DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6553#0186
APPENDIX.
113
which resembled that ato; it appeared, by the inscription, to have
been erected under the Emperor Septimius Severus ; and the name
of Geta is erased from tlie inscription, in the same manner, as it has
been taken from the inscription upon the triumphal arch at
Rome. At this place another inscription on a stele, erected in
the reigns of Marcus Antoninus, and of Lucius Verus, was found ;
it was sent to the British Museum, and it recorded that the walls
were restored on the 15th of Pachon (the 10th of May), in the
sixth year of the reign of the Emperors Antoninus, and Verus. At
the top of the second flight of steps a platform is carried on with
a gradual ascent to the length of 135 feet, bounded by a wall
on the southern side till it arrives nearly at the level of the
ground, when the rock rapidly descends towards the Nile, whether,
or not, in the form of steps was not discovered. It is difficult to
convey, even by drawings, a distinct idea of this approach to the
Sphinx. It was impossible, however, to conceive any thing more
imposing than the general effect; or better calculated to set off to
advantage the grandeur of the enormous monument, particularly
in the evening, when the sun was setting behind it. Mr. Salt
observes, " That the spectator advanced on a level with the breast,
and thereby witnessed the full effect of that admirable expression
of countenance, which characterises the features, whilst, as he de-
scended the successive flights of stairs, the stupendous image rose
before him, whilst his view was confined, by the walls on either
side, to the interesting object, for the contemplation of which, even
when he had reached the bottom of the steps, a sufficient space
was allowed for him to comprehend the whole at a single glance.
Mr. Salt concludes in the following words: "Such was the result
of Captain Caviglia's exertions in June, when, in consequence of
exposing himself too much to the sun, he was unfortunately
seized by an attack of ophthalmia, that compelled him to suspend
his operations, and shortly afterwards to return to take charge
of his ship at Alexandria. It is, perhaps, a circumstance, unex-
ampled in Mahommedan countries, that these operations should
have been carried on by a single individual, attended occasionally
only by one soldier, without the slightest molestation having been
offered, or unpleasant circumstance having occurred, notwith-
standing that numerous parties of idle soldiers went every day to
inspect the excavation, and that thousands of Arabs, during part
of the time, were encamped in the neighbourhood; and this cir-
cumstance indeed, strange as it may appear in Europe, presents
the most unequivocal proof of the tranquillity reigning in Egypt,
vol. in. i
113
which resembled that ato; it appeared, by the inscription, to have
been erected under the Emperor Septimius Severus ; and the name
of Geta is erased from tlie inscription, in the same manner, as it has
been taken from the inscription upon the triumphal arch at
Rome. At this place another inscription on a stele, erected in
the reigns of Marcus Antoninus, and of Lucius Verus, was found ;
it was sent to the British Museum, and it recorded that the walls
were restored on the 15th of Pachon (the 10th of May), in the
sixth year of the reign of the Emperors Antoninus, and Verus. At
the top of the second flight of steps a platform is carried on with
a gradual ascent to the length of 135 feet, bounded by a wall
on the southern side till it arrives nearly at the level of the
ground, when the rock rapidly descends towards the Nile, whether,
or not, in the form of steps was not discovered. It is difficult to
convey, even by drawings, a distinct idea of this approach to the
Sphinx. It was impossible, however, to conceive any thing more
imposing than the general effect; or better calculated to set off to
advantage the grandeur of the enormous monument, particularly
in the evening, when the sun was setting behind it. Mr. Salt
observes, " That the spectator advanced on a level with the breast,
and thereby witnessed the full effect of that admirable expression
of countenance, which characterises the features, whilst, as he de-
scended the successive flights of stairs, the stupendous image rose
before him, whilst his view was confined, by the walls on either
side, to the interesting object, for the contemplation of which, even
when he had reached the bottom of the steps, a sufficient space
was allowed for him to comprehend the whole at a single glance.
Mr. Salt concludes in the following words: "Such was the result
of Captain Caviglia's exertions in June, when, in consequence of
exposing himself too much to the sun, he was unfortunately
seized by an attack of ophthalmia, that compelled him to suspend
his operations, and shortly afterwards to return to take charge
of his ship at Alexandria. It is, perhaps, a circumstance, unex-
ampled in Mahommedan countries, that these operations should
have been carried on by a single individual, attended occasionally
only by one soldier, without the slightest molestation having been
offered, or unpleasant circumstance having occurred, notwith-
standing that numerous parties of idle soldiers went every day to
inspect the excavation, and that thousands of Arabs, during part
of the time, were encamped in the neighbourhood; and this cir-
cumstance indeed, strange as it may appear in Europe, presents
the most unequivocal proof of the tranquillity reigning in Egypt,
vol. in. i