DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14391#0028
14
STOEE-CITT OF PITHOM AND
THE ROUTE OP THE EXODUS.
extraordinary that among the hundreds of bricks
which I examined at Pithom, I never found one
bearing a royal stamp.
It does not appear that the kings of the
twentieth dynasty did anything for Pithom. It
is possible, however, that to the reign of one
of those sovereigns we may attribute a calca-
reous stone with three faces,1 on which there is
represented a king worshipping Horus. This
king had evidently returned from a successful
campaign, for on one side he is seen bearing his
mace and his bow, while, on the other, he holds
by the hair a prisoner with his hands tied behind
his back. The two broken cartouches, traces of
which are still visible, are impossible to decipher.
If he was a king of the twentieth dynasty he
would not be the only one of this family who is
met with in the Delta ; for independently of
Rameses III., who built much at Tell el Ya-
houdieh, the name of Seti II. is found at Tanis.
After Rameses IL, the kings who seem to
have done most for Pithom are those of the
twenty-second dynasty, the kings of Bubastis—
Sheshonk I. (Shishak),2 of whom we have a
fragment in black granite, and especially Osor-
kon II., who very likely enlarged the temple of
Tarn. On several occasions I found fragments
of calcareous stone, generally cornices, on which
the name of Osorkon II. was painted in red, in
order to be sculptured afterwards : the red
colour disappeared when exposed to the sun, but
I could distinctly read the name. Besides, to
his time belongs one of the most attractive
monuments found during the excavations,
namely, the statue of the Atennu, the lieutenant
of the king, AnJch renp nefer,s who speaks of
Pithom as a place where Osorkon celebrated
festivals. For kings like Shishak and Osor-
kon, who had repeatedly to fight the nations of
Asia, it was very important to hold the cities
commanding the roads leading to the desert;
and therefore we find them building on the
northern route at San and on the southern
at Pithom.
I attribute also to Osorkon II. the sitting
statue which had been thrown in the chamber
No. 1. I should think the stone for this statue
had been brought under Rameses II. It was in-
tended to be one of a pair, for, as already noticed,
there was at the end of the temple a large block
of the same stone roughly carved in the form of
a sitting statue of the same size, which had been
left unfinished. The two portions of another
statue, unfinished and very roughly hewn, were
found walled in a door-post of Roman time.
On the back I could decipher the name of one
of the Talceloths.
The Pharaoh who fought the Persians, Nehht-
horheb or Nectanebo I., also built at Pithom, and,
strange to say, with a richness which would not
be expected in a city of that kind. At the
northern end of the excavations, between the
enclosure and the outer wall of the chambers, I
found, together with many pieces of granite,
some fragments of a pillar of calcareous stone of
a bluish colour. The sculptures are of the best
workmanship. They represent scenes of offerings
to the god Turn; and one of the sides is entirely
covered with very thin gold, remarkably well
preserved. I suppose it is to the Romans that we
must attribute the destruction of this beautiful
monument. It was not possible to make out
anything from the inscriptions, except one of the
ovals of the king, and the name of Succoth.4
By far the most important monument dis-
covered at Pithom is the great tablet of Phila-
delphos, which was near the naos. It records
what was done for Pithom by the king and his
queen and sister Arsinoe II. The day before it
was found, the workmen laid bare the base of a
statue of which the feet only were left, and on
which were sculptured two royal ovals.5 One
' Plate VI. 2 Plate III. a 3 Frontispiece and Plate IV.
4 Plate III. c.
5 Plate VII. c.
STOEE-CITT OF PITHOM AND
THE ROUTE OP THE EXODUS.
extraordinary that among the hundreds of bricks
which I examined at Pithom, I never found one
bearing a royal stamp.
It does not appear that the kings of the
twentieth dynasty did anything for Pithom. It
is possible, however, that to the reign of one
of those sovereigns we may attribute a calca-
reous stone with three faces,1 on which there is
represented a king worshipping Horus. This
king had evidently returned from a successful
campaign, for on one side he is seen bearing his
mace and his bow, while, on the other, he holds
by the hair a prisoner with his hands tied behind
his back. The two broken cartouches, traces of
which are still visible, are impossible to decipher.
If he was a king of the twentieth dynasty he
would not be the only one of this family who is
met with in the Delta ; for independently of
Rameses III., who built much at Tell el Ya-
houdieh, the name of Seti II. is found at Tanis.
After Rameses IL, the kings who seem to
have done most for Pithom are those of the
twenty-second dynasty, the kings of Bubastis—
Sheshonk I. (Shishak),2 of whom we have a
fragment in black granite, and especially Osor-
kon II., who very likely enlarged the temple of
Tarn. On several occasions I found fragments
of calcareous stone, generally cornices, on which
the name of Osorkon II. was painted in red, in
order to be sculptured afterwards : the red
colour disappeared when exposed to the sun, but
I could distinctly read the name. Besides, to
his time belongs one of the most attractive
monuments found during the excavations,
namely, the statue of the Atennu, the lieutenant
of the king, AnJch renp nefer,s who speaks of
Pithom as a place where Osorkon celebrated
festivals. For kings like Shishak and Osor-
kon, who had repeatedly to fight the nations of
Asia, it was very important to hold the cities
commanding the roads leading to the desert;
and therefore we find them building on the
northern route at San and on the southern
at Pithom.
I attribute also to Osorkon II. the sitting
statue which had been thrown in the chamber
No. 1. I should think the stone for this statue
had been brought under Rameses II. It was in-
tended to be one of a pair, for, as already noticed,
there was at the end of the temple a large block
of the same stone roughly carved in the form of
a sitting statue of the same size, which had been
left unfinished. The two portions of another
statue, unfinished and very roughly hewn, were
found walled in a door-post of Roman time.
On the back I could decipher the name of one
of the Talceloths.
The Pharaoh who fought the Persians, Nehht-
horheb or Nectanebo I., also built at Pithom, and,
strange to say, with a richness which would not
be expected in a city of that kind. At the
northern end of the excavations, between the
enclosure and the outer wall of the chambers, I
found, together with many pieces of granite,
some fragments of a pillar of calcareous stone of
a bluish colour. The sculptures are of the best
workmanship. They represent scenes of offerings
to the god Turn; and one of the sides is entirely
covered with very thin gold, remarkably well
preserved. I suppose it is to the Romans that we
must attribute the destruction of this beautiful
monument. It was not possible to make out
anything from the inscriptions, except one of the
ovals of the king, and the name of Succoth.4
By far the most important monument dis-
covered at Pithom is the great tablet of Phila-
delphos, which was near the naos. It records
what was done for Pithom by the king and his
queen and sister Arsinoe II. The day before it
was found, the workmen laid bare the base of a
statue of which the feet only were left, and on
which were sculptured two royal ovals.5 One
' Plate VI. 2 Plate III. a 3 Frontispiece and Plate IV.
4 Plate III. c.
5 Plate VII. c.