DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14391#0027
STOEE-OITY OF PITHOM AND THE BOTTTE OP THE EXODUS.
or for supporting some kind of ceiling. If the
chambers were filled with corn, it must have
been thrown down from above and drawn up
afterwards in the same way.1
The area thus occupied was of course not a
convenient ground for a camp ; therefore the
Romans filled upmost part of the chambers; and
they used for that purpose whatever came first
to hand. Thus they have thrown down the fine
black statue of the unknown king, and, what
was still more precious, a beautiful pillar of
Nectanebo I. , which was entirely gilt on one side.
This must have been a very fine monument.
The fragments have been removed to Boolak.
If all these cellars were excavated, it is quite
possible that many other monuments, more or
less broken, would be found in them, having
been cast in to level the ground. If excavations
are ever resumed at Pithom, the remaining
store-chambers will have to be cleared out.
The civil city of Thwku extended all round the
sacred buildings of Pithom, the abode of Turn.
There are traces of habitations on all sides ; and
nearly all are of the time of the Romans. For
a long time I entertained hopes of finding the
necropolis of Pithom. At the time when the
canal was being dug, the workmen came across
a great number of coffins in white calcareous
stone, some of which were roughly carved in the
shape of mummies. In other places, at a small
depth in the sand, they found mummies enclosed
in large earthen pots. The shafts which I sank
led to no result. During several days my
labourers were engaged in excavating a singular
structure near the canal. It consisted of two
masses of bricks, sloping gablewise, and resting
on the sand. Instead of joining together at the
top, however, they are separated by a kind of
gutter about a yard wide. It might have been
thought that underneath them could be found
one, if not several coffins. We did not find any-
1 Since this was written Mr. Flinders Petrie discovered the
storehouses of Naueratis, which are built on the same plan.
(Naucratis, p. 24).
13
thing, except at one end a pit in which bones of
men, of dogs, and even of fishes, were inter-
mingled with a few small amulets.
THE HISTOEY OF PITHOM.
The founder of the city, the king who gave to
Pithom the extent and the importance we recog-
nize, is certainly Rameses II. I did not find any-
thing- more ancient than his monuments. It is
possible that before his time there may have
been here a shrine consecrated to the worship
of Turn, but it is he who built the enclosure
and the storehouses ; he'is the only king whose
name appears on the naos and on the monuments
of Ismailiah. Nowhere is it said, as on the
monolith of Abou Seyfeh,2 that he restored con-
structions of former kings. Very likely he found
it necessary for his campaigns in Asia to have
storehouses for provisioning his armies ; and
also means of defence against invaders from the
East. We find here confirmation of the evidence
derived from other monuments that he is the
Pharaoh of the Oppression, as he built Pithom
and Raamses, the site of which last is still
uncertain. Rameses II. built much in the
Eastern Delta ; it is clear that he attached great
importance to that part of the country. There
are ruins likewise at Tell Rotab, near Kassassin,
which may possibly be also attributed to his
reign. If there were cities like Pithom in
the Wady Tumilat, there must have been a canal
to supply them with the necessary water. We
know, in fact, from Strabo3 that according to tra-
dition it was Sesostris who first attempted to dig
a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea.
After Rameses, Menephtah, who built much
at Tanis (San), did not neglect Succoth. We
know from the papyri that there was a fortress
here bearing his name ; but I did not find his
oval anywhere, not even on the bricks. It is
2 Prisse, " Mon. Eg.," pi. XIX. 5 L. i., p. 38.
or for supporting some kind of ceiling. If the
chambers were filled with corn, it must have
been thrown down from above and drawn up
afterwards in the same way.1
The area thus occupied was of course not a
convenient ground for a camp ; therefore the
Romans filled upmost part of the chambers; and
they used for that purpose whatever came first
to hand. Thus they have thrown down the fine
black statue of the unknown king, and, what
was still more precious, a beautiful pillar of
Nectanebo I. , which was entirely gilt on one side.
This must have been a very fine monument.
The fragments have been removed to Boolak.
If all these cellars were excavated, it is quite
possible that many other monuments, more or
less broken, would be found in them, having
been cast in to level the ground. If excavations
are ever resumed at Pithom, the remaining
store-chambers will have to be cleared out.
The civil city of Thwku extended all round the
sacred buildings of Pithom, the abode of Turn.
There are traces of habitations on all sides ; and
nearly all are of the time of the Romans. For
a long time I entertained hopes of finding the
necropolis of Pithom. At the time when the
canal was being dug, the workmen came across
a great number of coffins in white calcareous
stone, some of which were roughly carved in the
shape of mummies. In other places, at a small
depth in the sand, they found mummies enclosed
in large earthen pots. The shafts which I sank
led to no result. During several days my
labourers were engaged in excavating a singular
structure near the canal. It consisted of two
masses of bricks, sloping gablewise, and resting
on the sand. Instead of joining together at the
top, however, they are separated by a kind of
gutter about a yard wide. It might have been
thought that underneath them could be found
one, if not several coffins. We did not find any-
1 Since this was written Mr. Flinders Petrie discovered the
storehouses of Naueratis, which are built on the same plan.
(Naucratis, p. 24).
13
thing, except at one end a pit in which bones of
men, of dogs, and even of fishes, were inter-
mingled with a few small amulets.
THE HISTOEY OF PITHOM.
The founder of the city, the king who gave to
Pithom the extent and the importance we recog-
nize, is certainly Rameses II. I did not find any-
thing- more ancient than his monuments. It is
possible that before his time there may have
been here a shrine consecrated to the worship
of Turn, but it is he who built the enclosure
and the storehouses ; he'is the only king whose
name appears on the naos and on the monuments
of Ismailiah. Nowhere is it said, as on the
monolith of Abou Seyfeh,2 that he restored con-
structions of former kings. Very likely he found
it necessary for his campaigns in Asia to have
storehouses for provisioning his armies ; and
also means of defence against invaders from the
East. We find here confirmation of the evidence
derived from other monuments that he is the
Pharaoh of the Oppression, as he built Pithom
and Raamses, the site of which last is still
uncertain. Rameses II. built much in the
Eastern Delta ; it is clear that he attached great
importance to that part of the country. There
are ruins likewise at Tell Rotab, near Kassassin,
which may possibly be also attributed to his
reign. If there were cities like Pithom in
the Wady Tumilat, there must have been a canal
to supply them with the necessary water. We
know, in fact, from Strabo3 that according to tra-
dition it was Sesostris who first attempted to dig
a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea.
After Rameses, Menephtah, who built much
at Tanis (San), did not neglect Succoth. We
know from the papyri that there was a fortress
here bearing his name ; but I did not find his
oval anywhere, not even on the bricks. It is
2 Prisse, " Mon. Eg.," pi. XIX. 5 L. i., p. 38.