of Rameses IInd. On the west wall (55) that king and his son, Prince
Amenherkhepshef, [9] are seen catching a bull for sacrifice; and
farther along (56) the king drags forward the elaborate barque of
Seker. On the east wall (57) he and four genii pull at a rope which is
attached to a net in which many wild duck have been caught. These he
and his son present to Amen-Ra and Mut. At the other end of the wall
(58) he drives four sacrificial calves to Khonsu, and dances before a
god whose figure is now destroyed.
Returning to the
passage in which the list of kings is shown, one may pass through the
iron door at its east end into several ruined and unfinished
chambers. One first enters a hall of ten columns, in which the reliefs
have never been completed. Those at the south-west corner, showing the
slaughtering of cattle, are of good workmanship, and especially one
figure (59) is noticeable for its spirited action. It represents a man
pulling at a rope attached to the hind leg of a bull, and one can well
see the tension of his muscles. The other chambers are hardly worth
visiting. One hall contains reliefs representing the sacred barques,
and a bench or shelf running around the walls seems to have been the
resting-place (p.20) of the actual barques. Foreign inscriptions
of the 6th century B.C., and later Coptic inscriptions, are scrawled
upon the walls.
The Temple of Ramesses II
The
temple of Ramesses II (fig.4), which was erected early in that king's
reign, lies a short distance to the northwest of that of Seti I
(fig.2). It is very much ruined, and only the lower parts of the walls
and the bases of the pillars remain; but even from this remnant one may
learn how costly and beautiful was the original building. In describing
the edifice, Ramesses II states that he built this "august temple,
established for eternity," for the god Unnefer; and that it had
"portals of granite, the doors thereto of copper, wrought with figures
in real electrum; a great sanctuary of alabaster set in granite"; and
other costly features. He also states how "he established for the god
permanent daily offerings. ... He filled the temple with everything; it
was overflowing with food and provisions, bulls, calves, oxen, geese,
bread, wine, fruit; it was filled with slaves, doubly supplied with
fields, made numerous with herds; the granaries were filled to
overflowing, the grain-heaps approached heaven. . . . The treasury was
filled with every costly stone, silver, gold in blocks; the magazine
was filled with everything from the tribute of all countries. He
planted many gardens set with every kind of tree, all sweet and
fragrant woods, and the plants of the Land of Punt."
One enters the Second Court through a pink
granite portal, on which one sees the king offering to Osiris, while
Thoth and Safkhet record his jubilee. Around three sides of this court
ran a covered gallery, the roof of which was supported by rectangular
pillars, having on their outer sides colossal figures of the king in
the form of Osiris. At the fourth or northern side these figures were
(p.22) continued, but here they stood upon a raised platform, and,
together with a second row of square pillars, served to support the
roof of a kind of vestibule.
Fig.4: Plan of the Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos.
The
reliefs in the Second Court are of considerable interest. At the east
end of the north wall we see (1) a number of priests carrying flowers,
and leading towards the temple a bull, fattened for sacrifice and
bedecked with flowers, an oryx, and a gazelle. Coming from the temple
to meet these sacrificial gifts there is (2) a procession headed by men
clapping their hands, singing, blowing trumpets, and carrying festal
banners. Behind them there is a chariot, the horses of which are held
by a groom, while another holds the reins. Then follow a group of
nobles, behind whom are soldiers with feathers in their hair who play
upon castanets. Other soldiers, carrying shields, spears, and axes,
follow; and more standard-bearers are then seen; while finally there
are negroes, one of whom has a tom-tom slung behind him, and Asiatics
clad in long robes.
The scenes along the east wall
show (3) a number of priests leading to the temple fatted bulls and a
calf, while others carry offerings of geese, pigeons, bread, fruit,
&c. Farther along this wall one sees only the lower part of
reliefs, representing persons carrying offerings; but towards the end
(4) the masonry is less ruined, and one sees the temple servants
bearing dishes of food on their heads, the procession being led by one
who carries on his shoulders a statuette of the king, preceded by a
Ritual-Priest burning incense before it. The scribe of the temple, with
pen and writing-tablet in hand, and a priest displaying his baton of
office, receive the offerings.
