the work of Sekhet,* [and] the birds [which] he sets apart

[servant, the scribe Nekht, triumphant !

Lower register. Nekht and his wife sitting in a summerhouse "to make himself glad and to experience the happiness of the land of the north" (i.e., Lower Egypt); before them funereal offerings are heaped up. In the upper division of this register are seen Nekht's servants gathering grapes, the treading of the grapes in the wine-press, the drawing of the

* Sekhet was the goddess of the country, and was the wife of the god Khnum. She is represented with the sign for field, upon her head, she wears a girdle of lotus plants round her waist, and upon her hands she bears a plantation filled with all manner of wild fowl. See Lanzone, Dizionario, p. 1095.

new wine, the jars for holding it, and two servants making offerings to Nekht of birds, flowers, etc. In the lower division we see Nekht instructing his servants in the art of snaring birds in nets, the plucking and cleaning of the birds newly caught, and two servants offering to Nekht fish, birds, fruit, etc.

In the other scenes we have Nekht, accompanied by his wife Taui, making an offering of anta unguent and incense to the gods of the tomb, and a representation of his funereal feast.

The most ancient necropolis at Thebes is Drah abu'l Nekkah, where tombs of the XIth, XVIIth, and XVIIIth dynasties are to be found. The coffins of the Antef kings (XIth dynasty), now in the Louvre and the British Museum, were discovered here, and here was made the marvellous "find" of the jewellery of Aah-hetep, wife of Kames, a king of the XVIIth dynasty, about B.C. 1750. A little more to the south is the necropolis of Asasîf, where during the XIXth, XXIInd, and XXVIth dynasties many beautiful tombs were constructed. If the visitor has time, an attempt should be made to see the fine tomb of Peṭā-Âmen-ȧpt.

ARMANT (ERMENT).

Armant, or Erment, 458 miles from Cairo, on the west bank of the river, was called in Egyptian

and

୪

Menth,

Annu qemat, "Heliopolis of the South";

it marks the site of the ancient Hermonthis, where, according to Strabo, "Apollo and Jupiter are both worshipped."

The ruins which remain there belong to the Iseion built during the reign of the last Cleopatra (B.C. 51-29). The stone-lined tank which lies near this building was probably used as a Nilometer.

* Now preserved at Gîzeh, see page 199.

NORTH

Plan of Temple of Esneh, with restorations by Grand Bey.

ESNEH.

Esneh, or Asneh, 484 miles from Cairo, on the west bank of the river, was called in Egyptian Senet; it

marks the site of the ancient Latopolis, and was so called by the Greeks, because its inhabitants worshipped the Latus fish. Thothmes III. founded a temple here, but the interesting building which now stands almost in the middle of the modern town is of late date, and bears the names of several of the Roman emperors. The portico is supported by twenty-four columns, each of which is inscribed; their capitals are handsome. The Zodiac here, like that at Denderah, belongs to a late period, but is interesting.

EL-KAB.

El-Kâb, 502 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, was called in Egyptian Necheb; it marks the site of the ancient Eileithyias. There was a city here in very ancient days, and ruins of temples built by Thothmes IV., Amenḥetep III., Seti I., Rameses II., Rameses III., Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II. are still visible. A little distance from the town, in the mounta. n, is the tomb of Åāḥmes (Amāsis), the son of Abana, an officer born in the reign of Seqenen-Rā, who fought against the Hyksos, and who served under Amasis I., Amenophis I., and Thothmes I. The inscription on the walls of his tomb gives an account of the campaign against some Mesopotamian enemies of Egypt and of the siege of their city. Amasis was the "Captain-General of Sailors." The tomb of his daughter's son Pahir lies just above his.

UTFÛ (EDFÛ).

Edfû, 5151⁄2 miles from Cairo, on the west bank of the river, was called in Egyptian Behutet, and in Coptic &TW; it was called by the Greeks Apollino