DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6640#0018
4
BUBASTIS.
in inscriptions of various times. It underwent
several changes, especially under Osorkon II.,
and will be designated by the name which the
king gave it, "The Festival Hall." It con-
tained a shrine, of which there are a few frag-
ments left, and I should think it was around it
that Herodotus saw the beautiful trees which
he mentions.
Next came the colonnade, with two styles of
columns and square pillars. It is not possible
to know its width, but it was about one
hundred and ninety feet long. The temple
ended with the hall of Nekhthorheb, one
hundred and sixty feet square. Probably
there was around the temple an enclosure wall
of black basalt, but traces of it are visible only
near the two western halls. Nearly all the
stones left are red granite, no white limestone
has remained. In the hall of Nekhthorheb a
great part of the building must have been made
of red limestone from Gebel Ahmar, but as it
is the best stone for mills and presses it has
disappeared. The immense number of chips
show that this part of the temple has been a
regular quarry.
The destruction is as complete as at San, at
Behbeit el Hagar, or generally speaking, in all
the temples of the Delta. We have no clue
whatever to inform us who was the author of
it, or what was the purpose of such wanton
ravage. I have dwelt elsewhere4 on the idea
that the style of construction of the temples
made them very apt to be used as fortresses,
and that this circumstance may have been the
cause of their being destroyed in times of war.
This explanation would apply particularly well
to Bubastis, of which we know that it was
besieged by the Persians, and that it was
conquered in the wars of the time of Phocas.
Besides, Bubastis, like the present city of
Zagazig, wrhich has taken its place, was the
key of the Delta; it was on the road of all the
4 Goshen, p. 4.
invaders from Syria, whether they took the
northern road through Pelusium, Daphnae and
San, or whether they journeyed more south
through Pithom-Heroopolis. It was an impor-
tant position to hold, and consequently very
much exposed to all the accidents of Avar.
As the temples of Lower Egypt are mere
heaps of blocks, whoever wishes to explore
them thoroughly is obliged to roll down the
stones and to turn them in order to see what
may be hidden underneath. This part of the
work, which was done by gangs of strong men,
called the " shayaleen/' took a considerable
time, and was often most laborious; but it
yielded very important results. In the two
first halls every single block has been turned,
so as to show whether it had any inscription,
It has changed considerably the appearance of
the place. Instead of forming lofty piles, the
stones are strewn over a large space near each
other. The place is less picturesque; the ap-
pearance of the ruins is far less imposing than
when wTe first unearthed those huge masses
clustered in colossal heaps, but science has
gained considerably. Thus wre discovered a
great number of kings, wrhose passage and work
at Bubastis would otherwise have remained
ignored.
THE OLD EMPIRE.
We learn from Manetho that under the King
Boethos, the first of the second dynasty, a
chasm opened itself at Bubastis, which caused
the loss of a great many lives. Up to the present
day, we have not found in any part of Egypt
monuments as old as the second dynasty.
Historical monuments, properly speaking, begin
only with the fourth ; however, the passage of
Manetho shows that in the tradition of his time
the foundation of Bubastis went back to a high
antiquity.
The fourth dynasty is represented in our
I excavations by the constructors of the two
BUBASTIS.
in inscriptions of various times. It underwent
several changes, especially under Osorkon II.,
and will be designated by the name which the
king gave it, "The Festival Hall." It con-
tained a shrine, of which there are a few frag-
ments left, and I should think it was around it
that Herodotus saw the beautiful trees which
he mentions.
Next came the colonnade, with two styles of
columns and square pillars. It is not possible
to know its width, but it was about one
hundred and ninety feet long. The temple
ended with the hall of Nekhthorheb, one
hundred and sixty feet square. Probably
there was around the temple an enclosure wall
of black basalt, but traces of it are visible only
near the two western halls. Nearly all the
stones left are red granite, no white limestone
has remained. In the hall of Nekhthorheb a
great part of the building must have been made
of red limestone from Gebel Ahmar, but as it
is the best stone for mills and presses it has
disappeared. The immense number of chips
show that this part of the temple has been a
regular quarry.
The destruction is as complete as at San, at
Behbeit el Hagar, or generally speaking, in all
the temples of the Delta. We have no clue
whatever to inform us who was the author of
it, or what was the purpose of such wanton
ravage. I have dwelt elsewhere4 on the idea
that the style of construction of the temples
made them very apt to be used as fortresses,
and that this circumstance may have been the
cause of their being destroyed in times of war.
This explanation would apply particularly well
to Bubastis, of which we know that it was
besieged by the Persians, and that it was
conquered in the wars of the time of Phocas.
Besides, Bubastis, like the present city of
Zagazig, wrhich has taken its place, was the
key of the Delta; it was on the road of all the
4 Goshen, p. 4.
invaders from Syria, whether they took the
northern road through Pelusium, Daphnae and
San, or whether they journeyed more south
through Pithom-Heroopolis. It was an impor-
tant position to hold, and consequently very
much exposed to all the accidents of Avar.
As the temples of Lower Egypt are mere
heaps of blocks, whoever wishes to explore
them thoroughly is obliged to roll down the
stones and to turn them in order to see what
may be hidden underneath. This part of the
work, which was done by gangs of strong men,
called the " shayaleen/' took a considerable
time, and was often most laborious; but it
yielded very important results. In the two
first halls every single block has been turned,
so as to show whether it had any inscription,
It has changed considerably the appearance of
the place. Instead of forming lofty piles, the
stones are strewn over a large space near each
other. The place is less picturesque; the ap-
pearance of the ruins is far less imposing than
when wTe first unearthed those huge masses
clustered in colossal heaps, but science has
gained considerably. Thus wre discovered a
great number of kings, wrhose passage and work
at Bubastis would otherwise have remained
ignored.
THE OLD EMPIRE.
We learn from Manetho that under the King
Boethos, the first of the second dynasty, a
chasm opened itself at Bubastis, which caused
the loss of a great many lives. Up to the present
day, we have not found in any part of Egypt
monuments as old as the second dynasty.
Historical monuments, properly speaking, begin
only with the fourth ; however, the passage of
Manetho shows that in the tradition of his time
the foundation of Bubastis went back to a high
antiquity.
The fourth dynasty is represented in our
I excavations by the constructors of the two