DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6641#0079
WORK AT HELIOPOLIS.
65
This great city, the centre of Egyptian sun-
worship, in whose temple was believed to dwell
the supreme god Ra-Tum-Harmachis-Khepra, and
perhaps the life or ka of each king for the time
being, has left substantial traces in the shape
of a large mound of ruins surrounded by a massive
enclosure wall; but its monuments, which must
have far exceeded those of Thebes, at least in
chronological range, have, with hardly an excep-
tion, vanished from the spot. The great obelisk
of Usertesen II. and a few blocks of sandstone
inscribed with the names of Eameses II. and III.
may be seen by any visitor, but excavations have
hitherto been barren to the last degree. Long
before the collapse of pagan worship, its statues,
sphinxes and obelisks were floated down the great
river to Canopus and Alexandria, and thence were
carried over the seas to adorn even the metropolis
of the world, while in the middle ages the Arabs
pitilessly quarried materials for the embellishment
of Masr. To gather the scraps preserved in the
villages around seemed an interesting and neces-
sary duty. Alas! two quarto plates are more
than sufficient to contain the results. Not that
this slender amount represents the sum total of
existing Heliopolitan inscriptions. Varying in
size from the colossal obelisk to the delicate Saite
statue, its monuments are to be found in many
unexpected situations, not only in museums, but
in the public squares of Europe and America, in
the ruins of ancient Rome, and in the mosques of
Cairo. Not the least striking is the great scara-
baeus, symbol of Khepra", from Alexandria, now in
the Egyptian gallery of the British Museum.
The following is the list of finds.
PL xxi. 1. Qubbet Tuftq (north of 'Abbasiyeh)
in the north-east gateway of a large government
magazine, part of, a sandstone architrave inscribed
on two sides, much worn. " Setnekht, beloved of
Horus in the three houses," XXth dynasty.
In the cafe garden at Matariyeh, in 1886, I
copied the cartouche of Amenhotep II. on a
limestone slab (3), and a fragment from the back
pilaster of a small Saite statue in basalt (2).
These have since been removed. The inscription
consists of a well-known but difficult formula,
followed by a sentence in the third line which is
unfortunately not complete. The names and
titles also are fragmentary. It was for " the
superintendent of the altars in the Great Temple
(name of the temple at Heliopolis), the scribe of
contracts (?)... [born of] Isit m Kheb."
4. On the Tell a small group in limestone, con-
sistingof Osiris seated, holding crookand flagellum,
headless (a, b on the back, c on the left side of
the throne; the right side is mutilated). At
either side of the throne stands a headless figure,
on the kilt of the left is d, on the right e. This
curious monument was too much damaged to be
worth much bargaining for. The figures at the
sides represented Rameses II. and his son
Merenptah. The inscription on the back shows
that it was dedicated by "the fan bearer, the
. . . and washer of the hands of the king Rames
user pehti."
5, 6. Two examples of erased cartouches in
limestone.
7. A fragment of limestone, one side (marked
a) being re-used, probably in the time of the
Ptolemies.
8, 9. Cartouches of Rameses II. and III. on
sandstone blocks at the extreme west end or
gateway of the temple. There is no apparent
reason for supposing them to have been sphinxes.
65
This great city, the centre of Egyptian sun-
worship, in whose temple was believed to dwell
the supreme god Ra-Tum-Harmachis-Khepra, and
perhaps the life or ka of each king for the time
being, has left substantial traces in the shape
of a large mound of ruins surrounded by a massive
enclosure wall; but its monuments, which must
have far exceeded those of Thebes, at least in
chronological range, have, with hardly an excep-
tion, vanished from the spot. The great obelisk
of Usertesen II. and a few blocks of sandstone
inscribed with the names of Eameses II. and III.
may be seen by any visitor, but excavations have
hitherto been barren to the last degree. Long
before the collapse of pagan worship, its statues,
sphinxes and obelisks were floated down the great
river to Canopus and Alexandria, and thence were
carried over the seas to adorn even the metropolis
of the world, while in the middle ages the Arabs
pitilessly quarried materials for the embellishment
of Masr. To gather the scraps preserved in the
villages around seemed an interesting and neces-
sary duty. Alas! two quarto plates are more
than sufficient to contain the results. Not that
this slender amount represents the sum total of
existing Heliopolitan inscriptions. Varying in
size from the colossal obelisk to the delicate Saite
statue, its monuments are to be found in many
unexpected situations, not only in museums, but
in the public squares of Europe and America, in
the ruins of ancient Rome, and in the mosques of
Cairo. Not the least striking is the great scara-
baeus, symbol of Khepra", from Alexandria, now in
the Egyptian gallery of the British Museum.
The following is the list of finds.
PL xxi. 1. Qubbet Tuftq (north of 'Abbasiyeh)
in the north-east gateway of a large government
magazine, part of, a sandstone architrave inscribed
on two sides, much worn. " Setnekht, beloved of
Horus in the three houses," XXth dynasty.
In the cafe garden at Matariyeh, in 1886, I
copied the cartouche of Amenhotep II. on a
limestone slab (3), and a fragment from the back
pilaster of a small Saite statue in basalt (2).
These have since been removed. The inscription
consists of a well-known but difficult formula,
followed by a sentence in the third line which is
unfortunately not complete. The names and
titles also are fragmentary. It was for " the
superintendent of the altars in the Great Temple
(name of the temple at Heliopolis), the scribe of
contracts (?)... [born of] Isit m Kheb."
4. On the Tell a small group in limestone, con-
sistingof Osiris seated, holding crookand flagellum,
headless (a, b on the back, c on the left side of
the throne; the right side is mutilated). At
either side of the throne stands a headless figure,
on the kilt of the left is d, on the right e. This
curious monument was too much damaged to be
worth much bargaining for. The figures at the
sides represented Rameses II. and his son
Merenptah. The inscription on the back shows
that it was dedicated by "the fan bearer, the
. . . and washer of the hands of the king Rames
user pehti."
5, 6. Two examples of erased cartouches in
limestone.
7. A fragment of limestone, one side (marked
a) being re-used, probably in the time of the
Ptolemies.
8, 9. Cartouches of Rameses II. and III. on
sandstone blocks at the extreme west end or
gateway of the temple. There is no apparent
reason for supposing them to have been sphinxes.