DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3236#0162
CHAP. XIV.—QANTARAH.
97
offices, a mosque, and a well-furnished Arab
market, together with such huts and houses
as are necessary for those who keep them
going. On all sides is the desert with its
meagre vegetation, or the salt marshes which
support no life but wild fowl. The inhabi-
tants, with characteristic indolence, which has
spread also to the Europeans amongst them,
have never looked into the desert; their
interest lies solely in the market-place and along
the canal. It is therefore impossible to obtain
information from them of any value either as
to the geography or to the past history of the
district round. A telegraph wire is carried along
the Arish road to Syria, but although an
engineer has continually to pass backwards
and forwards between El Arish and Qantarah,
no survey was made for it, and little or
no information can be obtained in this direc-
tion. Maps of this district are not to be
trusted. The scanty Bedawin are the best
guides, and except where otherwise stated, I
have seen everything that I record with my
own eyes.
In Qantarah, near the west end of the old
Canal Company's buildings, stands a peculiar
monument of sandstone, inscribed with the
name of Rameses II., his father Seti I., and his
grandfather Rameses I., and dedicated in the
" house of Horus." On walking to the mound
two miles E. one finds remains of a similar
monument, likewise mentioning Rameses II.
and Horus, Lord of Mesen. On this spot
then was a temple of Ramesside epoch. How-
ever, a fortnight spent in trenching the mound
produced nothing further that was certainly of
a period earlier than the later Ptolemies, nor
were any more hieroglyphic inscriptions dis-
covered. The rubbish was exceedingly shallow;
a few trenches reached a depth of three metres ;
1 to 1£ metre was sufficient to bring up desert
sand in most parts, and often even near the
centre the sand was practically at the surface.
This proves a short occupation; nearly all is
Roman, so the previous occupation must have
been very short indeed.1
The mound lies two miles E. of the Suez Canal,
slightly N. from Qantarah, and three-quarters of
a mile S. of the present caravan road. The
southern side is bounded by the dry bed of
Lake Balah, and the dry bed of Menzaleh on the
N. and W. is less than two miles away. Thus
there were marshes on three sides, and the
title " Lord of Seshu," or the marshes, given
to the local god on one of the monuments, is not
an inappropriate one, notwithstanding the dry
and desert appearance of the district at the
present time in spring.2 On the whole of the
eastern side from ~N. to S. the desert hills rise
conspicuously, skirting the Balah lake and the
marshes of Pelusium.
The mound measures from N. to S. 500
yards, from E. to W. 700. The Ramesside
blocks lie near the centre, and close to them
I found the square limestone base upon which
one of the monuments had been raised. It
measured 58J inches square, and was built
up of separate blocks. Round it at two
levels were traces of pavements, made of small
chips and fragments of limestone cemented
together. The lower pavement was 40 inches
below the top of the base. Seventy-nine feet
E. of this I found a recumbent lion, natural
size, in limestone, the head turned eastward
to the right, the left paw crossed over the
right. It was in bad condition, and without
inscriptions. There were also considerable
remains of rubble pavement, with occasional
1 It is not necessary to suppose that the Kamesside monu-
ments were brought here to adorn the Eoman camp. The
early settlement, which probably existed only for a short
time, may have been entirely destroyed, and being abandoned
for seven or eight centuries, the brick foundation in the sand,
even if not removed to clear the ground when new buildings
were erected, might itself be carried away by wind and rain.
The bricks everywhere were small, 13 inches being the largest
measurement.
2 The cutting of the Suez Canal below sea level having
drained considerable tracts on the E. side.
97
offices, a mosque, and a well-furnished Arab
market, together with such huts and houses
as are necessary for those who keep them
going. On all sides is the desert with its
meagre vegetation, or the salt marshes which
support no life but wild fowl. The inhabi-
tants, with characteristic indolence, which has
spread also to the Europeans amongst them,
have never looked into the desert; their
interest lies solely in the market-place and along
the canal. It is therefore impossible to obtain
information from them of any value either as
to the geography or to the past history of the
district round. A telegraph wire is carried along
the Arish road to Syria, but although an
engineer has continually to pass backwards
and forwards between El Arish and Qantarah,
no survey was made for it, and little or
no information can be obtained in this direc-
tion. Maps of this district are not to be
trusted. The scanty Bedawin are the best
guides, and except where otherwise stated, I
have seen everything that I record with my
own eyes.
In Qantarah, near the west end of the old
Canal Company's buildings, stands a peculiar
monument of sandstone, inscribed with the
name of Rameses II., his father Seti I., and his
grandfather Rameses I., and dedicated in the
" house of Horus." On walking to the mound
two miles E. one finds remains of a similar
monument, likewise mentioning Rameses II.
and Horus, Lord of Mesen. On this spot
then was a temple of Ramesside epoch. How-
ever, a fortnight spent in trenching the mound
produced nothing further that was certainly of
a period earlier than the later Ptolemies, nor
were any more hieroglyphic inscriptions dis-
covered. The rubbish was exceedingly shallow;
a few trenches reached a depth of three metres ;
1 to 1£ metre was sufficient to bring up desert
sand in most parts, and often even near the
centre the sand was practically at the surface.
This proves a short occupation; nearly all is
Roman, so the previous occupation must have
been very short indeed.1
The mound lies two miles E. of the Suez Canal,
slightly N. from Qantarah, and three-quarters of
a mile S. of the present caravan road. The
southern side is bounded by the dry bed of
Lake Balah, and the dry bed of Menzaleh on the
N. and W. is less than two miles away. Thus
there were marshes on three sides, and the
title " Lord of Seshu," or the marshes, given
to the local god on one of the monuments, is not
an inappropriate one, notwithstanding the dry
and desert appearance of the district at the
present time in spring.2 On the whole of the
eastern side from ~N. to S. the desert hills rise
conspicuously, skirting the Balah lake and the
marshes of Pelusium.
The mound measures from N. to S. 500
yards, from E. to W. 700. The Ramesside
blocks lie near the centre, and close to them
I found the square limestone base upon which
one of the monuments had been raised. It
measured 58J inches square, and was built
up of separate blocks. Round it at two
levels were traces of pavements, made of small
chips and fragments of limestone cemented
together. The lower pavement was 40 inches
below the top of the base. Seventy-nine feet
E. of this I found a recumbent lion, natural
size, in limestone, the head turned eastward
to the right, the left paw crossed over the
right. It was in bad condition, and without
inscriptions. There were also considerable
remains of rubble pavement, with occasional
1 It is not necessary to suppose that the Kamesside monu-
ments were brought here to adorn the Eoman camp. The
early settlement, which probably existed only for a short
time, may have been entirely destroyed, and being abandoned
for seven or eight centuries, the brick foundation in the sand,
even if not removed to clear the ground when new buildings
were erected, might itself be carried away by wind and rain.
The bricks everywhere were small, 13 inches being the largest
measurement.
2 The cutting of the Suez Canal below sea level having
drained considerable tracts on the E. side.