DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4393#0164
146 A TIIO USAND MILES UP THE NILE.
the world, whom we now see for the first time. He is
ram-headed and holds in his hand the "ankh," or emblem
of life. Another new acquaintance is Bes,* the grotesque
god of mirth and jollity.
Two singular little erections, built in between the
columns to right and left of the steps, next attract our at-
tention. They are like stone sentry-boxes. Each is in
itself complete, with roof, sculptured cornice, doorway,
and, if I remember rightly, a small square window in the
side. The inscriptions upon two similar structures in the
portico at Edfu show that the right-hand closet contained
the sacred books belonging to the temjile, while in the
closet to the left of the main entrance the king underwent
the ceremony of purification. It may therefore be taken
for granted that these at Esneh were erected for the same
purposes.
And now we look around for the next hall—and look in
vain. The doorway which should lead to it is walled up.
The portico was excavated by Mohammed Ali in 1842; not
in any spirit of antiquarian zeal, but in order to provide a
safe underground magazine for gunpowder. Up to that
time, as may be seen by one of the illustrations to Wilkin-
son's " Thebes and General View of Egypt," the interior was
choked to within a few feet of the capitals of the columns,
and used as a cotton-store. Of the rest of the building
nothing is known; nothing is visible. It is as large, prob-
ably, as Denderah or Edfu, and in as perfect preservation*
So, at least, says local tradition; but not even local tradi-
tion can point out to what extent it underlies the founda-
tions of the modern houses that swarm above its roof. An
inscription first observed by Champollion states that the
sanctuary was built by Thothmes III. Is that antique
sanctuary still there? Has the temple grown step by step
under the hands of successive kings, as at Luxor? Or has
it been re-edified ab ovo, as at Denderah? These are
" puzzling questions," only to be resolved by the demolition
of a quarter of the town. Meanwhile what treasures of
* Bes. " La culta de Bes parait etre une importation Asiatique.
Quelquefois le (lieu est arme d'une epee qu'il brandit au-dessus de
sa tete; dans ce role, il semble le dieu des combats. Plus souvent
c'est le dieu ce la danse, de la musique, des plaisirs."—AFariettv
n,,,.
the world, whom we now see for the first time. He is
ram-headed and holds in his hand the "ankh," or emblem
of life. Another new acquaintance is Bes,* the grotesque
god of mirth and jollity.
Two singular little erections, built in between the
columns to right and left of the steps, next attract our at-
tention. They are like stone sentry-boxes. Each is in
itself complete, with roof, sculptured cornice, doorway,
and, if I remember rightly, a small square window in the
side. The inscriptions upon two similar structures in the
portico at Edfu show that the right-hand closet contained
the sacred books belonging to the temjile, while in the
closet to the left of the main entrance the king underwent
the ceremony of purification. It may therefore be taken
for granted that these at Esneh were erected for the same
purposes.
And now we look around for the next hall—and look in
vain. The doorway which should lead to it is walled up.
The portico was excavated by Mohammed Ali in 1842; not
in any spirit of antiquarian zeal, but in order to provide a
safe underground magazine for gunpowder. Up to that
time, as may be seen by one of the illustrations to Wilkin-
son's " Thebes and General View of Egypt," the interior was
choked to within a few feet of the capitals of the columns,
and used as a cotton-store. Of the rest of the building
nothing is known; nothing is visible. It is as large, prob-
ably, as Denderah or Edfu, and in as perfect preservation*
So, at least, says local tradition; but not even local tradi-
tion can point out to what extent it underlies the founda-
tions of the modern houses that swarm above its roof. An
inscription first observed by Champollion states that the
sanctuary was built by Thothmes III. Is that antique
sanctuary still there? Has the temple grown step by step
under the hands of successive kings, as at Luxor? Or has
it been re-edified ab ovo, as at Denderah? These are
" puzzling questions," only to be resolved by the demolition
of a quarter of the town. Meanwhile what treasures of
* Bes. " La culta de Bes parait etre une importation Asiatique.
Quelquefois le (lieu est arme d'une epee qu'il brandit au-dessus de
sa tete; dans ce role, il semble le dieu des combats. Plus souvent
c'est le dieu ce la danse, de la musique, des plaisirs."—AFariettv
n,,,.