Kerma, on the west bank of the Nile, was re-occupied by Egyptian troops on September 23, 1896. In the western desert, at no great distance from the town, are large quantities of salt deposit. During the revolt of the Mahdi this town, under the rule of Mustafa Yawir, who doubted the divinity of the Mahdi, remained loyal for a long time, and its people actually defeated the Dervishes at Kurta (Korti); finally, however, it was compelled to submit to the rebel, and the loss of the Donkola Province was a serious blow to Egypt. The town was large and prosperous, but, like every place which fell under Dervish rule, was destroyed.

Old Donkola is situated on the east bank of the Nile, and is 155 miles from Kerma. At the present time it is simply a deserted town, filled with the ruins of mud-brick houses, and containing about 30 able-bodied men. The people belonging to it usually live on a little island in the Nile close by, and on the western bank. It is built on a rocky height overlooking the river and the Eastern Desert, and has always been of great strategic importance, from its commanding position. The current is very strong here, and the steamer in which the writer passed it in September, 1897, with difficulty made one mile in an hour. A fine stele, dated in the 8th year of the Nubian king Nåstasenen

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4) which was found here some years

ago, proves that the town was of considerable size and importance long before the Christian era began, and in the second half of the sixth century A.D. the Christian king Silko, who defeated the Blemmyes, adopted the town as his capital. Abu Salih describes it as a large city, and says that it contains many churches, and large houses, and wide streets. The king's house is lofty, with several domes of red brick, and resembles the buildings in Al-'Irâk; and this novelty was introduced by Raphael, who was king of Nubia A.H. 392, i.e., A.D. 1002." The Nubians are said

to have been star-worshippers, and the first who was converted to Christianity was Bahriyâ, the son of the king's sister, who built many churches and monasteries in Nubia, some on the river banks, and some in the desert. The northern frontier of Nubia was at Aswân, which was said to be distant a journey of 40 days, and was called Marîs, a name derived from two ancient Egyptian words meaning the "south land." The south wind is commonly called "Marîsîyeh,", as belonging to the south. The king of Nubia had dominion over Mâķurrah and ‘Alwah The Mosque at Old Donkola was dedicated to the service of God A.D. 1317; it stands in a prominent place, and commands the country and the river.

Abu Gûs, 86 miles from New Donkola, is the starting point of the great Kordofân and Darfûr caravan road.

Al-Dabbah (Debbeh), 101 miles from New Donkola, originally a small village, was turned into a fortified place by the Turks; at this point the Nile is 750 yards wide. Debbeh is the starting point of the direct caravan road to Omdurmân.

Kurta (Korti), 138 miles from New Donkola, on the west bank of the river, was the headquarters of Lord Wolseley's expedition to rescue General Gordon in 1884; nearly all the forces were concentrated there on Christmas Day of that year, and the withdrawal from the place began in March, 1885. From this point on the Nile to Matammah is a distance of 176 miles. Water is first met with 37 miles from Korti or Ambukul, and 18 miles further on are the Wells of Al-Ḥuwêyât; 100 miles from Ambuķûl are the Gakdûl Wells, which are situated in one of the spurs of the Gebel Gillif range. The wells are water-worn basins at the bottom of a granite gorge, and the largest of the pools measures 180 feet by 30 feet; the water is sweet. At the distance of 150 miles from Ambuķûl are the Wells of Abu

Klea, and 18 miles further on is the Well of Shabakat, which is 12 feet in diameter and 50 feet deep.

At Kurru, Zuma (east bank), and Tanķassi (west bank), 7 to 10 miles from Marawî, are the remains of large groups of pyramids, but the stone casings have been removed by many generations of Muḥammadans for building their tombs, and for making the foundations of the supports of their water-wheels. The cores of most of these pyramids were built of mud bricks, but in each pyramid field are the ruins of at least one well-built step pyramid made of stone.

Marawi (east bank), and Sanam Abu-Dôm (west bank), 170 miles from New Donkola, mark the site of the ancient and famous city of Napata, the www Nept,

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Nepita, of the Egyptian inscriptions.

The ancient city seems to have been situated on the west bank, over which, on account of the bend in the river, the sun rises. It must have been a city of very considerable size, for whenever any excavations were made for the purpose of building block-houses, etc., in 1897, when Sanam Abu-Dôm was the head-quarters of the Frontier Field Force of the Egyptian Army, remains of buildings and portions of large sandstone columns were generally found at the depth of a few feet below the surface. Away in the low hills on the west bank, a few miles from the river, are the remains of a number of rock-hewn tombs, and on the east bank, about three or four miles up-stream from Sanam Abu-Dôm, lie the pyramids and ruins of the temples of Napata. The name Sanam Abu-Dôm means "the place of graven images which is situated among dom palms,” and proves that there were ancient ruins of one or more temples in the immediate neighbourhood. At Marawi, just opposite, are the ruins of one of the brick and stone forts which are so common in the country, and a mosque, and close by is a

settlement of the brave Shaikia Arabs, whose ancestors several centuries ago came from Arabia and possessed considerable power in the country. Next comes the village of Shibba, and straight ahead is the striking mountain called Gebel Barkal by the Arabs, and Tu-ab,

the "Holy (or Pure) Mountain" in the Egyptian inscriptions. This mountain is 302 feet high, and is about fiveeighths of a mile long; it is the most prominent object in the landscape, and can be seen for many miles round. On the plain by the side of the mountain are the ruins of eight or nine pyramids, and on the crest of the rising ground are

Scene from the Chapel of a Pyramid at Gebel Barkal.

eight more; they are, however, much dwarfed in appearance by the huge mass of the mountain. The pyramids in the plain vary in size from 23 feet to 88 feet square; those on the hill vary from 33 feet to 65 feet square, and from 35 to 60 feet in height.. Before each pyramid there stood a chapel containing one or more chambers, the walls inside being decorated with reliefs, in which the deceased was represented standing in adoration before the gods of the Holy Mountain, and receiving offerings of incense, etc., from priests and others. The above illustration, taken from Cailliaud's Voyage, will give a good idea of the class of reliefs found in the chapels, but the

slabs from which it was first drawn at Gebel Barkal have long since disappeared. The general characteristics are, of course, Egyptian, but the details of treatment are peculiar to the artists and sculptors of Nubia. The writer excavated the shafts of one of the pyramids here in 1897, and at the depth of about 25 cubits found a group of three chambers, in one of which were a number of bones of the sheep which sacrificed there about 2000 years ago, and also

was

The Pyramids and Temples of Gebel Barkal. (Drawn from Lepsius.)

A Temple of Tirhakhah.

B Temple of Piankhi.

c Pyramids.

D Gebel Barkal.

portions of a broken amphora which had held Rhodian wine. A second shaft, which led to the mummy chamber, was also emptied, but at a further depth of 20 cubits it was found to be full of water; and having no means for pumping it out, the mummy chamber could not be entered. The principal ruins of temples are:

1. The Temple of Tirhakah. (A.) Taharqa, the Tirhakah of the Bible, was the third king of the XXVth dynasty; he began to reign about B.C. 693, and reigned