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state that these figures, &c., were carved by order of the Commander of the Troops of Kush, Piaay. Septah's connections with Nubia are recorded in various inscriptions, and in his brief reign he seems to have obtained full control of this part of his kingdom. As one passes through the doorway the cartouches of Sety Ist will be seen on either side.

The vestibule is a transverse chamber from which three door- The vestiways lead into three inner chambers, the middle one being the bule. sanctuary. On the inside, or east face of the doorway leading from the hall to the vestibule, there are the names of Thothmes and Amenhotep. On the west wall of the vestibule, Amenhotep is seen with the water of life poured over him by Horus of Edfu and Thoth; Thothmes is embraced and kissed by Isis; and Amenhotep makes an offering to Amen-Ra. On the north wall Amenhotep dances before Amen-Ra. On the south wall Thothmes is embraced by Horus of Maam and Harmachis. On the east wall are the three doorways leading into the inner chambers. That on the north is inscribed with the name of Amenhotep, beloved of Ra and Amen-Ra; that on the south has the cartouches of Thothmes; and the doorway into the sanctuary is inscribed with the cartouches of Thothmes. On the north side of this last-mentioned doorway Amenhotep is represented embraced by Harmachis, and on the south side Thothmes is embraced by Amen-Ra.

sanctuary.

The chamber on the north side of the sanctuary should now be Chamber visited. In the upper row on the north wall Amenhotep offers on north of three times to Amen-Ra; and in the lower row he offers to Harmachis three times. In the upper row of the south wall Thothmes offers to Harmachis and Amen-Ra; and in the lower row he offers to Ra and Harmachis, while Hathor stands beside him. In the east wall a doorway has been cut into a small chamber, which should really be entered from the sanctuary. The doorway cuts through scenes in which Thothmes worships Hathor, Amen-Ra, and Harmachis. The chamber on the south side of Chamber the sanctuary should now be examined, and the scenes in it will on south of sanctuary. be found to be of considerable interest. They represent the ceremonies performed at the foundation of the temple, and they show that Thothmes founded the building, and Amenhotep performed the first sacrifices there. In the upper row of the north wall Thothmes worships Amen-Ra; Safkhet and Amen-Ra drive in the posts which mark the limits of the new temple; the king stands before Amen-Ra; and lastly, the king is embraced by

The sanctuary.

Chambers behind the sanctuary.

Amen-Ra. In the lower row the king dances before Harmachis; "stretches the cord," for planning the temple, before Harmachis ; and makes offerings to Ra. In the upper row of the south wall Amenhotep brings cattle to sacrifice before Amen-Ra; and offers the same when slain to Harmachis and Amen-Ra. In the lower row Amenhotep is led forward by Horus and Harmachis; he uplifts the bâton before Harmachis; and dances before that god. In the east wall the doorway has been cut, as before, and the scenes are obliterated.

Returning and entering the sanctuary, the cartouches of Thothmes are seen on the inside face of the doorway, and he is said to be beloved of Ra. On the north wall Amenhotep is represented standing between Hathor and Harmachis; and the king is also shown offering to Amen-Ra. At the end of this wall is a doorway leading into the small chamber mentioned above. On the south wall the king is given life by Amen-Ra; he is saluted by Satet; and offers to Harmachis. The doorway at the end of this wall, which leads into the corresponding small chamber, is surmounted by the cartouches of Amenhotep. On the east wall Amenhotep is seen in the sacred boat of the sun, offering to Harmachis and Amen-Ra. Below this scene there is an inscription in twenty horizontal lines, which is of great historical importance. It is dated in the third year of Amenhotep IInd, and states that that king was a great warrior, and could draw a bow which no man in his army could use; that he was also a great builder of temples, and established the laws relative to divine offerings; that he decorated this temple which had been begun by his father; that it was built of stone; that he surrounded it with a brick wall, made the doorways of sandstone and the doors themselves of cedar, erected pylons of stone, and placed vessels of silver and bronze, altars, fire-pans, tables, &c., in the temple; that on his return from a war in Asia he had this tablet erected and engraved with his great name; that he brought from Asia seven captive princes, six of whom he slew with his own hand in Thebes, and the seventh he hanged on the wall of Napata (in the Sudan), in order to strike terror into the hearts of the inhabitants.

