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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 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

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Scene from the Chapel of a Pyramid at Gebel Barkal.

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 portions of a broken amphora which had held Rhodian

was

wine. Part of a second shaft, which led to the mummy chamber, was also emptied, but at a 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 Tirhâkâh (A). Taharqa, the Tirhâkâh of the Bible, was the third king of the XXVth dynasty; he began to reign about B.C. 693, and reigned

over 25 years.

From the excavations which Mr. Hoskins

C

8

A

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

A Temple of Tirhâkâh.

B Temple of Piankhi.

c Pyramids.

D Gebel Barkal.

made at Gebel Barkal, it is clear that four pillars of a porch or portico stood before the pylon, which was 11 feet deep and 63 feet wide. The court, which measured about 59 feet by 50 feet, contained 16 columns, 8 round and 8 square; their diameter was about 3 feet, and their height 18 feet. A small hypostyle hall with 8 columns led into the sanctuary, wherein was the shrine of the god and his companions; on the west side of the sanctuary is one room, and on the east are two. The total length of the

temple was about 120 feet. The chambers are decorated with reliefs, in which the king is depicted worshipping the gods of Gebel Barkal; many of the reliefs were painted with bright colours. Since Hoskins and Lepsius were at Gebel Barkal, a huge mass of rock crashed down from the

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top of the mountain, and did great damage to the ruins of this temple. Between the temples of Tirhâkâh and Piankhi are the ruins of a small temple building which consisted of two chambers, the first containing 4 columns, and the second an altar; about 250 yards to the north of these are

the ruins of the pylon of a temple which was decorated with sculptured scenes.

2. The Temple of Piankhi (B). Piankhi ruled at Napata in the last quarter of the VIIIth century B.C., and is famous as the Nubian monarch who invaded and conquered all Egypt. His temple, according to the figures of Mr. Hoskins, measured 500 feet in length and 135 feet in width. The first court, which contained 26 columns about 6 ft. in diameter, measured 150 feet by 135 feet; the second court, which contained 46 columns about 5 feet in diameter, measured 125 feet by 102 feet; the hypostyle hall, which contained 10 columns about 4 feet in diameter, measured 51 feet by 56 feet; the chamber leading to the sanctuary measured 40 feet by 28 feet; and the sanctuary, which contained three shrines, probably for Amen-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu, 37 feet by 21 feet. The pylon which divided the two courts was decorated with battle scenes, processions, and the like. Close in under the hill are the remains of a temple which seems to have been built and added to by later Nubian kings, for the reliefs which were on its walls belong to the class which is found in the island of Meroë, further south. An idea of the style of the reliefs in this temple will be gained. from the following illustration, which is taken from Cailliaud's Voyage. Here we see the Nubian king, who calls himself "the pacifier of the two lands, king of the South and North, Se-kheper-ren-Ra, the son of the sun, the lord of diadems, Senka-Amen-seken, giver of life, like the sun." The prenomen of this king, Se-kheper-ren-Rã, - means, 'Ra createth name' (or renown), and his nomen shows that he was a devotee of the god Amen-Rā. He is here depicted in the act of clubbing the representatives of a number of vanquished peoples in the presence of the god Amen, who is

offering him a short sword. An interesting collection of stelæ containing inscriptions of Piānkhi and Ḥeru-sa-ȧtef, and the texts of the histories of the Dream, and the Enthronement, and the Excommunication, drawn up for certain Nubian kings, was found some years ago among the ruins of the great temple of Piankhi at Gebel Barkal; all these are now in the Cairo Museum. The condition of the ruins at Gebel Barkal renders it extremely difficult to gain any exact idea of the appearance of the temples as a whole, but they can never have impressed the beholder

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Senka-Amen-seken, king of Nubia, clubbing his foes. (Drawn from Cailliaud.)

with the sense of massiveness and dignity which seems to be the peculiar attribute of the great temples of Egypt. The temple remains at Gebel Barkal are naturally not to be compared with those of Sulb, but the site is one of great historic interest, for there is little reason to doubt that the Egyptian occupation of the country is certainly as old as the time of the kings of the XIIth dynasty.

At Nûri, or Nurri, 7 miles from Marawi, on the west

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