DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4393#0246
228 -4 THOUSAND MILES UP THE NILE.
chant of the sakkieh-driver have, perhaps, as remote an
origin. But of all old, mournful, human sounds, the
death-wail that we heard at Derr is perhaps one of tho
very oldest—certainly the most mournful.
The temple here, dating from the reign of Barneses II,
is of rude design and indifferent execution. Partly con-
structed, partly excavated, it is approached by a forecourt,
the roof of which was supported by eight square columns.
Of these columns only the bases remain. Four massive
piers, against which once stood four colossi, upheld the
roof of the portico and gave admission by three entrances
to the rock-cut chambers beyond. The portico is now
roofless. Nothing is left of the colossi but their feet. All
is ruin; and ruin without beauty.
Seen from within, however, the place is not without a
kind of gloomy grandeur. Two rows of square columns,
three at each side, divide the large hall into a nave and
two aisles. This hall is about forty feet square, and tho
pillars have been left standing in the living rock, like those
in the early tombs at Siut. The daylight, half-blocked
out by the fallen portico, is pleasantly subdued, and finds
its way dimly to the sanctuary at the farther end.
The sculptures of the interior, though much dam-
aged, are less defaced than those of the outer court.
Walls, pillars, doorways, are covered with bas-reliefs.
The king and Ptah, the king and Ba, the king and
Amen, stand face to face, hand in hand, on each of tho
four sides of every column. Scenes of worship, of slaughter,
of anointing, cover the walls; and the blank spaces are
filled in as usual with hieroglyphic inscriptions. Among
these Champollion discovered an imperfect list of the sons
and daughters of Barneses 11. Pour gods once sat
enthroned at the upper end of the sanctuary; hut they
have shared the fate of the colossi outside and only their
feet remain. The wall sculptures of this dark little
chamber are, however, better preserved, and better worth
preservation, than those of the hall. A procession of
priests, bearing on their shoulders the bari, or sacred boat,
is quite unharmed; and even the color is yet fresh upon a
full-length figure of Hathor close by.
But more interesting than all these—more interesting
because more rare—is a sculptured palm-tree against which
the king leans while making an offering to Amen Ka, The
chant of the sakkieh-driver have, perhaps, as remote an
origin. But of all old, mournful, human sounds, the
death-wail that we heard at Derr is perhaps one of tho
very oldest—certainly the most mournful.
The temple here, dating from the reign of Barneses II,
is of rude design and indifferent execution. Partly con-
structed, partly excavated, it is approached by a forecourt,
the roof of which was supported by eight square columns.
Of these columns only the bases remain. Four massive
piers, against which once stood four colossi, upheld the
roof of the portico and gave admission by three entrances
to the rock-cut chambers beyond. The portico is now
roofless. Nothing is left of the colossi but their feet. All
is ruin; and ruin without beauty.
Seen from within, however, the place is not without a
kind of gloomy grandeur. Two rows of square columns,
three at each side, divide the large hall into a nave and
two aisles. This hall is about forty feet square, and tho
pillars have been left standing in the living rock, like those
in the early tombs at Siut. The daylight, half-blocked
out by the fallen portico, is pleasantly subdued, and finds
its way dimly to the sanctuary at the farther end.
The sculptures of the interior, though much dam-
aged, are less defaced than those of the outer court.
Walls, pillars, doorways, are covered with bas-reliefs.
The king and Ptah, the king and Ba, the king and
Amen, stand face to face, hand in hand, on each of tho
four sides of every column. Scenes of worship, of slaughter,
of anointing, cover the walls; and the blank spaces are
filled in as usual with hieroglyphic inscriptions. Among
these Champollion discovered an imperfect list of the sons
and daughters of Barneses 11. Pour gods once sat
enthroned at the upper end of the sanctuary; hut they
have shared the fate of the colossi outside and only their
feet remain. The wall sculptures of this dark little
chamber are, however, better preserved, and better worth
preservation, than those of the hall. A procession of
priests, bearing on their shoulders the bari, or sacred boat,
is quite unharmed; and even the color is yet fresh upon a
full-length figure of Hathor close by.
But more interesting than all these—more interesting
because more rare—is a sculptured palm-tree against which
the king leans while making an offering to Amen Ka, The