DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6641#0075
WORK AT T
inscription, PI. xx. 4, of Necho,' beloved of Neith
in the house of . . .' The distinctive portion of
the geographical name is, unfortunately, quite
illegible. .
In the village there are also some limestone
blocks, fig. 5, 6, and others, representing a king,
probably Soter, offering. These are evidently
from the same source as those that I excavated.
Across the canal and railway, south of the
embankment which leads to the desert, there is a
saqyeh lined with limestone blocks, several of
which are inscribed. One of these (fig. 6) was
of especially fine workmanship in relief, and pre-
sented an interesting geographical name. It
being in the uppermost course, and quite un-
necessary, I offered a small sum for its removal
to my tent, hoping thereby to secure it from
harm ; but owing to a misunderstanding with my
reyyis, the owner suddenly flew into a passion and
hacked off the inscription with his fas.
It was evident on my first visit that the people
often found sculptures and used them for any pur-
pose theyrequired. Kum abu Billuhwas therefore a
place that needed working at once ; unfortunately,
the extensive mound was clearly of Arab or late
Roman date, and presented on its surface no
'' leads'' for the excavator. However, a respectable
fellow told me that he would point out the spot
where the blocks had been found, and consented to
open the pit at his own risk. He took several men
and dug deep close to where two little marble
columns lay on the surface. The sand and dust
were easily cleared, and eventually the work
revealed narrow walls of limestone (see plan, PI.
xx. fig. 7) with traces of at least two layers of
pavement at different levels. The base of the
building was buried under fourteen feet of rubbish,
KKANEH. 61
and eight feet above it, or six feet below the sur-
face, were remains of a pavement on which lay
another marble column.
Many of the blocks were sculptured, and, although
they were inserted at hap-hazard, the ornamental
part being sometimes turned inwards, sometimes
outwards, the subjects that appeared on neigh-
bouring blocks were so far allied as to prove
that the materials of a temple had been conveyed
direct to it, piece by piece, while the former was
being destroyed, no doubt by Christian hands.
I did uot pursue the work far, as the excavation
was deep, and I had to observe excessive economy.
The place is, however, worth a short campaign to
thoroughly clear it. In one place six courses of
stone remained, but in others there were gaps
from which even the last block had been removed.
The site of the original temple was easy to find.
It had stood on the crest of the hill at the
extreme west end of the town ruins, and on the
north side of the road to the Wadi Natrun. Here
were traces of the temenos wall, worn clown almost
to the last brick, but, as near as I could measure,
enclosing an area of 65 X 58 yards. Inside, there
were still signs of the trenches which had been
dug in order to extract the limestone foundations
of the temple. This was an easy task in loose
sand and gravel, and the blocks of stone were
carried away bodily, so that even chips were rare
to find.
The temple was no doubt Ptolemaic. Part of
a large architectural figure of Bes, painted red
(for a pillar), gives some idea of the style. Most
of the blocks were only eight inches thick, but
some of these were sculptured on both sides; the
walls were therefore slight, at least in the interior.
The cartouches of Ptolemy Soter and of PhiLi-
inscription, PI. xx. 4, of Necho,' beloved of Neith
in the house of . . .' The distinctive portion of
the geographical name is, unfortunately, quite
illegible. .
In the village there are also some limestone
blocks, fig. 5, 6, and others, representing a king,
probably Soter, offering. These are evidently
from the same source as those that I excavated.
Across the canal and railway, south of the
embankment which leads to the desert, there is a
saqyeh lined with limestone blocks, several of
which are inscribed. One of these (fig. 6) was
of especially fine workmanship in relief, and pre-
sented an interesting geographical name. It
being in the uppermost course, and quite un-
necessary, I offered a small sum for its removal
to my tent, hoping thereby to secure it from
harm ; but owing to a misunderstanding with my
reyyis, the owner suddenly flew into a passion and
hacked off the inscription with his fas.
It was evident on my first visit that the people
often found sculptures and used them for any pur-
pose theyrequired. Kum abu Billuhwas therefore a
place that needed working at once ; unfortunately,
the extensive mound was clearly of Arab or late
Roman date, and presented on its surface no
'' leads'' for the excavator. However, a respectable
fellow told me that he would point out the spot
where the blocks had been found, and consented to
open the pit at his own risk. He took several men
and dug deep close to where two little marble
columns lay on the surface. The sand and dust
were easily cleared, and eventually the work
revealed narrow walls of limestone (see plan, PI.
xx. fig. 7) with traces of at least two layers of
pavement at different levels. The base of the
building was buried under fourteen feet of rubbish,
KKANEH. 61
and eight feet above it, or six feet below the sur-
face, were remains of a pavement on which lay
another marble column.
Many of the blocks were sculptured, and, although
they were inserted at hap-hazard, the ornamental
part being sometimes turned inwards, sometimes
outwards, the subjects that appeared on neigh-
bouring blocks were so far allied as to prove
that the materials of a temple had been conveyed
direct to it, piece by piece, while the former was
being destroyed, no doubt by Christian hands.
I did uot pursue the work far, as the excavation
was deep, and I had to observe excessive economy.
The place is, however, worth a short campaign to
thoroughly clear it. In one place six courses of
stone remained, but in others there were gaps
from which even the last block had been removed.
The site of the original temple was easy to find.
It had stood on the crest of the hill at the
extreme west end of the town ruins, and on the
north side of the road to the Wadi Natrun. Here
were traces of the temenos wall, worn clown almost
to the last brick, but, as near as I could measure,
enclosing an area of 65 X 58 yards. Inside, there
were still signs of the trenches which had been
dug in order to extract the limestone foundations
of the temple. This was an easy task in loose
sand and gravel, and the blocks of stone were
carried away bodily, so that even chips were rare
to find.
The temple was no doubt Ptolemaic. Part of
a large architectural figure of Bes, painted red
(for a pillar), gives some idea of the style. Most
of the blocks were only eight inches thick, but
some of these were sculptured on both sides; the
walls were therefore slight, at least in the interior.
The cartouches of Ptolemy Soter and of PhiLi-