Passing now through the door in the north wall into the small chamber, one finds the name of Thothmes on the inner face of the doorway, and above it the cartouche of Amenhotep. On the east wall Thothmes is twice shown before Harmachis, and Amenhotep twice before Amen-Ra. On the north wall Amenhotep offers to Amen-Ra, while Hathor stands behind him; and to Harmachis,

while Horus of Edfu stands behind him. On the west wall the doorway has been cut through scenes representing Thothmes offering to Amen-Ra and Amenhotep to Harmachis. Returning and entering the corresponding little chamber on the south side of the sanctuary, the cartouches of Amenhotep, beloved of Ra and Amen-Ra, are seen on the doorway, while above them are those of Thothmes. On the east wall Amenhotep and Thothmes offer to Amen-Ra and Harmachis. On the south wall Amenhotep offers to Amen-Ra, and Thothmes to Harmachis. On the west wall Amenhotep is embraced by Amen-Ra, and Thothmes pours water over the figure of Amen-Ra, the other scenes being lost.

and out

On the roof of the temple there are a few Coptic inscriptions The roof, of no interest. There is here an interesting forgery probably side of the dating from the last century. It is a Greek inscription reading temple, &c. "Herodotus of Halicarnassus beheld and admired"; and near

On the

it in a later style and writing is "No he did not." Herodotus, of
course, did not go nearly as far up the Nile as this.
outside of the Hypostyle Hall, south side, there is an inscription
of a viceroy of Ethiopia adoring Harmachis. In the Hypostyle
Hall there is a small pyramidion of the Viceroy of Ethiopia,
Mesu; and a fragment of an inscription, giving the date
"Year I" under Rameses Ist, and referring to a viceroy of
Ethiopia; but unfortunately the main part of the inscription is
lost. This is one of the only two dated inscriptions of this reign.

Between the temple and the river there is a square platform of hewn stone, which seems to have been the pavement of a temple. There are remains of fluted columns, and in two places the cartouche of Sety Ist was seen. There are steps mounting between stone balustrades to the platform on its west side. The place requires to be excavated before more can be said.

DERR

After one or two miles have been covered one comes into sight of Dêrr, the white buildings of which can be seen on the opposite bank under the tall palms. Exactly opposite the police station there are one or two inscriptions on the rocks, of no particular importance; and some prehistoric drawings of cattle are to be seen. One large inscription gives the name of a certain Dema, an official of the Middle Kingdom. The town of Dêrr is situated about thirteen miles above Korôsko, about four above Amâda

The temple.

temple, and 120 above the barrage. It stands amidst a forest of palms, and the steep cliffs rising behind it are more than half a mile from the river. There is here a Post Office, a small store, and the police station, from which the whole district from Dehmîd in the north to Adendân in the south is administered.

The temple is excavated in the cliffs at the back of the town; its preservation is not good. The open hall has been much damaged, and all the pillars have disappeared, except for their bases. The colossi on the pillars of the portico have been intentionally destroyed, perhaps by the Early Christians, and only their feet remain. Parts of the roof of the interior have fallen in, and rocks from above the main entrance now completely block the passage. At present a side door, cut in later times, admits the visitor to the temple. The main reason for the ruined condition of the temple is that it was excavated in faulty rock. No masonry was used, but every wall, pillar, architrave, roofing block, and statue was cut from the natural rock; except, perhaps, at the northern extremity of the outer hall, where the architraves and wall-tops may have been finished off with stone construction. The poor quality of the stone has not always allowed the walls to be cut in straight lines, and here and there a sweeping curve has had to be made.

History of On the west bank it has been seen that there are no antiquities the temple. after Sebûa and Amâda, and on the east bank Dêrr is the first met with. From these points towards the south there is a continuous series of ancient remains on both banks as far as Ermenneh, where the next break comes. This temple of Rameses was, thus, on the northern frontier of the populous district, and not in the midst of it, as one might have expected. As has been pointed out in the chapter on the history, this district formed the principality of Maam; and Rameses IInd must, therefore, have been influenced rather by religious than by political motives in placing his temple here, where there does not seem to have been an important town of which any remains have been left nearer than Amâda or Ibrîm. The temple, however, is half-way between the shrine of Thothmes IIIrd at Ellesîyeh and that king's temple at Amâda, and the site thus seems to have been held in religious esteem. Rameses IInd called his temple "The Temple of Ra," and, according to the inscriptions, dedicated it to Ra, Harmachis, and Amen-Ra, while Ptah also takes a prominent place, one of the four statues in the sanctuary representing him.

There is no mention of the restoration of the temple by any later

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