and at several district capitals there remain fine tombs of these families, dating from just this one dynasty. These two tombs were the burial-places of Prince Zauta and Prince Adu, who were both princes of the province of Diospolis Parva. Prince Zauta seems to have been the founder of the family, and the workmanship shown in his tomb is better than that in the tomb of Adu, who probably succeeded him. Zauta held the titles of Prince of the Province, Governor of the South, Keeper of the Door of the South (i.e. of the Nubian frontier), Master of the Secrets of the Door of the South, Erpa-ha-Prince, Governor of the Fortress,1 Sole Companion, Royal Registrar, Ritual-Priest, and Overseer of the Priests of the Pyramids of Meryra, Merenra, and Neferkara. Adu's titles were the same, with the omission of those relating to Nubia and the south, probably owing to the fact that this office had been handed over to the prince of some other province. A prince of Dendereh held the title at about this period, and princes of Elephantine are also known to have held it. The fact that Zauta and Adu are both connected with the pyramids of King Neferkara Pepy IInd and his predecessors shows that they lived at the end of the dynasty, and it is possible that in the troubled times which followed, the Nubian frontier was not protected.

Adu.

On the way to these two tombs the visitor will pass five rock Tomb of tombs of no interest. The sixth tomb is that of Adu. On either side of the broken entrance of this tomb there are inscriptions cut into the rock, giving the titles of the prince. On entering, the tomb is seen to consist of a rectangular chamber, from the back wall of which a sloping passage leads down into the actual sepulchre, now blocked with rubbish. The walls of the chamber are decorated with coloured reliefs similar to those found at Sakkâra and elsewhere. Upon the inner side of the front wall immediately to one's right on entering is a much damaged scene showing Adu harpooning fish, and to one's left is the corresponding scene showing him hunting birds with a boomerang. The rushes amongst which the hunt is taking place are full of birds of various kinds, and a butterfly is also seen. The lower part of the scene is destroyed. The left end wall of the chamber has upon it the figure of the prince standing before the usual offerings, and there

1 Heqhet.

2 It is necessary to state that an interpretation of this scene given in another guide-book, in which Adu becomes a warrior with weapon uplifted to slaughter his enemies, is as incorrect as the general description of the two tombs there given.

Tomb of
Zauta,

is also part of a stele or false-door depicted, above which is an inscription of some length giving the usual laudatory comment on his life. The reliefs on the corresponding wall at the right end of the tomb are destroyed. The back wall has upon it a large quantity of offerings, while at the far end, to one's left, are scenes in five registers. The first two from the top contain hunting incidents; the third shows tame animals being fed, &c.; the fourth contains some interesting cooking scenes, in two of which a man is seen fanning the food or the fire over which it is being held; and in the fifth row one sees a number of slaughtered gazelles.

The second tomb, that of Prince Zauta, has had a large part of its front wall quarried away by some unscrupulous persons in need of easily obtained slabs of stone.1 The reliefs which are still to be seen on the inner side of this wall show the slaughtering of cattle, and a figure of the owner with the titles inscribed above it. The tomb, although much damaged, is seen to have consisted of three main rooms, the entrance-door having led into the middle room; but the partition walls are now destroyed. From the back wall of this middle room the shaft descends, in the form of a sloping passage, to the burial chamber, now blocked with debris. From the left-hand chamber a small undecorated room leads, in which are four niches only large enough to have contained small objects of funeral furniture. From the right-hand chamber a small recess leads, now much damaged. On the far wall of this righthand chamber are reliefs showing the prince seated before a number of persons who are bringing offerings to him, and some figures of ritual-priests near by are engaged in a well-known ceremony, described elsewhere (p. 274). On the corresponding left wall are hunting scenes, and representations of servants bringing offerings. On the sides of the entrance to the shaft the prince is seen seated to receive more offerings.

In the neighbourhood of these two tombs there is a cemetery of the same period, which seems to have been almost entirely dug out by tomb-plunderers.

FROM HOU TO DENDEREH, ON THE EAST BANK

Between Khenoboskion and Keneh on the east bank there are the mounds of an old town at Deshneh and at Fou, which was the ancient Bopos; and there is a small plundered cemetery at El 1 Probably early in the nineteenth century.

Kenawieh. The town of Keneh marks the site of the ancient Kainepolis, which being thus in Greek times called "New-town," cannot date earlier than that period. Neither on this nor on the west bank will the visitor find anything to interest him.

THE ANCIENT SITES ON THE WEST BANK

Riding along the desert southwards from Hou one passes several prehistoric cemeteries, mostly dug out, while a small Roman fort is also seen. Near Wakf there are prehistoric cemeteries, and also a few graves of the New Empire. The city known in the XVIIIth dynasty as Wahast, and seemingly connected with the oases, is listed as being situated next to Hou and Khenoboskion ; and is probably to be located somewhere near Wakf. Other prehistoric cemeteries lie some six miles south of Wakf; but near Dendereh there is little of value or importance. There do not seem to have been any prehistoric settlements nearer Dendereh, which at that time was a kind of no-man's land between the territory of the tribes of Diospolis Parva and that of the Setworshippers of Ombos.

DENDEREH

temple.