Turning to the other side of
the court, the west wall is just high enough to allow of the lower
reliefs being seen. Butchers (5) are shown slaughtering and cutting up
the sacrificial bulls; and (6) servants are seen running forward with
the joints of meat, each of which has been purified by the
Libation-Priest, who carries the vase of holy water, and presents the
offerings to the scribe whose business it is to record them. Bulls,
antelopes, and geese (7) are brought to the temple, and (8) are
received by a scribe who writes their number upon a tablet, a priest
who burns incense, another who extends his hand, and a Ritual-Priest
who holds the baton of his office.
One now ascends the low
steps to the raised Vestibule. On the east wall (9) nine captive
southern tribes are represented, their names written in ovals, above
each of which rise the head and shoulders of a typical negro. With the
exception of Wawat, or Lower Nubia, these tribes are all located above
the Second Cataract. (p.23) On the west wall (10) a similar scene shows
nine captive Asiatic tribes. From this Vestibule four small chambers
lead olV. In the Room of Hathor there is a scene (11) in which the king
is shown holding out the baton towards a now damaged barque containing
a statue of the cow of Hathor suckling a small figure of the Pharaoh.
In the Room of Ramesses II (12) the king, seated in a sacred barque
which rests upon a sledge, is drawn along by six figures, representing
the spirits of Eileithyiapolis or Nekheb (El Kab) and the spirits of
I'e, a city in the Delta. The Room of the Union is too much damaged to
be of interest; but in the Room of Seti one may distinguish the lower
part of a barque which contained a figure of Seti I. These four rooms,
then, which are dedicated to the father of Ramesses II, to himself, to
the Union, and to Hathor, the goddess of birth and of maternity, are
evidently intended to demonstrate the fact of the succession of
Ramesses II to the divine rights of his father; and they are thus a
fitting introduction to the scenes in the inner chambers, where he
stands in the presence of the gods.
One passes now through a
ruined grey-granite doorway into the First Octostyle Hall, the roof of
which was supported by eight square pillars of sandstone. Only the
lower parts of the walls remain, and here one sees a line of kneeling
Nile-deities, each bearing a tray of offerings. A narrow stairway, once
ascending to the roof, leads from the east side of this hall. On the
west side there is a chamber (Room of Anhur) in which only the lower
part of the reliefs can be seen.
One next enters the much
ruined second Octostyle Hall, from which three chambers lead on either
side. The three on the east side are for Osiris. In the Room of Linen a
relief represents a number of priests carrying necklaces and a casket
containing fine linen. The king walks behind them, pouring out a
libation. The Rooms of Ornaments and of Offerings are much ruined; but
in the Room of Thoth a relief shows the king, wearing the crown of
Upper Egypt, offering a pot of incense to a seated figure of Osiris. In
the Room of Min the king is seen pouring libations and burning incense
before the sacred barques, while on the west wall he worships the god
Min; but these scenes are much damaged. In the Room of the Cycle of
Horus Gods one sees the king, wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, dancing
before the gods, and holding in each hand a symbol composed of three
vases. On the opposite wall he is given life by a damaged figure of
Horus.
Two once splendid, but now much ruined, chambers
lead respectively from the (p.24) third chamber on either side of the
hall. In each of these chambers a series of recesses around the walls
have once contained statues of the various gods. In the west room the
first recess in the south wall (ii) is less ruined than are the others;
and here one sees the king making the mystical sign of holding up the
little finger before a figure of Osiris standing in front of a winged
ded-symbol, which is thought to be a conventionalised representation of
the backbone of Osiris. The room on the east side of the sanctuary has
upon its west wall a relief (12) showing three deities, of which the
first is nameless, the second is the goddess Heket of Abydos, and the
third is the god Anubis of the necropolis. The room on the west side of
the sanctuary has at its south end a shelf on which offerings were
placed. On the west wall (13) three goddesses are shown : the first is
nameless, the second is the scorpion goddess Selk, and the third is
Hathor of Dendereh.
