CHAPTER XXIV

FROM KALÂBSHEH TO MAHARAKA

RUINS ON THE WEST BANK

THREE miles south of Kalâbsheh on the west bank, above the hamlet of Dîb, there are the ruins of a Roman village; and a small building, which was perhaps a monastery, stands on the hilltop in ruins. Built into a wall of a modern house here there is a block of stone upon which a row of uræi are sculptured, as though the block had formed part of a temple cornice. About a mile farther on, behind the hamlet of Abu Târfeh, which forms part of the village of Abu Hôr, there is a ruin on the hilltop by the side of a rocky valley. The small, well-cut blocks of stone, and a door-cornice with a well-sculptured winged disk, lead one to suppose that the building was a Roman temple. But there is a semicircular recess in the east wall, and a Coptic cross is cut on one of the blocks; and this indicates that the place was a Christian church. A brick chamber with a vaulted roof stands near by. Along the east bank there is only one point at which the atten- The temple tion of the archæologist is arrested. About half-way between Kalâbsheh and Dendûr, in the district of Abu Hôr, there are the ruins of a Ptolemaic and Roman temple. At the water's edge, and therefore only to be seen in summer, there is an imposing terrace or quay, some 180 feet in length and over 3 feet in height, being constructed of well-cut and large blocks of stone. A broad stairway runs up from the water, and 80 feet back there is a heap of fallen stones which is all that is left of the temple. Some of these stones are covered with reliefs, and one sees Pharaoh" (no other name is given) dancing before a god; and several times worshipping Mandulis of Talmis. The upper part of a stele of one of the Ptolemys shows the king worshipping three gods : Mandulis of Talmis, Wazt, and another god, perhaps Khnum. Two fragmentary Greek inscriptions were also seen. It would be interesting to know how it is that a temple is found at this barren

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of Abu

Hôr.

point of the river. The cliffs rise precipitously immediately behind the ruins, and there could have been little room for a town. It is between this temple and Kalâbsheh that King Iabkhentra of the XIII-XVIIth dynasty inscribed his name; and thus the neighbourhood may be considered to have had some political or religious importance from early times. The river here flows at a great speed, and originally there were rapids in this region.

Some distance up a rugged watercourse just to the north of the temple, there is a ledge of rock upon which the figures of a man leading a cow are depicted in red paint. The cow has a bunch of rope or ribbons around its neck, and from between its horns projects a branch of a tree, or stem of a flower. The little painting is well executed, and is probably the work of one of the priests of the temple.

INSCRIPTIONS ON THE EAST BANK

Some five miles south of Kalâbsheh, on the east bank, the present writer found a large and interesting inscription giving the titles and cartouche of a king whose date is certainly XIIIthXVIIth dynasty, and whose name seems to read Iabkhentra. Another inscription of his was found at Mendik in which the cartouche reads somewhat differently. As has been said in the chapter on the history of Nubia, there is reason to suppose that this king was originally a chief of Wawat who, during these turbulent times, had taken the opportunity of calling himself Pharaoh. This important group of inscriptions is to be found on a large boulder at the north side of the mouth of a small valley.

Some two miles north of the temple of Dendûr, above the hamlet of Inkerêk, which forms part of the village of Morwâw, there is a rock on which is the following inscription: "The Scribe of the offerings of all the gods Merapt, son of the Superintendent of the Granary Pamerkaw, son of Thothmes of (?) the land of Horus, Lord of Maa[m].” This official, who here connects himself with Maam, although he was at the time in Wawat, has also written his name at Gebel Addeh, where he refers to Wawat, although then travelling in the sphere of influence of Maam. On a rock near by there is a drawing of a XIXth dynasty priest, clad in a panther skin. There are several uninscribed tombs excavated in the hillside at this point, one of which has two chambers of some size.

DENDUR

The imposing little temple of Dendûr stands on the side of the rocks close to the river's edge, about twelve miles south of Kalâbsheh, and fifty above the First Cataract. To the north and south of it, and in its courtyard, there are the remains of an ancient town, consisting of large quantities of broken stones and a certain amount of late pottery.

