DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11365#0029
the palace.
19
the tablet resting on one hand, and being steadied by
the other hand behind it.
Other similar tablets, made of blue-glazed pottery
in high relief, were perhaps placed in the hands of
other statues. A large tablet of fine limestone with
the Aten and royal cartouches is in the Turin
Museum ; but as it is 42 inches high and 30 wide
it is too large for a statue, and was therefore an in-
dependent offering in the temple. The finely carved
stele of PL. XII, I, is in the finest crystalline lime-
stone ; it was also found in the temple. Outside of the
temenos, in the heap of rubbish with the statues, were
many pans of red pottery, containing resin melted in
and pieces of charcoal. These appear to be the pans
used for burning incense in the temple, which were
thrown aside when done with.
35. Beside the shrine at the east end of the en-
closure, there were several large buildings near the
entrance, at the west end. The principal remains
are two great masses of concrete, each 62 feet 9
inches x 29 feet 1 inch, and about 8 feet deep, shaded
diagonally in the plan (Pl. XXXVII). Around them
is the mark of an empty space varying from 28 to
36 inches wide, from which a stone foundation has
been extracted (marked black and white in plan) ;
and sand lies beyond that out to 52 or no inches
from the block (left white). A brick wall (marked
black) surrounds and retains this sand. Between
these foundations lie another hollow trench and a con-
crete way. It appears as if there had existed two
blocks of building each 68 x 34 feet, or 40 x 20
cubits, and a roadway 25 feet 7 inches, or 15 cubits,
between them. The cubit resulting by this, from
centre to centre of the blocks (so as to be clear from
the uncertainty of the casing thickness), would be
20-57 inches. The corners of the blocks are recessed
51 or 54 x 109 or 110 inches, probably to receive an
extra mass of masonry at the corners. This form is
exactly like the great blocks of brickwork of about
two-thirds of this size, which from their position must
have supported a gateway at the side of the palace
(PL. XXXVI) ; and it seems therefore that this must
have been a great gateway of approach to the temple.
It is not like the Egyptian pylon as that is always
broader on the face than the depth of it. Here, on
the contrary, the face is much less than the depth,
like the piers of a Roman archway.
Within this are masonry remains of square pillars,
rough on the face, and built of small blocks. As
these vary from 36 to 45 inches in the side, and are
only 20 to 27 inches apart, they are clearly a sub-
structure. They might have supported large columns ;
but that is not likely, as they are only 5 feet centre to
centre, so there is no room for even the 18-inch columns
of the harem; but, more probably they bore the
corners of paving slabs 5 feet square, which flagged
a great hall or court situated here.
On the south of the entrance was a great forest of
pillars of brick, like that south of the palace. These
pillars are smaller than those in the hall of the palace,
the pillar and space together averaging 113 inches east
to west, and 121 inches north to south. I began by dis-
covering and clearing those near the gateway, and
gradually extended the clearance until about 15 or 20
rows were bared. As nothing of interest was found
in the depth of a yard or more of earth, I then pro-
spected for the next, and traced them by sample out
as far east as they are drawn, 36 rows in all. At that
point they were denuded down to only an inch or
two, and all beyond that has been entirely denuded
away, so that we cannot know how far this hall
originally extended.
These enormous halls are a new feature at Tell el
Amarna. No such forests of pillars are known in
earlier times in Egypt, and it was as much an inven-
tion as any other branch of the architecture. But we
see in these the prototype of the great hall of columns
at Karnak. These halls contained over five hundred
or a thousand pillars ; while that of Karnak is more
massive, but far less extensive, and contains 150
columns.
36. The rough plan placed by the side of the temple
plan on PL. XXXVII is all that can now be obtained
from a document of great interest. About 1885 Prof.
Sayce found a plan of a building drawn in the quarry
at Tell el Amarna; he made a rough copy, and
intended to re-visit it, but on his going there in 1892
the whole of that part of the quarry had been blasted
away. This drawing is made from that which he
noted down, which is the only record of this design.
He describes its position as being on the south side
of the quarry a little to the north of the wely at
Shekh Said. It was drawn in yellow colour length-
ways on the wall, about 8 feet long and 2 feet high,
at about 5^ feet from the ground. It appears to be
a working design for some great building. The
number of architraves in the length of it is 29 short
and 2 long. If the pillars were as close as those in
the passage of the harem this would imply a length
of 250 feet, or if as large as those in the hall of
columns then it would be 450 long. Now the shrine
of the Great Temple was not 200 feet long, and this
D 2
19
the tablet resting on one hand, and being steadied by
the other hand behind it.
