DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4656#0014
8
THE TEMPLE OF THE KINGS.
supported at their middles by the pillars, and let into
the walls on either side. The stones of the lower
chamber are left rough, the walls of the upper
chamber are smooth.
17. The corridor of the Kings (S), 2 "62 m. wide,
leads from the small door in the south end of the
second hypostyle hall to the open court in the south
division of the temple. The passage rises gently till
within a few metres of the south doorway, and then
slopes rapidly upward ; the total rise is 1 • 50 m. The
distance from the hypostyle court to the open court
is 27-75 m.
About the middle of the passage, on the right-
hand side when going up, are two doorways. The
first leads to the staircase passage T, 3 • 20 m. wide
and 16'25 m. long: six steps lead up to the door
at the end, and then comes the staircase proper,
leading up to a door in the W. main wall of the
temple. The sill of this door is 45 cm. above the
desert. The actual rise from the entrance in the
corridor of the Kings to the outer door is 2-75 m.
These levels will be explained later. The steps are
cut out of solid blocks of limestone, three or four in
one block ; and a smooth strip is left on either side
of the steps to slide heavy objects up or down. The
roof is formed of arched blocks which may be seen in
the top right-hand corner above the bench in Pl. XI.
18. The second door in the passage leads into a
chamber 9'85 m. x 15*10 m., with six columns, a
staircase leading on to the roof, and a stone bench
running all round the room, which seems to have
been used as a vestry or place for assembling and
marshalling processions. The bench served for
setting out and adorning the sacred barques and
other paraphernalia: it is built of sandstone slabs
45 cm. wide, 8 cm. thick, and rests on solid blocks all
the way round, beyond which the edge projects 10 cm.
The staircase, which is divided from the room by a
narrow wall, leads on to the roof (see sect. 27). The
under side of the bottom step of this staircase was
hollowed out like the roof of a vault; so, with visions
of subterranean passages, I turned on some men to
dig beneath. We found a broken piece of uninter-
esting inscription, and some fragments of a late black-
stone bowl. We also found that the temple founda-
tions were very shallow, and were resting on ordinary
sand. The rock that so deranged the original design
of the temple (according to Messrs. Mariette and
Maspero) was not to be found ; and our hole, instead
of being the entrance to underground mysteries, was
only a convenient rubbish pit. The columns are
3-10 m. in circumference. They are spaced sym-
metrically in an east and west direction, but are
15 cm. nearer the south than the north wall.
19. The south-east court, 19*8 m. X 8-7 m., is
mainly open to the sky. On three sides it is partly
covered in by a portico carried on seven cylindrical
pillars, 3 • 20 m. in circumference. The spacing is as
usual unequal, varying in the long row of columns
from 3-35 to 3*55; the whole group is displaced
50 cm. to the southward of its symmetrical position.
A short wall is built between the N.E. outside column
and the E. wall of the court, which prevents any view
of the court from the corridor of the Kings. The
roof of the portico has a finely moulded edge (see
Pl. XXIV), and projects 90 cm. outside the columns
and 3*90 m. from the west wall. In the east main
wall, which is 2-35 m. thick, is a gate 2 m. wide : it is,
for no apparent reason, placed 2 m. to the northward
of the centre of the wall. I dug into the rubbish
heap outside the gate, but could find no trace of any
buildings or road leading to the gate.
The wall dividing the court from the west rooms
is 1 "75 m. thick, pierced by three doors, all about
I' 25 m. wide, between door-posts. Mariette does not
give the third or most southern door in his plans.
The first door leads into a square chamber, Z,
10 m. x 10*32 m., with four columns 3*10 m. in
circumference. They are spaced 3*75 m. apart in
the north and south direction, and 4"5 m. apart from
east to west; the whole group is fairly symmetrical
as regards the walls. The Copts used this chamber
as a chapel, and have thoroughly ruined it. The
walls stood higher than any of the other walls in this
part of the building, so that the roof was raised, and
there were oblong slits provided beneath the roof for
lighting purposes. The roof of this chapel seems to
have stood up above the rest of the roof like a raised
terrace, with a walk all round it (see Pl. XXV). In
the S.W. corner of this room there is a door in the
wall which is here 1' 80 thick, which is not shown by
Mariette ; as the room it leads to is on a much higher
level (1 '50 m. higher) and the doorway is very much
broken down, I think the Copts are probably respon-
sible for it.
The second door in the S.E. court leads into a
chamber, Y, 10*30 m. x 5 -70 m. ; it has two columns,
3'iom. in circumference, symmetrically placed in the
E-W axis of the chamber. The door is in the N.E.
