DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4391#0028
24
KOPTOS.
referred to Mentu ; but the evident figure of Horus
and the crocodile, and their being found at Koptos,
points to their belonging to Horus. The lance there-
fore must be of Horus, the avenger of his father ;
though very probably the symbolism has been much
influenced by the neighbourhood of the war-god
Mentu.
7. A head in limestone of early style, perhaps of
the Old Kingdom.
8. A bronze Lepidotus.
9. Piece of limestone tablet with the ram of Amen.
10. Back of an Osiris statue in limestone.
11-18. The Osiris figures of the XXVIth dynasty
and onward are very numerous ; and they illustrate
the continued degradation by cheap imitation. The
earlier ones are of fair work, in black steatite, yellow
limestone, or cast bronze : the example in steatite (11)
was dedicated by Khonsu-pa-aua son of Amen-du-
nekht and Ast-khebt (bought at Koptos, F. P. Coll.).
A fine head in thinly cast bronze on an ash core, of
about the same scale, was found in the temple near
the great pit. (Manchester.) Then come figures on a
lesser scale (12), without any dedication, but of fair
work. Next these were made slight and more con-
ventional, cast shrunken and solid, without any ash
core, as 13. Then to save trouble the moulds were
made conjoined, as in 14, so that many could be made
at a single filling. The feet being narrower than the
shoulders, they were made nearer together (15). And
then degraded, as in 16, 17, and lastly 18, where they
become a sort of radiating ornament, which we took
them for at first sight. The only purpose of this
long degradation, until the Osiris becomes vestigial,
must have been economy in presenting them ; and
as a single one of the type 18 cannot have been
thought worth troubling about, it seems likely that
there was a custom of vowing so many statues to
Osiris, and we see here the means for dedicating a
few hundreds without impoverishing the devotee.
19. A block of sandstone with a flight of steps in
front, and a hollow shaped as a foot at the top.
Several blocks of stone with marks of feet were found
in the temple ; and they suggest that there was a
sacred footprint here—as in so many countries at the
present time—and that copies or models of it were
made as objets depiete.
XXIV, XXV. Of scarabs a large number were
found or bought at Koptos, but very few of import-
ance. They are all figured here, as it is very desirable
to shew what styles belong to each district. Those
with names are as follows:—1, Amenemhat III; 2,
Usertesen ; 3, Ay, Mer-nefer-ra ; 4, the Lady Uazit-
hotep, daughter of Nem-mest ; 5, a royal priest ; 6,
the artist and follower, Nctrihotep ; 7, Ra-nefcr ;
8, Apepa, Aa-seuser-ra ; 9, Sebakhotep III, probably
of later date from the style of it, which is most like
the scarabs of the XXVth dynasty ; 10-32, Ta-
hutmes III ; 33, Tahutmes IV ; 35, Amenhotep IV ;
36, Sety I ; 37-38, Ramessu II ; 39, Ramesside ; 40,
Shabaka, with the ram's head on the beetle, charac-
teristic of the XXVth dynasty ; 41, Rameny, perhaps
a vassal of Piankhy. The cylinder 42 is of a curious
style, probably very early ; it is roughly cut in lime-
stone, now burnt, and was found in the low-level
town south of the temple. The other scarabs do not
call for any special notice.
40. Turning now to the objects which are not
figured, the earliest is probably a portion of a silver
feather from a headdress of Min, 3^ inches wide and
11 or 12 inches high, now broken to g\ inches, It
was found low down in the soil of the southern side
of the temple, in the Min region. A lower portion of
a plant (or palm spathe ?), such as is seen behind Min on
the sculptures, was found, made of green glaze marked
out with blue, about 3 inches wide and 6 long ; this
doubtless came from the fittings of a statue of Min,
as also a fragment of a coffer in limestone, such as is
represented behind statues of Min. (All in Univ. Coll.)
Another fragment from temple fittings is a reed from
a sekhet sign, in green glaze ; probably from a group
where a king was offering fields to the god.
Portions of several window-gratings of sandstone
were found on the temple site. Hitherto only the
plain grid of vertical bars has been seen in temples,
(Karnak, Ramesseum, and decorated in Deir el
Medineh) ; but we have five other designs at Koptos.
(1) Vertical bars having a curved slit above them,
adapted to a round-headed window ; (2) lattice of
bars crossing at about 55°, broken into panels by half-
round columns between ; (3) dividing the surface into
squares, the half of each square cut diagonally is
perforated ; (4) a square panel perforated with a six-
leaved rosette ; (5) an upright opening with a modi-
fied ankh of stone left in it. All of these are now at
University College.