Other similar tablets, made of blue-glazed pottery
in high relief, were perhaps placed in the hands of
other statues. A large tablet of fine limestone with
the Aten and royal cartouches is in the Turin
Museum ; but as it is 42 inches high and 30 wide
it is too large for a statue, and was therefore an in-
dependent offering in the temple. The finely carved
stele of PL. XII, I, is in the finest crystalline lime-
stone ; it was also found in the temple. Outside of the
temenos, in the heap of rubbish with the statues, were
many pans of red pottery, containing resin melted in
and pieces of charcoal. These appear to be the pans
used for burning incense in the temple, which were
thrown aside when done with.
35. Beside the shrine at the east end of the en-
closure, there were several large buildings near the
entrance, at the west end. The principal remains
are two great masses of concrete, each 62 feet 9
inches x 29 feet 1 inch, and about 8 feet deep, shaded
diagonally in the plan (Pl. XXXVII). Around them
is the mark of an empty space varying from 28 to
36 inches wide, from which a stone foundation has
been extracted (marked black and white in plan) ;
and sand lies beyond that out to 52 or no inches
from the block (left white). A brick wall (marked
black) surrounds and retains this sand. Between
these foundations lie another hollow trench and a con-
crete way. It appears as if there had existed two
blocks of building each 68 x 34 feet, or 40 x 20
cubits, and a roadway 25 feet 7 inches, or 15 cubits,
between them. The cubit resulting by this, from
centre to centre of the blocks (so as to be clear from
the uncertainty of the casing thickness), would be
20-57 inches. The corners of the blocks are recessed
51 or 54 x 109 or 110 inches, probably to receive an
extra mass of masonry at the corners. This form is
exactly like the great blocks of brickwork of about
two-thirds of this size, which from their position must
have supported a gateway at the side of the palace
(PL. XXXVI) ; and it seems therefore that this must
have been a great gateway of approach to the temple.
It is not like the Egyptian pylon as that is always
broader on the face than the depth of it. Here, on
the contrary, the face is much less than the depth,
like the piers of a Roman archway.
Within this are masonry remains of square pillars,
rough on the face, and built of small blocks. As
these vary from 36 to 45 inches in the side, and are
only 20 to 27 inches apart, they are clearly a sub-
structure. They might have supported large columns ;
but that is not likely, as they are only 5 feet centre to
centre, so there is no room for even the 18-inch columns
of the harem; but, more probably they bore the
corners of paving slabs 5 feet square, which flagged
a great hall or court situated here.
On the south of the entrance was a great forest of
pillars of brick, like that south of the palace. These
pillars are smaller than those in the hall of the palace,
the pillar and space together averaging 113 inches east
to west, and 121 inches north to south. I began by dis-
covering and clearing those near the gateway, and
gradually extended the clearance until about 15 or 20
rows were bared. As nothing of interest was found
in the depth of a yard or more of earth, I then pro-
spected for the next, and traced them by sample out
as far east as they are drawn, 36 rows in all. At that
point they were denuded down to only an inch or
two, and all beyond that has been entirely denuded
away, so that we cannot know how far this hall
originally extended.
These enormous halls are a new feature at Tell el
Amarna. No such forests of pillars are known in
earlier times in Egypt, and it was as much an inven-
tion as any other branch of the architecture. But we
see in these the prototype of the great hall of columns
at Karnak. These halls contained over five hundred
or a thousand pillars ; while that of Karnak is more
massive, but far less extensive, and contains 150
columns.
36. The rough plan placed by the side of the temple
plan on PL. XXXVII is all that can now be obtained
from a document of great interest. About 1885 Prof.
Sayce found a plan of a building drawn in the quarry
at Tell el Amarna; he made a rough copy, and
intended to re-visit it, but on his going there in 1892
the whole of that part of the quarry had been blasted
away. This drawing is made from that which he
noted down, which is the only record of this design.
He describes its position as being on the south side
of the quarry a little to the north of the wely at
Shekh Said. It was drawn in yellow colour length-
ways on the wall, about 8 feet long and 2 feet high,
at about 5^ feet from the ground. It appears to be
a working design for some great building. The
number of architraves in the length of it is 29 short
and 2 long. If the pillars were as close as those in
the passage of the harem this would imply a length
of 250 feet, or if as large as those in the hall of
columns then it would be 450 long. Now the shrine
of the Great Temple was not 200 feet long, and this
D 2