•He sout
1 .Vs Plf
;>f
THE TEMPLE OF THE KINGS.
supported at their middles by the pillars, and let into
the walls on either side. The stones of the lower
chamber are left rough, the walls of the upper
chamber are smooth.
17. The corridor of the Kings (S), 2 "62 m. wide,
leads from the small door in the south end of the
second hypostyle hall to the open court in the south
division of the temple. The passage rises gently till
within a few metres of the south doorway, and then
slopes rapidly upward ; the total rise is 1 • 50 m. The
distance from the hypostyle court to the open court
is 27-75 m.
About the middle of the passage, on the right-
hand side when going up, are two doorways. The
first leads to the staircase passage T, 3 • 20 m. wide
and 16'25 m. long: six steps lead up to the door
at the end, and then comes the staircase proper,
leading up to a door in the W. main wall of the
temple. The sill of this door is 45 cm. above the
desert. The actual rise from the entrance in the
corridor of the Kings to the outer door is 2-75 m.
These levels will be explained later. The steps are
cut out of solid blocks of limestone, three or four in
one block ; and a smooth strip is left on either side
of the steps to slide heavy objects up or down. The
roof is formed of arched blocks which may be seen in
the top right-hand corner above the bench in Pl. XI.
18. The second door in the passage leads into a
chamber 9'85 m. x 15*10 m., with six columns, a
staircase leading on to the roof, and a stone bench
running all round the room, which seems to have
been used as a vestry or place for assembling and
marshalling processions. The bench served for
setting out and adorning the sacred barques and
other paraphernalia: it is built of sandstone slabs
45 cm. wide, 8 cm. thick, and rests on solid blocks all
the way round, beyond which the edge projects 10 cm.
The staircase, which is divided from the room by a
narrow wall, leads on to the roof (see sect. 27). The
under side of the bottom step of this staircase was
hollowed out like the roof of a vault; so, with visions
of subterranean passages, I turned on some men to
dig beneath. We found a broken piece of uninter-
esting inscription, and some fragments of a late black-
stone bowl. We also found that the temple founda-
tions were very shallow, and were resting on ordinary
sand. The rock that so deranged the original design
of the temple (according to Messrs. Mariette and
Maspero) was not to be found ; and our hole, instead
of being the entrance to underground mysteries, was
only a convenient rubbish pit. The columns are
3-10 m. in circumference. They are spaced sym-
metrically in an east and west direction, but are
15 cm. nearer the south than the north wall.
19. The south-east court, 19*8 m. X 8-7 m., is
mainly open to the sky. On three sides it is partly
covered in by a portico carried on seven cylindrical
pillars, 3 • 20 m. in circumference. The spacing is as
usual unequal, varying in the long row of columns
from 3-35 to 3*55; the whole group is displaced
50 cm. to the southward of its symmetrical position.
A short wall is built between the N.E. outside column
and the E. wall of the court, which prevents any view
of the court from the corridor of the Kings. The
roof of the portico has a finely moulded edge (see
Pl. XXIV), and projects 90 cm. outside the columns
and 3*90 m. from the west wall. In the east main
wall, which is 2-35 m. thick, is a gate 2 m. wide : it is,
for no apparent reason, placed 2 m. to the northward
of the centre of the wall. I dug into the rubbish
heap outside the gate, but could find no trace of any
buildings or road leading to the gate.
The wall dividing the court from the west rooms
is 1 "75 m. thick, pierced by three doors, all about
I' 25 m. wide, between door-posts. Mariette does not
give the third or most southern door in his plans.
The first door leads into a square chamber, Z,
10 m. x 10*32 m., with four columns 3*10 m. in
circumference. They are spaced 3*75 m. apart in
the north and south direction, and 4"5 m. apart from
east to west; the whole group is fairly symmetrical
as regards the walls. The Copts used this chamber
as a chapel, and have thoroughly ruined it. The
walls stood higher than any of the other walls in this
part of the building, so that the roof was raised, and
there were oblong slits provided beneath the roof for
lighting purposes. The roof of this chapel seems to
have stood up above the rest of the roof like a raised
terrace, with a walk all round it (see Pl. XXV). In
the S.W. corner of this room there is a door in the
wall which is here 1' 80 thick, which is not shown by
Mariette ; as the room it leads to is on a much higher
level (1 '50 m. higher) and the doorway is very much
broken down, I think the Copts are probably respon-
sible for it.
The second door in the S.E. court leads into a
chamber, Y, 10*30 m. x 5 -70 m. ; it has two columns,
3'iom. in circumference, symmetrically placed in the
E-W axis of the chamber. The door is in the N.E.
•He sout
1 .Vs Plf
;>f