Situation of the temple. The façade. CHAPTER XIX THE TEMPLE OF ASWÂN-THE GRANITE QUARRIES -THE ROCK INSCRIPTIONS AND OTHER ANTI- THE THE TEMPLE OF ASWAN HE Temple of Isis at Aswân, which dates from the reigns of Ptolemy IIIrd and IVth, lies behind the town amongst the ruins of the ancient city. It will not be found to be of great interest to visitors, and only those who have ample time here should trouble to see it. To the archæologist it has some points of interest, the peculiarly plain and sombre style of its interior architecture being very striking. From the east side of the railway station a road leads up the hill, through the native town, and, bearing off somewhat to the north past a little iron foundry, brings one to the open ground after some ten minutes' walking. Before one lies the open desert, broken by clusters of rock. In the foreground are the ruins of the ancient town --a disorderly and unpleasing mess of sun-dried bricks and fragments of broken pottery, overlaid with modern rubbish. A few yards to the north a low wall with a small wooden gate marks the site of the temple. The building itself stands so low, or rather the town rubbish has heaped itself so high around, that the temple roof is on a level with the present road, and cannot be seen till the wall is reached. A watchman should be found at the gate, and to him the visitor must show his ticket of admission. A flight of steps leads down to the pavement level of the temple some six metres below the surface. The front wall is constructed of undecorated sandstone blocks. There are two entrances: the main portal in the middle, and the smaller portal at the side, both leading into the hall of the temple. The main portal through which the public were admitted into the temple is crowned with the usual concave cornice, below which is the winged disk. Upon the lintel are four panels, showing Ptolemy IIIrd Euergetes offering to different gods. The first panel at the north end gives a representation of Queen Berenice of Cyrene offering beside her husband the king. One always looks with interest at any mention of this queen. Queen It may be remembered that when her husband was conducting Berenice. a war in Syria, Berenice vowed that if he were victorious she would cut off her hair, which was of exceptional beauty. The king was victorious, and the queen kept her word, for which she was much praised. The astronomer Conon, who was then conducting his studies at Alexandria, immortalised the act by naming a constellation Coma Berenices, "the hair of Berenice"; and Callimachus, the poet, gave birth in one of his verses to the fancy that the queen's hair had actually become deified, so to speak, in the form of these stars. Looking at this representation of the queen given here on the doorway, however, one would hardly believe that of her was written the epigram : Down either side of the portal are three panels again showing The Ptolemy offering to the gods. As one enters the portal Ptolemy façade. is seen on one's left side offering to Horus, and on the right to Thoth. Looking up as one stands inside the doorway, two pivot holes for the poles of a pair of swinging doors will be seen, one in each corner. The smaller doorway used by the priests has a similar cornice and winged disk. On the lintel are four small panels showing Ptolemy offering to the gods. On one's left the king is seen wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, and holding in his hand a mace and wand. A short inscription in front of him tells one to enter into this house twice purified; and his arm is seen to be extended in a kind of gesture of salutation. On one's right is a corresponding scene partly destroyed, showing the king wearing the crown of Upper Egypt. Below these two panels are representations of Hapi (the Nile) of the North and South. The Hall of the temple is remarkable, and is unlike that of The Hall. any of the other temples in the country. In shape it is oblong, rectangular, and the roof, which is intact, is supported by two heavy, square pillars, with stiff, square capitals. There are four windows, one in the north and in the south wall, and one on either side of the entrance, these latter, however, being broken into Doorways leading to inner chambers. The Sanctuary. shapeless apertures. In the walls there are several empty niches where once tablets were inserted. Two altars and the pedestal of a statue stand in the hall, the two former each having a short dedicatory inscription upon them. There is no decoration on the walls of the hall; and the plain, sombre surfaces are in depressing opposition to the decorations seen elsewhere. Sufficient pigment remains upon the walls of most of the temples of Upper Egypt to show that the colour scheme in these buildings was as brilliant as that of the sky and the hills and the trees outside. But here an intentional contrast seems to have been affected, and perhaps one may see in this sobriety the beginnings of the asceticism which was soon to take so fast a hold on Egypt. In the back wall of the hall there are three doors. In the axial line is a large portal leading into the sanctuary, and on either side a door leads into a small chamber. The doorway leading into the sanctuary is surmounted by the usual cornice, below which is a winged disk, repeated again on the lintel. Down either side are four panels, of which the first three show the King offering to various gods, and the last on either side shows two figures of Hapi of the North and the South. As one passes through the doorway there is to be seen on either side an inscription in three perpendicular lines, giving a hymn to Isis-Sirius. This portal has, again, the pivot holes on which double doors swung. The Sanctuary is a sombre chamber lit by a small rectangular aperture in the roof. The back wall alone is inscribed. This wall is divided into two parts by a concave cornice, below which are two winged disks. Below this, again, are reliefs in four panels, now much damaged, showing Ptolemy IVth before