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(Bk. III., chap. vi.) Many of the Ptolemies appear to have made additions to the temple at Dakkeh.

On the east bank of the river opposite Dakkeh is Kubân, called Baka, in the hieroglyphics, a village which is said to mark the site of Tachompso or Metachompso, "the place of crocodiles." As Pselcis increased, so Tachompso declined, and became finally merely a suburb of that town; it was generally called Contra-Pselcis. During the XVIIIth and XIXth dynasties this place was well fortified by the Egyptians, and on many blocks of stone close by are found the names of Thothmes III., Heru-em-heb, and Rameses II. It appears to have been the point from which the wretched people condemned to labour in the gold mines in the desert of the land of Akita set out ; and an interesting inscription on a stone found here relates that Rameses II., having heard that much gold existed in this land, which was inaccessible on account of the absolute want of water, bored a well in the mountain, twelve cubits deep, so that henceforth men could come and go by this land. His father Seti I. had bored a well 120 cubits deep, but no water appeared in it.

On the sculptures

About 20 miles from Dakkeh, and 690 from Cairo, on the west bank of the river, is Wâdi Sebûa, or the "Valley of the Lions," where there are the remains of a temple partly built of sandstone, and partly excavated in the rock; the place is so called on account of the dromos of sixteen sphinxes which led up to the temple. which still remain here may be seen Rameses II., the builder of the temple, "making an offering of incense to father Åmen, the king of the gods," who says to him, "I give to thee all might, and I give the world to thee, in peace." Elsewhere the king is making offerings to Tefnut, lady of heaven Nebt-ḥetep, Horus and Thoth, each of whom promises to bestow some blessing upon him. On another part is a boat containing a ram-headed god, and Harmachis,

seated in a shrine, accompanied by Horus, Thoth, Isis, and Māt; the king kneels before him in adoration, and the god says that he will give him myriads of years and festivals; on each side is a figure of Rameses II. making an offering. Beneath this scene is a figure of a Christian saint holding a key, and an inscription on each side tells us that it is meant to represent Peter the Apostle. This picture and the remains of plaster on the walls show that the chambers of the temple were used by the early Christians as chapels.

Korosko, on the east bank of the river, 703 miles from Cairo, was from the earliest times the point of departure for merchants and others going to and fro from the Sûdân; from the western bank there was a caravan route across into north Africa. In ancient days the land which lay to the east of Korosko was called

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Uaua,

and as early as the VIth dynasty the officer Unȧ visited it in order to obtain blocks of acacia wood for his king Pepi II. An inscription, found a few hundred yards to the east of the town,records that the country round about was con

quered in the XIIth dynasty by Amenemḥāt I. (0) —₺).

About seven miles off is the battle-field of Toski, on the west bank of the Nile. A capital idea of the general character of Nubian scenery can be obtained by ascending the mountain, which is now, thanks to a good path, easily accessible.

At Amada, on the west bank of the river, 711 miles from Cairo, is a small but interesting temple, which appears to have been founded in the XIIth dynasty by Usertsen II., who conquered Nubia by setting fire to standing crops, by carrying away the wives and cattle, and by cutting down the men on their way to and from the wells. This temple was repaired by Thothmes III. and other kings of the XVIIIth dynasty.

At Dêrr, on the east bank of the river, 715 miles from Cairo, is a small, badly executed rock-hewn temple of the time of Rameses II., where the usual scenes representing the defeat of the Ethiopians are depicted. The king is accompanied by a tame "lion which follows after his maȧu śesi en

majesty, ID

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hen-f, to slay. . . . . ." Close to the temple is the rock stele of the prince Amen-em-heb of the same period; the temple was dedicated to Àmen-Ra. The Egyptian name of the town was

TIX, Pa-Rā pa țemài, “the

town of the temple of the sun.”

Thirteen miles beyond Dêrr, 728 miles from Cairo, also on the east bank of the river, stands Ibrîm, which marks the site of the ancient Primis, or Premnis, called in the Egyptian inscriptions

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Máāmam. This

town was captured during the reign of Augustus by Petronius on his victorious march upon Napata. In the first and third naos at Primis are representations of Neḥi, the governor of Nubia, with other officers, bringing gifts before Thothmes III., which shows that these caves were hewn during the reign of this king; and in another, Rameses II. is receiving adorations from Setau, prince of Ethiopia, and a number of his officers. At Anibe, just opposite Ibrîm, is the grave of Penni, the governor of the district, who died during the reign of Rameses VI.

ABU SIMBEL.*

Abu Simbel, on the west bank of the river, 762 miles from Cairo, is the classical Aboccis, and the place called Ал Åbshek in the Egyptian inscriptions. Around, or near the temple, a town of considerable size

*The spelling of this name is doubtful.

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I. Plan of the Temple of Rameses II. at Abu Simbel.
II. The seated Colossi and front of the Temple at Abu Simbel.
From Lepsius' Denkmäler, Bd. iii., Bl. 185.

once stood; all traces of this have, however, disappeared. To the north of the great temple, hewn in the living rock, is a smaller temple, about 84 feet long, which was dedicated to the goddess Hathor by Rameses II. and his wife Nefert-Åri. The front is ornamented with statues of the king, his wife, and some of his children, and over the door are his names and titles. In the hall inside are six square Hathor-headed pillars also inscribed with the names and titles of Rameses and his wife. In the small chamber at the extreme end of the temple is an interesting scene in which the king is making an offering to Hathor in the form of a cow; she is called the "lady of Abshek," and is standing behind a figure of the king.

The chief object of interest at Abû Simbel is the Great Temple built by Rameses II. to commemorate his victory over the Cheta in north-east Syria; it is the largest and finest Egyptian monument in Nubia, and for simple grandeur and majesty is second to none in all Egypt. This temple is hewn out of the solid grit-stone rock to a depth of 185 feet, and the surface of the rock, which originally sloped down to the river, was cut away for a space of about 90 feet square to form the front of the temple, which is ornamented by four colossal statues of Rameses II., 66 feet high, seated on thrones, hewn out of the living rock. The cornice is, according to the drawing by Lepsius, decorated with twenty-one cynocephali, and beneath it, in the middle, is a line of hieroglyphics, A f1, tȧ-nå nek anch usr neb, “I give to thee all life and strength," on the right side of which are four figures of Rā,

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and eight

cartouches containing the prenomen of Rameses II., with a uræus on each side; on the left side are four figures of Amen,, and eight cartouches as on the right. The line of boldly cut hieroglyphics below reads, "The living Horus, the mighty bull, beloved of Māt, king of the North and

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