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The temple is peculiarly interesting, owing to the fact that it is The dedicated to two deified Nubian heroes, Petisis and Pehorus, who religion. seem by their names to have lived some time not earlier than the XXVIth dynasty, when those names first come into use. On the temple walls one sees these two heroes in the form of gods. They are called Chieftains of "The court of the Divine Brother[s]." On the east side of the first gateway, in the lowest panel on the right side, and on the west side in two panels, Petisis is called "The serpent [or perhaps a Nubian word for 'chief'] of Hethu or Hethhor," this being perhaps an ancient name of the district. The full names of the two brothers are The Osirian Favoured One, Great in the City of the Court of the Divine Brother[s], Petisis, son of Kuper, true-voiced," and "The Osirian Favoured One, Great Divine Brother, Pehorus, son of Kuper, true-voiced." Nothing else is known of the two heroes, and one must suppose them to have been chieftains or warriors who lived and died at Dendûr. In one part of the temple the brothers are shown in the act of offering to Isis; and it seems, therefore, that that goddess was recognised to be their superior. Petisis is shown in one place with a goddess or woman beside him, but her name is left blank, as though there were some doubt as to who his consort was. As gods the two brothers are worshipped in the temple reliefs by the Pharaoh, and since these reliefs are probably of about the time of Augustus, one here has the strange spectacle of a great Cæsar humbling himself before two obscure nigger heroes!

The temple buildings are made up as follows: There is a well- The built and imposing terrace overlooking the water. From this a temple. short causeway leads to the main gateway, from which a wall originally projected to right and left. A short way farther to the west is the main building, consisting of a vestibule, having an intact roof supported by two columns with floral capitals; an antechamber also with an intact roof; and finally the sanctuary, the roof of which has fallen in.

The main gateway.

The

vestibules

and sanc

tuary.

The outside walls.

The main gateway has upon it a few reliefs. On the east face there are reliefs in small panels showing the Pharaoh before Osiris, Isis, Tefnut, Petisis, Pehorus, Khnum, Horus, &c. The reliefs inside the doorway are damaged, but on the south side (1) the king is shown in a large relief before Isis, and, in smaller scenes, before Horus, Osiris, Isis, and others whose names are erased. On the west face of the doorway there are scenes showing the king before Osiris, Isis, Horus, Hathor, Amen (with a ram's head), Petisis, Pehorus, Satis, and Nephthys. Passing now to the main temple, the reliefs in the vestibule are seen to be as follows: On the eastern face of the front wall, on its south side (2), Horus, Thoth, and Isis are worshipped by the king; while on its north side (3) the gods are Petisis, Amen-Ra, and Arsnuphis. On the south wall of the vestibule the scenes are much damaged, but Isis, Petisis, Pehorus, Osiris, Harpocrates, &c., can be seen. On the north wall the king offers to Horus, Thoth, Tefnut, Isis, Petisis, and Pehorus. The doorway in this wall was cut at a later date, perhaps by the Christians. On the west wall, to the south of the doorway into the antechamber (4), the king is seen offering to Khnum and Isis ; and on the north of the doorway (5), to Arsnuphis and Petisis. In the south wall of this chamber there is a doorway leading out into the courtyard, and on the east wall of its porch (6) there is a long Coptic inscription stating that the Presbyter Abraham set up the cross in this temple at the command of the Nubian king Eispanome, when Joseph was exarch of Kalâbsheh and Theodorus bishop of Philæ, i.e. in A.D. 577. At Kalâbsheh it has already been seen that the Christian king Silko invaded this country, and here one finds King Eispanome, who was probably of the same family, sending a Christian monk to convert the inhabitants. The doorway leading into the antechamber has upon it the figures of the gods Arsnuphis, Horus, Hathor, &c., worshipped by the king; and on either side one sees a lion holding a reed and guarding the doorway. The antechamber and sanctuary are undecorated, except for a small panel (7) at the west end of the latter, on which the local gods Petisis and Pehorus are shown worshipping Isis of Abaton and Philæ. The outside walls of the temple have some larger reliefs sculptured upon them. On the south wall, in the top row, are Arsnuphis and Isis, Petisis, Mandulis of Kalâbsheh and Uazet, and Amen-Ra and Mut, Lady of Asher [Karnak]. In the bottom row are Unnefer and Isis, Petisis and his unnamed wife, and Horus and Hathor. The doorway into the temple is beautifully ornamented on this side (8): a winged disk and winged