Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/805

TOMBS AT THEBES.] EGYPT 781 The sculptures of the exterior of this edifi -e next claim our attention, none of which have been mentioned except those which occupy the face of the first p ropy Ion. On the north-eastern wall is a remarkably interesting series of scenes in the wars of Ramses III., equalling in the import ance of their subjects and the boldness with which they are executed any other records of the kind in Egypt. In the first representation, which is to the extreme right, we sec Ramses III. going to war; in the second is depicted the rout of the Tamhu, a Libyan people; and in the third, prisoners of the Tamhu and Mashuasha, also Libyans, are brought before the king, while scribes count the hands, &c., which have been cut from the slain, showing their number to have been 12,535. Then weapons are counted for dis tribution to the troops. Then we see troops setting forth. The next scene is a great battle with the Takkaru or Teucrians, whose army is defeated by the Egyptians. The Takkaru fight in chariots of two horses and in waggons drawn by four oxen. Mercenaries or allies of the Shardana, Sardones, fight in the army of Egypt. The scene which follows this is one of the most spirited of Egyptian sculp tures, and if compared with similar Assyrian reliefs, shows the great superiority of the best Egyptian art over that of Assyria. The king, who is passing through a marshy country in his chariot, encounters three lions, and having smitten two of them with his javelins, turns round to meet the third which is about to spring. The next subject, the most remarkable of the series, represents the sea-fight, in which the Egyptian fleet defeated that of the Shardana and the Takkaru, while Ramses and his army fought them from the shore. Ramses then receives the praises of his warriors, and the hands of the slain are brought before him and numbered. Next he leads prisoners, who are of the Takkaru and Rebu, before the gods of Thebes. The other battle-scenes of the series represent the capture of strong places, the carrying away of captives, &c. On the end wall the king is portrayed setting forth on an expe dition, and on the other side wall, the south-west, is a long calendar, which appears to occupy the whole wall. This temple was no doubt connected in purpose with the royal tomb. Not far from the Rameseum, to the southward, is a small Ptolemaic temple containing three chambers. Farther in the same direction is a great lake. More than half a mile in a south-westerly direction from the lake is another small temple of Roman times, having an isolated sanctuary and other chambers. The private and royal tombs must now be briefly noticed, but from their great number, and the variety of the paint ings which occupy their walls, it will not be possible to give as detailed an account of them as lias been given of the other monuments. Two temples which are situate in the necropolis likewise require a notice. The tombs, as before mentioned, occupy some of the space at the foot of the mountains, or are excavated in their sides towards the valley, and in two isolated hills, except the Tombs of the Kings, which are cut in the sides of two seeded valleys to the westward. Beginning from the north, we first see the entrances of grottoes in the low spur of the Libyan chain behind the Setheum. Several of these have a series of square apertures, leaving pillars to support the roof, so as to form a kind of portico, behind which is a chamber or chambers, hauing pits, from which open other chambers for sepulture. Some grottoes here, and others extending towards the Rameseum, are inhabited by the people of El-Kurneh, whose village is ruined. At the foot of the mountains, as well as on their least steep sides, here and throughout the necropolis, are the entrances of many mummy-pits. On the spur above mentioned are brick pyramids, for the most part nearly destroyed; and in the wide tract beyond, the Asaseef, where the mountains recede, are very remarkable sepulchres of .he time of Dynasty XXYI. These are ex tensive excavations, profusely sculptured almost entirely with hieroglyphics, having before their entrances opeu courts hewn in the rock, and entered through crude-brick propyla, from which walls of inclosure of the same material extend around the courts. The largest of these, and indeed of all those known at Thebes, is the tomb of Pet- amen-apt, a priest whose date is not fixed, but who probably lived after the fall of the Ramessides. Sir Gardner Wilkinson says that " the area;>f the actual excavation is 22,217 square feet, and with the chambers of the pits 23,809, though, from the nature of its plan, the ground it occupies is nearly one acre and a quarter" (Modern Egypt and Thebes, ii. 222). Almost all the passages and chambers are covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions on a small scale, and the few sculptures are of a religious character. At the end of the Asaseef is a temple which was approached by a very long avenue of sphinxes now entirely demolished. The temple is at the base of a steep cliff, and is partly excavated in the rock, and partly built of masonry. The built portion is almost wholly destroyed. A portal of red granite which formed its entrance yet remains, bearing the name of Thothmes III., cut over the erased name of Queen Hatshepu. A second granite portal stands behind this, almost close to the rock. At some distance to the left of this are two small chambers, one of which is remarkable for the form of its roof, which is vaulted by horizontal stones, of which the two uppermost meet in the centre, all being cut internally, so as to form an arch. The excavated part of the temple consists of an oblong chamber of moderate dimensions, another of smaller size with a cell on each side, and at the end a sanctuary. All these, except the sanctuary, are of the time of Queen Hat shepu and Thothmes III., and have vaulted roofs. The sanctuary bears Ptolemaic sculptures, affording a remark able contrast to the delicate style of those of the chambers which lead to it, and it is flat-roofed. This temple was probably sepulchral. The isolated hill of the Sheykh Abd-El-Kurneh (probably a mistake for Abid-El-Kurneh, meaning " the Devotee of El-Kurneh "), presents a singular appearance from the plain, as on that side it is honeycombed by the entrances of tombs. Several of these, like some of those first mentioned, have porticoes before them hewn in the rock, and many have very interesting paintings, representing scenes of domestic life, funeral ceremonies, arts, trades, &c., in their chapel or chapels. These have unfortunately suffered greatly from the disgraceful Vandalism of European travellers, and the cupidity of the natives which they have encouraged. Farther towards Medeenet-Haboo is a similar isolated hill, called Kurnet-Mara ee, which contains a few grottoes of the same description, and in the valley between this and the main mass of mountain are many other in teresting grottoes. At one extremity of this valley, at some distance behind the Rameseum, is a small edifice with a high inclosure of crude-brick walls. It is a temple of Athor, of the Ptolemaic period, and has a small portico and three chambers, in one of which, the side chamber to the left, is a curious sculpture, of which the subject is the judgment of a soul by Osiris. Hence we may infer that this was a temple attached to the necropolis. Beyond the other extremity of this valley is the secluded valley called that of the Tombs of the Queens, from its containing the sepulchres of queens and princesses of Dynasties XVIII., XIX., and XX. These are similar to the Tombs of the Kings, but are not large, nor are the subjects on their walls, which seem generally of little interest, well preserved.

A long and winding valley, the entrance to which is an