The Sanctuary is so much ruined that it is
difficult now to picture it in its original magnificence. The great
pink-granite doorway has now fallen, but originally it is said to have
been fitted with splendid doors of beaten bronze. The walls of the
chamber were made entirely of alabaster, resting on a foundation of
sandstone, and were covered with reliefs and inscriptions, of which
only a few traces are now left. At the end of the chamber there was a
now much broken group of five seated figures sculptured in grey
granite. These represented Seti I, a Queen, Osiris, Ramesses II, and
another god or personage whose name is lost; and in this group the
purpose of the temple is shown. Osiris, who embodied the personalities
of the dead Pharaohs of Egypt, was here worshipped as the king's
ancestor, having the same spiritual relation to Ramesses as had his
father Seti 1st in actual fact. In one of the rooms of the temple a
list of kings was found, and was carried out of the country many years
ago. One sees, then, that, like the temple of Seti 1st, this also was a
shrine of the dead monarchs, whose virtues and divine rights were
inherited by Ramesses II.
Other Remains
The
numerous other remains at Abydos need only be recorded briefly here, as
they are rarely visited. The remains of the city of This and of the
"Temenos of Osiris" are to be found to the (p.25) northwest of
the temple of Ramesses. Here mounds and pits of rubbish, with some
fragments of masonry showing above the surface, mark the site of the
once famous place. High walls of crude brick are seen around it, and on
the east side is the sacred lake. In the desert behind this site lies
the necropolis, one of the most extensive in Egypt. Tombs of almost all
periods have here been found. Some distance back towards the western
hills two low mounds of a red colour will be seen. These are composed
of the fragments of the offering-pots placed upon the tombs of the
earliest kings of Egypt by later generations; and beneath the mounds M.
Amelineau and Professor Petric discovered these early royal sepulchres,
dating from the 1st and 2nd dynasties. The tombs are now not worth
visiting, for they are half-covered by debris.
Some
distance to the north-west of these tombs stands a large and imposing
brick building, now known as the Shunet es Zebib. The walls still stand
to a height of over 40 feet. The length of the building is about 400
feet, and its breadth over 200. It was evidently a fortress of the 1st
or 2nd dynasty; but in later times it was used as a burial-place for
ibis-mummies, that bird being sacred. Hence it received in ancient
Egyptian the name Shenet Debhib, "The Storehouse of the Ibis-mummies,"
and this is evidently the origin of the meaningless modern name which
would be translated "The Raisin Magazine."
Another
somewhat similar fortress lies to the west, and is now used as a Coptic
monastery, known as Anba Musas. In the desert to the south of the
necropolis is the temple and "false"-tomb of Senusert III. The temple
was discovered by Dr. Randal Maclver, and the tomb by the present
writer. Here the body of Senusert was probably laid previous to its
final burial at Dashour, in order that it might be near Osiris for a
while. Other "false"-tombs are here found, and there is a
"false"-pyramid of Aahmes I farther to the south.
Between
Abydos and Nag'-Hamadi the only site of interest is that of the
prehistoric cemetery of El Amrah, 5 miles south of Abydos, on the west
bank. This is now entirely excavated. A few graves of this and later
periods are the only remains until Hou is reached.
Footnotes:
1 The city of Thinis is sometimes thought to lie situated
farther to the north, and not on the site of Abydos; but this is highly
improbable.
2. The word Pharaoh was the title of the Egyptian
kings, just as Mikado is the title of the Japanese emperors, or Khedive
that of the modern rulers of Egypt.
3. Literally, "First of the West,' the Underworld being in the western hills.
4. Sometimes called Nezerra.
5. A deben of gold weighed about 100 grams.
6. The reader will remember that David danced before the ark of the Lord.
7. The art of this period may be traced in its development from that of
the early XVlIlth dynasty with considerable clearness. One first finds
a softening influence, perhaps due to Syria, in the art of Thothmes
IVth, which becomes very marked in the late years of Amenhotep Illrd.
Then follows the exaggeration of the new characteristics under
Akhnaton, and the attempted return to the old canons under Tutankhamen.
Under Horemheb the influence of Akhnaton is still marked, though, in
the main, the style has returned to that of Amenhotep IIIrd. These
varying characteristics are, however, solidified under Sety Ist; but
after this the art steadily deteriorates under the Ramesside pharoahs.
8. The symbol ded will be seen at (52). It perhaps represents the backbone of Osiris, and has the meaning of “stability."
9. This prince, who was the heir-apparent, seems to have died early, for
Rameses IInd was succeeded by another son, Merenptah.
[Continue to chapter 2]
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