41. A curious series of small tanks of stone was
found about the temple. Several of them have little
stairways cut down the inner sides, and in one there
are 14 steps on each of two opposite sides. These
recall the stairway of 14 steps ascending and 14 steps
descending which is mentioned at Koptos, and has
evidently a lunar connection with the waxing and
KOPTOS.
referred to Mentu ; but the evident figure of Horus
and the crocodile, and their being found at Koptos,
points to their belonging to Horus. The lance there-
fore must be of Horus, the avenger of his father ;
though very probably the symbolism has been much
influenced by the neighbourhood of the war-god
Mentu.
7. A head in limestone of early style, perhaps of
the Old Kingdom.
8. A bronze Lepidotus.
9. Piece of limestone tablet with the ram of Amen.
10. Back of an Osiris statue in limestone.
11-18. The Osiris figures of the XXVIth dynasty
and onward are very numerous ; and they illustrate
the continued degradation by cheap imitation. The
earlier ones are of fair work, in black steatite, yellow
limestone, or cast bronze : the example in steatite (11)
was dedicated by Khonsu-pa-aua son of Amen-du-
nekht and Ast-khebt (bought at Koptos, F. P. Coll.).
A fine head in thinly cast bronze on an ash core, of
about the same scale, was found in the temple near
the great pit. (Manchester.) Then come figures on a
lesser scale (12), without any dedication, but of fair
work. Next these were made slight and more con-
ventional, cast shrunken and solid, without any ash
core, as 13. Then to save trouble the moulds were
made conjoined, as in 14, so that many could be made
at a single filling. The feet being narrower than the
shoulders, they were made nearer together (15). And
then degraded, as in 16, 17, and lastly 18, where they
become a sort of radiating ornament, which we took
them for at first sight. The only purpose of this
long degradation, until the Osiris becomes vestigial,
must have been economy in presenting them ; and
as a single one of the type 18 cannot have been
thought worth troubling about, it seems likely that
there was a custom of vowing so many statues to
Osiris, and we see here the means for dedicating a
few hundreds without impoverishing the devotee.
19. A block of sandstone with a flight of steps in
front, and a hollow shaped as a foot at the top.
Several blocks of stone with marks of feet were found
in the temple ; and they suggest that there was a
sacred footprint here—as in so many countries at the
present time—and that copies or models of it were
made as objets depiete.
XXIV, XXV. Of scarabs a large number were
found or bought at Koptos, but very few of import-
ance. They are all figured here, as it is very desirable
to shew what styles belong to each district. Those
with names are as follows:—1, Amenemhat III; 2,
Usertesen ; 3, Ay, Mer-nefer-ra ; 4, the Lady Uazit-
hotep, daughter of Nem-mest ; 5, a royal priest ; 6,
the artist and follower, Nctrihotep ; 7, Ra-nefcr ;
8, Apepa, Aa-seuser-ra ; 9, Sebakhotep III, probably
of later date from the style of it, which is most like
the scarabs of the XXVth dynasty ; 10-32, Ta-
hutmes III ; 33, Tahutmes IV ; 35, Amenhotep IV ;
36, Sety I ; 37-38, Ramessu II ; 39, Ramesside ; 40,
Shabaka, with the ram's head on the beetle, charac-
teristic of the XXVth dynasty ; 41, Rameny, perhaps
a vassal of Piankhy. The cylinder 42 is of a curious
style, probably very early ; it is roughly cut in lime-
stone, now burnt, and was found in the low-level
town south of the temple. The other scarabs do not
call for any special notice.
40. Turning now to the objects which are not
figured, the earliest is probably a portion of a silver
feather from a headdress of Min, 3^ inches wide and
11 or 12 inches high, now broken to g\ inches, It
was found low down in the soil of the southern side
of the temple, in the Min region. A lower portion of
a plant (or palm spathe ?), such as is seen behind Min on
the sculptures, was found, made of green glaze marked
out with blue, about 3 inches wide and 6 long ; this
doubtless came from the fittings of a statue of Min,
as also a fragment of a coffer in limestone, such as is
represented behind statues of Min. (All in Univ. Coll.)
Another fragment from temple fittings is a reed from
a sekhet sign, in green glaze ; probably from a group
where a king was offering fields to the god.
Portions of several window-gratings of sandstone
were found on the temple site. Hitherto only the
plain grid of vertical bars has been seen in temples,
(Karnak, Ramesseum, and decorated in Deir el
Medineh) ; but we have five other designs at Koptos.
(1) Vertical bars having a curved slit above them,
adapted to a round-headed window ; (2) lattice of
bars crossing at about 55°, broken into panels by half-
round columns between ; (3) dividing the surface into
squares, the half of each square cut diagonally is
perforated ; (4) a square panel perforated with a six-
leaved rosette ; (5) an upright opening with a modi-
fied ankh of stone left in it. All of these are now at
University College.
41. A curious series of small tanks of stone was
found about the temple. Several of them have little
stairways cut down the inner sides, and in one there
are 14 steps on each of two opposite sides. These
recall the stairway of 14 steps ascending and 14 steps
descending which is mentioned at Koptos, and has
evidently a lunar connection with the waxing and