groups of gods. The figures have been erased intentionally with a chisel, which suggests that the temple was used as a place of worship by early Christians. The south door in the back wall of the hall leads into a narrow chamber, lit by a small rectangular hole in the roof. This chamber communicates also with the sanctuary. It is devoid of decoration, but it is evident that it was used as a vestry or robing-room by the priests who entered the sanctuary from it, and who passed to and from it along the south side of the hall, and through the small south door in the front of the temple. On the north side of the sanctuary there is a similar chamber, entered only from the hall. It is lit by a small aperture at the top of the back wall, and was probably used for keeping some of the sacred utensils. From the outside of the temple one sees that the masonry on temple. the north side and the back or east side is very rough. The front The outand south sides, however, show more careful construction. From side of the this it may be supposed that there were houses and rubbish mounds hiding the walls upon the north and east, but that an open court exposed the temple to the south and west. On the south wall two lions' heads projecting below the window ledge are noticeable. The sandstone roofing blocks appear rough from the outside, but originally, no doubt, they were shaped to the necessary rectangle by the addition of plaster. It should be remarked that the blocks which cover the sanctuary are of granite, as though it were thought that less durable material was not sufficient protection for the gods. In leaving the temple the visitor may walk northwards, turning to the left after a couple of hundred yards or so; and, passing down one of the narrow native streets, he may reach the river front near the conspicuous building of the Grand Hotel. THE QUARRIES quarries. The ancient granite quarries lie in the eastern desert between Methods of Aswân and Shellal. They are of considerable interest, and should visiting the certainly be seen by the visitor to Aswân. For those who are much pressed for time, a morning visit to the quarries may be arranged, so that the visitors at the end find themselves at Shellal; and from thence they may go to Philæ, returning to Aswân in the afternoon. Others will prefer to ride over the quarries and back to their hotel in the morning. The most comfortable method, however, is to ride quietly around the points indicated below, starting from Aswân about 9.30 A.M., and arriving at Shellal in time to catch the noon train back to the town. For those starting from the town, the road to the temple may first be followed, and leaving that building behind one, the pathway to the south must be taken, which leads past the front of a small Christian cemetery enclosed by a whitewashed wall, and thence along the beaten track until the hills are reached. A short distance to the right or west of the path, the first quarry will be found situated amongst the high rocks. In this quarry there lies a huge unfinished obelisk, some thirty yards The obein length and over three in breadth.1 It has never been detached lisk. 1 A second obelisk, to the south of Shellal station, is to be seen amidst the rocks. Method of from the parent rock, and its sides have not been fully trimmed. Looking at the obelisk as it lies here, one is able to realise what an enormous undertaking it must have been to remove a stone of this size to the river, to float it on rafts to its destination, and to set it up on end; and one can understand that to any but the most ingenious people the task would be quite impossible. It will be remembered that the obelisk at Karnak, which is of about an equal size to this, was quarried out, despatched, and erected in seven months from the time at which the order for it was given. Near this obelisk are several indications of ancient quarrying. quarrying The method employed for breaking off the blocks was simple. A the granite. series of wedge-shaped holes were cut into the stone in a line, and into these were thrust wooden wedges, which were then wetted, and which, by their consequent expansion, cracked the stone. The visitor will notice numerous wedge marks upon the rocks around here. The blocks thus split from the hillside were then dressed with copper tools; and when they had approximately assumed the required shape a roughly paved causeway of stone was laid down, and over this they were dragged by ropes to the water's edge. The cause way to the higher quarries. Sarcophagi and stela. A couple of hundred yards or so to the east of this quarry the traveller will find himself at the foot of a great embanked road, rising from the plain and sloping up towards the hills on the south. The path leads up this artificial incline, which was obviously constructed for the purpose of easing the removal of stone from the higher quarries; and at the top a fine view may be obtained. Away to the north behind one are the whitewashed cemeteries at the back of Aswân, and beyond one catches a beautiful glimpse of the Nile; while looking towards the west the eye wanders over an endless expanse of rough rocks and desolate wilderness. The pathway continues for some distance over the flat upper levels of the hills, and presently upon the left hand a wide, sandy valley comes into view; and to this, a little farther along, the pathway leads down by another embanked incline. It will be noticed that the road was here paved with sandstone, in order to prevent the heavy blocks of granite from fouling in the loose sand as they were dragged down the hillside. Having reached the valley, the visitor may choose his own path over the hard, sandy surface, keeping, however, well on the west of the valley, and leaving the telegraph poles and the railway line far on the left hand. After a ride of over a mile a valley will be observed running up amidst the western rocks, and in it many traces of ancient quarrying will be found. Half-way up the rocky hill on the south side of the |