The temple of Dendereh is usually visited by persons travelling Methods of in Upper Egypt, as it is one of the best preserved of the ancient visiting the edifices. It stands on the edge of the western desert opposite Keneh, about half-an-hour's ride from the river. The tourist steamers allow the passengers sufficient time to visit the temple, but one may also make the excursion with ease from Luxor by railway. At Keneh station one may obtain a carriage in which to drive to the bank of the river, where a ferry-boat will be found. Donkeys should have been sent on from the station to meet one on the west bank, and the ride through the fields to the temple is usually enjoyable.

THE HISTORY OF DENDEREH

In ancient times the official name of this place was Ant, but it was also known vulgarly as Tantarer, from which the Greek

The archaic period.

The

goddess Hathor.

The early

temples.

Tentyra and the modern Dendereh are derived. It was the capital of the VIth Province of Upper Egypt, which was bounded on the north by the province of Diospolis Parva-the tombs of whose princes have been described above, and on the south by the province of Thebes. In the last chapter the visitor will have read how the archaic kings of Thinis, who reigned before Mena, pushed their way southwards, and founded a capital for themselves at Kôm el Ahmar near Edfu. A tradition states that at the beginning of things the followers of the god Horus defeated those of the god Set in a fierce fight at Dendereh, and finally crushed them in a desperate battle at Edfu; and there is reason to suppose that one may see in this tradition a reference to the conquests of these Thinite chieftains. Dendereh was throughout its history considered to be the place at which the preliminary battle to that at Edfu took place, and the god Horsmataui, “the hawk who unites the two lands," who represents the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt brought about by the conquests of the archaic kings, is described as the child of Dendereh and Edfu, or rather of Hathor and Horus, the gods of those places.

Hathor, the patron deity of Dendereh, was a goddess of very high standing in Egypt; but in the mythology of the best periods of Egyptian history she is evidently composed of a combination of several independent forms. Sometimes she is the cow which issues forth from the western hills; sometimes she is the fairy godmother, who is present at childbirth; and sometimes she is the fair goddess from the land of Punt. But here at Dendereh she appears in her original form. She is the beneficent goddess of maternal and family love, of beauty, of light, and of joy. Her form is generally that of a woman, above whose head rises the sun's disk, fixed between a pair of cow's horns. The totem by which in prehistoric times she was represented consisted of a cow's head fixed upon a pole, having above it a casket or shrine. In later times the cow's head gave place to the model of a woman's head with cow's ears; and in this form we see the totem used as a column in the great Hypostyle Hall of the temple. The trinity of Dendereh consisted of Hathor, Horus of Edfu, and their son Horsmataui, and was thus identical with that worshipped at Edfu, with the difference that the chief deity was there Horus instead of Hathor.

The earliest temple at Dendereh is said, in the inscriptions in the existing building, to have been built by those archaic kings who were known as the "followers of Horus." A temple was then built here by Khufu, the Pharaoh who erected the great pyramid at

Gîzeh. A plan of the building, drawn upon hide, is said to have been found in the archives of the royal palace during the reign of King Pepy of the VIth dynasty; and that king thereupon rebuilt the temple which had fallen into ruins.

At this period Dendereh was a place of considerable importance. The VIth The tombs of the nobles, which lie in the desert behind the temple, dynasty. were excavated by Professor Flinders Petrie some years ago, and many inscriptions bearing on the history of the VIth dynasty were discovered. So many of these persons held the title of Heq het, "Ruler of the Fortress," that one is led to suppose that there must have been a fortified enclosure here in which a part of the Upper Egyptian army was stationed. One reads of a "steward of the magazine of stores of war," and again of a "captain of the host"; while, like the prince of Diospolis Parva, whose tomb has been described above, and some of the princes of Elephantine, a prince of Dendereh held the title of "Governor of the South," which entailed the guarding of the Lower Nubian frontier against the negro invasions. One noble, named Merra, tells us that he laboured all his life for the furtherance of the interests of Dendereh, and that he was praised not only by the citizens, but by "the travellers and the negroes of foreign lands." This indicates that the negroes of Lower Nubia were in the habit of entering Egypt peaceably and penetrating as far north as this province. The tombs of six probably successive princes of the province of Dendereh have been found, and most of them seem to have held high offices in the Government; while their wives and daughters acted as priestesses in the temple of Hathor.

ship of

Hathor.

Some of these nobles speak of themselves as having conducted The worthe "Voyage of Hathor," in which ceremony one may recognise the voyage of the sacred barge, containing the image of Hathor, to Edfu to visit the temple of Horus, her consort. This festival was one of considerable importance in Upper Egypt, and seems to have dated from the earliest times. The barge was towed up the river by numerous galleys, and on nearing Edfu it was met by the barge of Horus. The images of the two deities were carried up to the temple, and, after some days, the goddess was taken down stream again to Dendereh. Inscriptions from these tombs also refer to the sacred kine of Hathor, which seem to have been kept near the temple; but their burial-place has not yet been found.

At Gebelên an inscription of King Nebhotep Menthuhotep of the The XIth, XIth dynasty refers to him as son of Hathor, Lady of Dendereh." XIIth, and At Dendereh the cartouche of a King Menthuhotep was found, dynasties.

XIIIth