walls of the hall, and from these one may find that the Coptic name of the town was Mauraqe, which is almost similar to the modern Mahâraka.

To the south-west of the temple there are cemeteries. Much Roman broken pottery lies about in all directions. The main mounds of the ancient town run southwards from the temple along the edge of the river.

CHAPTER XXV

FROM MAHARAKA TO KASR IBRÎM

MEHENDI

A

SHORT way south of the temple of Mahâraka the hills close in towards the river, and on a flat-topped hill on the west bank, overlooking the water, stands the fortified Byzantine town of Mehêndi. The enclosing walls of the town are built of uncemented blocks of sandstone, like those already noticed at Sabagura, Kalâbsheh, and elsewhere. A rough pathway leads up the hill on the north and south, and on both these sides there is a gateway into the enclosure. Hewn blocks of sandstone from some Egyptian temple in the neighbourhood have been used in the building of these gateways, and the figure of Amen-Ra can still be seen on one of them. Within the enclosure, a chaos of ruined walls of brick and stone meets the eye, which, after careful examination, resolves itself into a labyrinth of houses and streets. On the high ground near the middle of the town stands the church, in which the recess for the altar at the east end can be distinguished. Many of the houses in the town have vaulted roofs which have not yet fallen in ; and it is with something of a feeling of romance that one picks a way through the narrow streets, glancing to right and left into the darkness of the empty chambers which seem to have been deserted only yesterday. The view from the town is very fine. To the east is a wide desert bay, on the north of which are the picturesque hills of Gebel Mahâraka; to the west the desert stretches back in rugged grandeur as far as the eye can see.

A much-ruined Coptic building is to be observed nearly opposite Sayaleh Post Office, and on the walls there are some Coptic texts. Below it there is an extensive cemetery of the same period.

MEDIK

The village of Medîk is now reached, and on some high rocks which come down to the water, two early Christian buildings

stand.

On ascending the hill at the north side one first finds a large area entirely covered with broken stones and fragments of pottery. On close observation it is seen that these stones are the ruins of a large number of little huts, not more than one or two yards square, and usually built over a crevice in the rocks, in order that the walls might not require to be raised very high. These hovels, where a man could never stand upright, and where the ground area was nothing more than a coffin-like cleft in the rock, seem to have served the monks for shelter from the summer sun and from the winter winds. When the writer visited the place in the autumn the rocks were still too hot to be touched by the hand, and in the height of summer the bare plateau must be literally scorched. In many of these clefts in the rock, under the fallen walls, lie the bones of the monks; and it thus seems either that it was the custom in this brotherhood for the dead to be buried where they had lived, or else that the monks were massacred at some time in their huts. A few yards to the south rises the little church, built of broken stones, topped with mud-bricks. Over the body of the building rises a dome now in ruins, and the rest of the roofing was supported on brick arches. At the east end is a recess for the altar, with a niche in the south wall for holding the sacred utensils. On either side of this recess there is a small chamber, and a passage runs behind the altar from one to the other. In the wall of the north chamber there is a niche, and in the corner a projecting slab of stone forms a rough shelf. A few yards farther to the south there is another small ruined building, which seems to have been divided into a few small chambers; and, as the quarters of the monks have been already observed, this building is perhaps to be regarded as a guest-house. From this point the road leading to Tomâs, cutting off the bend of the river, runs back into the desert; and there must have been many travellers who passed the monastery, and would be glad to claim its shelter. This point being the terminus of the shortest road to the south, it is not surprising that a number of Egyptian graffiti are found on the rocks. Here the writer found a large inscription of the unknown king, Iabkhentra, who may be attributed to the XIVth-XVIIth dynasty.

Es Sebûa.

