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for the first time, and it was found that the waters of the Nile rose above the thresholds of the doors of the temples at Philæ. When the reservoir was emptied, a careful examination of the portions of the temples which had been submerged was ordered, and it was found that immediately above the water-line there was a band of saturated stone, from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 6 in. deep, in which salts deleterious to the masonry had made their appearance. If these salts be not removed annually grave damage will be done to the buildings. Sir William Garstin tells us that these salts will come away easily if the stone be carefully washed as soon as the waters have subsided, and that the stability of the temples, etc., will be unimpaired, and we may be certain that he will cause the cleansing of the stone to be carried out with all promptitude. The success of the Dam was proved to be so great during the first year of its existence, and its benefit to the agriculture of the country was so evident, that the Egyptian Government decided to consider the raising of the dam, in order that Upper Egypt might more fully participate in an increased water supply, and that the reclamations of land might go on there pari passu with those in the Delta.

From Sir William Garstin's "Report," published in August, 1904, we learned that he was prepared to recommend the raising of the Dam to such a height that the water held up in the reservoir might be 112 metres deep instead of 106 metres as at present, and at a meeting of the Council of Ministers held in October, 1904, it was resolved to ask the Khedive to order the raising of the Dam at Aswân, and the construction of a Barrage at Esna. The former work will cost about E. 500,000, and the latter about LE.136,000. This being so, there is no reason for doubting that the raising of the Dam will be carried out in the near future, and it follows as a matter of course that the temples and buildings at Phila will be submerged to a further

depth of 6 metres, i.e., about 19 ft. 6 in. The Egyptian Government is undoubtedly right in carrying out works which are of such direct benefit to the whole Egyptian nation, and however much we may regret the result, which will prevent travellers from landing on the Island of Philæ during the winter months, and exploring its wonderful ruins, it is quite clear that the depth of the water in the reservoir must be increased, and that the progress of the development of the agriculture of the country must not be hindered. We may be sure that the British Advisers of the Khedive will spare no pains to preserve the stability of the temples and buildings at Philæ, but the tourist will only be able to examine them thoroughly in the summer.

It is difficult not to think that the Egyptian Government would be justified in removing the temples bodily to another site in the immediate neighbourhood of Philæe, where they could be visited at all seasons of the year. This suggestion was made when the construction of the Dam was first proposed, and the writer believes that an eminent engineer prepared an estimate of the cost of the work, which would have been relatively small. Had the temples been removed then, they would have escaped the partial submersion which they have already suffered, they would have been rebuilt in a manner which would have made them more stable than they had ever been before, the cost of underpinning, etc., would have been avoided, and Sir William Garstin would have constructed the Dam according to the original plans. As it is, the clamour of the small body of archæologists who opposed the building of the Dam has only delayed—not prevented--the annual submergence of the temples for several months to the depth of from 20 to 25 feet, and it seems as if the injury which they must suffer sooner or later from the waters of the Nile will be due to the exertions of those who were most anxious to preserve them.

PHILE.

Phila is the name given by the Greeks and Romans to the two islands which are situated at the head of the First Cataract, about six miles south of Aswân; the larger island is called Biggah, the Senemet

of the Egyptian texts, and the name Philæ now generally refers to the smaller island, on which stands the group of ancient buildings of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The name Philæ is derived from the Egyptian words , ie., "the Island of Lek," or

P-á-lek, □

K

; from these words the Copts formed

the name П&K, and the Arabs the name Bilak,. A well-known name for Philæe in the inscriptions is "the city of Isis," and one text speaks of it as the "interior of

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Of the history of the Island of Philæ during the Early and Middle Empires nothing is known; only it is certain that the Egyptians made use of it for military purposes in very early times. Whether they built forts upon it cannot be said, but the site was an excellent one for a garrison. Judging by analogy, shrines to local gods, or temples, must have stood upon one or both of the islands, for it is impossible to imagine that such a well-protected and picturesque spot for a temple or

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The early

temples should have remained unoccupied. travellers in Egypt declare that slabs of granite and sandstone inscribed with the names of Amenophis II., Amenophis III., and Thothmes III., were visible on this island, as well as on that of Biggah; but it is certain that nothing of the kind remains there now. We shall be probably correct in assuming that the first temple of any great importance was built there in the XVIIIth dynasty, and that the sides of the granite rock which forms the island were scarped that walls might be built upon them. This would have the effect of destroying the rough graffiti which the troops of the Usertsens and Amenemḥāts must have chiselled upon it, as they did on the rocks on the cataract on their way south. The island is 1,418 feet long, i.e., from north to south, and 464 feet wide, i.e., from east to west, and is formed by a mass of crystalline rock, mainly hornblendic granite, on which Nile mud has been deposited. The main portion of the Temple of Isis is founded on the solid rock of the island, while the other buildings have foundations usually from four to six metres in depth, which rest on Nile mud; a portion of one of the buildings rests upon an artificial quay made of stone. The oldest portion of a building on the island are the remains of a small edifice which was set up at the southern end of it by Nectanebus II., the last native king of Egypt (B.C. 358-340). Of the other buildings, all the temples date from the Ptolemaic period, and were the works of the Ptolemies and of one or two Nubian kings. Under the Roman emperors a few of the existing buildings were enlarged, and a few architectural works of an ornamental character were added. An ancient tradition made Phile to be one of the burial places of Osiris, and an oath sworn by Osiris of Phila was inviolable; the very earth of the island was considered to be holy, and only those who were priests, or were employed in the temples, were allowed to live there.

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