DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3332#0034
30
NAUKBATIS.
CHAPTEE III.
TEMPLE OF THE DIOSCURI.
(30) The discovery of the temple of the Dios-
curi has already been mentioned in the first chap-
ter. Its remaining walls and pillars, as well as
its probable plan, are indicated upon PI. I. The
hatched parts represent the brickwork that was
still extant, the outlines give what is an all but
certain restoration.
Walls and pillars alike were built of unbaked
mud-brick—a dark structure, hardly now to be
distinguished from the dark mud that surrounds
it, but for the divisions often visible between
the bricks and courses. This brickwork must
always have been unsightly, and so we find it
to have been covered by a coat of plaster. On
the pillars in front, this plaster was still in its
place, and presented a plain white surface to
the view : the stucco had, however, peeled off
the inner walls of the cella of the temple, but
was found in considerable quantities at their
foot, lying upon the floor of the building. To
this stucco we must again refer, because of the
colour that remained upon it: but first it is
necessary to say a few words as to the plan of
the temple. A glance at the plate will show
that it consisted of a single chamber, and was
a variety, though a peculiar one, of the ordinary
temple " in antis." Only a small portion of
the cella walls remained; that on the north was
almost perfect, being only broken by a gap
formed in sinking a well at a later period.
The east wall could not so easily be traced; the
portion marked as extant upon the plan was
extremely difficult to distinguish from the
surrounding mud, and may possibly be inserted
by a mistake. No trace of a door or of a
second chamber behind was to be found, but
this too is a fact that must not be too strongly
insisted on, in consideration of the difficulty of
distinguishing wall from mud in this region.
The southern wall has entirely disappeared, and
has been assumed to correspond exactly to the
northern one. Of the pillars on the west
three remain in part; and the extant portions
exactly correspond in their size and position to
the requirements of a symmetrical portico of
four pillars. If the pillars themselves were 341
inches by 17, and the intercolumniations five
times the breadth of the pillars, or 85 inches—
measurements which are as nearly as possible
those of the extant parts—we obtain a total
width for the colonnade which is almost precisely
that actually found by the most careful
measurement.2 Hence it follows that all the
essential parts of the temple must have been as
indicated in the plan ; and though this plan is a
very peculiar one, it does not admit of much
doubt as to its characteristic features. The
temple is, as has been already said, " in antis; "
but the antaa, or ends of the cella walls, are not,
as is usual, in a line with the front row of pillars,
but project considerably beyond them. Again,
these are oblong pillars, not round columns—a
peculiarity due doubtless to the nature of the
material that is used; then the arrangement
also of the pillars is curious; the one at
each end has its outer side contiguous to the
cella wall. Thus the projecting antaa, doubt-
less covered by a gable roof, enclosed a sort of
1 Or perhaps 28| inches at first; in the only complete
one, a layer of plaster was visible at this distance from the
front.
' 2 The measurements and levels of the temple were taken
by Mr. Petrie before he left; I also verified them afterwards.
NAUKBATIS.
CHAPTEE III.
TEMPLE OF THE DIOSCURI.
(30) The discovery of the temple of the Dios-
curi has already been mentioned in the first chap-
ter. Its remaining walls and pillars, as well as
its probable plan, are indicated upon PI. I. The
hatched parts represent the brickwork that was
still extant, the outlines give what is an all but
certain restoration.
Walls and pillars alike were built of unbaked
mud-brick—a dark structure, hardly now to be
distinguished from the dark mud that surrounds
it, but for the divisions often visible between
the bricks and courses. This brickwork must
always have been unsightly, and so we find it
to have been covered by a coat of plaster. On
the pillars in front, this plaster was still in its
place, and presented a plain white surface to
the view : the stucco had, however, peeled off
the inner walls of the cella of the temple, but
was found in considerable quantities at their
foot, lying upon the floor of the building. To
this stucco we must again refer, because of the
colour that remained upon it: but first it is
necessary to say a few words as to the plan of
the temple. A glance at the plate will show
that it consisted of a single chamber, and was
a variety, though a peculiar one, of the ordinary
temple " in antis." Only a small portion of
the cella walls remained; that on the north was
almost perfect, being only broken by a gap
formed in sinking a well at a later period.
The east wall could not so easily be traced; the
portion marked as extant upon the plan was
extremely difficult to distinguish from the
surrounding mud, and may possibly be inserted
by a mistake. No trace of a door or of a
second chamber behind was to be found, but
this too is a fact that must not be too strongly
insisted on, in consideration of the difficulty of
distinguishing wall from mud in this region.
The southern wall has entirely disappeared, and
has been assumed to correspond exactly to the
northern one. Of the pillars on the west
three remain in part; and the extant portions
exactly correspond in their size and position to
the requirements of a symmetrical portico of
four pillars. If the pillars themselves were 341
inches by 17, and the intercolumniations five
times the breadth of the pillars, or 85 inches—
measurements which are as nearly as possible
those of the extant parts—we obtain a total
width for the colonnade which is almost precisely
that actually found by the most careful
measurement.2 Hence it follows that all the
essential parts of the temple must have been as
indicated in the plan ; and though this plan is a
very peculiar one, it does not admit of much
doubt as to its characteristic features. The
temple is, as has been already said, " in antis; "
but the antaa, or ends of the cella walls, are not,
as is usual, in a line with the front row of pillars,
but project considerably beyond them. Again,
these are oblong pillars, not round columns—a
peculiarity due doubtless to the nature of the
material that is used; then the arrangement
also of the pillars is curious; the one at
each end has its outer side contiguous to the
cella wall. Thus the projecting antaa, doubt-
less covered by a gable roof, enclosed a sort of
1 Or perhaps 28| inches at first; in the only complete
one, a layer of plaster was visible at this distance from the
front.
' 2 The measurements and levels of the temple were taken
by Mr. Petrie before he left; I also verified them afterwards.