ES SEBUA

The XIXth dynasty temple of Es Sebûa, or Wâdy es Sebûa ("the lions"), stands on the west bank of the river, about six or eight miles above Mehêndi, ninety-seven above the barrage, and twelve below Korosko. Its pylons, though small, can be seen for some distance, for they stand in open ground a short way back from the river. The village of Es Sebûa stands, for the main part, on the opposite bank of the river, near the mouth of a rocky valley, up which a caravan road runs to meet the main road to Abu Hamid. History of The mounds which mark the site of the ancient town are to be seen at the river's edge in front of the temple, the surface pottery being mainly late. The cemeteries of that date lie to the north of the temple. The town of the XIXth dynasty seems to have continued down to Roman times. A rock shrine of Amenhotep IIIrd, which will be described presently, stands near the temple; and two hundred yards to the north there are two graffiti, inscribed upon a rock, which show that the early XVIIIth dynasty and the late Ramesside period saw Egyptian officials and priests visiting the town. Several fragments of pottery of the Middle Kingdom, or early XVIIIth dynasty, were picked up near the temple. The temple was built by Rameses I Ind, and was called "The Temple of Amen." It was dedicated to Amen-Ra, and in the second place to Harmachis and Ptah. The shrine of Amenhotep IIIrd was dedicated to Amen-Ra. The ancient name of the town is lost; but perhaps a full study of the inscriptions in the temple would reveal it. Unfortunately almost the whole temple, except the pylons, is covered by the sand which has partly blown in and partly has been placed there purposely to protect the place owing to the behaviour of some travellers many years ago. Persons who visited the temple while it was still accessible, however, have stated that the preservation of the interior is good. The whole temple is badly built, and the joints between the stones are wide and gaping. Originally they were filled with cement to make the surface appear smooth, but this has now dropped out and can only be seen deeper in the wall.

The

temple.

A description of the temple must be very inadequate at present, as so little of it can be seen. In front of the pylon there runs a dromos of sphinxes, only three or four of which can be seen above

1 The temple is now being cleared.

the sand. At the east end of the dromos stand two statues of the king, in a fair state of preservation. Down the plinth are his cartouches and titles, and he is said to be beloved of Amen-Ra, Ptah, and Harmachis. On either side of the gateway in the pylon is a fallen colossus of Rameses the Great. Upon the east face of the pylons the king is seen slaying his enemies before Harmachis on the one side, and before Amen-Ra on the other. Around the doorway the king is seen in the presence of various gods, who cannot now be recognised. Inside the doorway are the king's cartouches, beloved of Ptah and Amen-Ra, and there have been figures of him standing before Amen-Ra and other gods. Passing through the gateway one enters an open court, along either side of which are five square pillars having headless and much broken colossi against them. The space between these pillars and the wall was roofed, and thus a gallery was formed on either side of the court. Some of the roofing blocks still remain in position. On the north wall of the court the only relief which can now be seen shows the king before a god; and on the south wall he is seen before a deified form of himself, before Horus of Maam, and before another Horus. On the west face of the pylon, at the north side, there is a large relief showing the king before Harmachis and Sekhmet (?), and a smaller scene in which he is led by Nekheb and another deity into the presence of a third god. Below this there is a long procession of the daughters of Rameses. At the south side there is a large relief showing the king before AmenRa and Mut; and a smaller relief showing him worshipping Amen-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu. Below is a procession of the king's daughters as before. On the west face of the doorway are panels showing the king before Amen-Ra, Osiris, and other gods; and over the doorway he is seen in the presence of Amen-Ra and "Rameses in the Temple of Amen."

Nothing more can now be seen, but from the descriptions of early archæologists one may gather the following notes. Around the walls of the court the procession of the king's daughters continues, and there is also a series of sons. Altogether III sons and 67 daughters are shown here, which is not by any means an impossible number to be produced by an oriental potentate with an unlimited harêm. Augustus the Strong is said to have had a thousand children. Behind the court are the great hall, adytum, sanctuary, and antechambers, all excavated in the rock. On the walls are reliefs showing the king in the presence of Amen-Ra, Harmachis, Ptah, Hathor, Khnum Ra, &c. These inner chambers