DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3388#0050
40
THE PALACE
is from the further plot north-east of the colossus.
It mentions the king making monuments, and
erecting a great pylon of fine stone. (Carlsberg.)
These conclude the monuments from the temple of
Ptah. Such completely blindfold work as going
through ten feet of soil in an area of fifty acres,
cannot be expected to give great returns at once ;
but, by steadily clearing portions of it, we may
expect that some important statuary or inscriptions
will occasionally well repay the continuous ex-
cavations.
CHAPTER XIII
THE PALACE.
69. WORK was continued this year upon the
palace, but was cut short by the opening of the
site of Ptah, as it was necessary to take advantage
of the disposition of the landowners, when they were
inclined to let their land. As Mr. Wainwright was
occupied with the removal of the Meydum tombs,
till near the end of the season, there was only
Mr. Mackay to manage the Ptah site, except a part
that Mr. Bushe-Fox took towards the end. It was
not possible therefore to continue much work on the
palace mound.
When I first went down to Memphis I started
sinking great pits in the corners of the Great Court.
These shewed that the walls of it, and the lattice
of cross walls that supported the columns, descend
for over 45 feet below the floor. As the columns
shew that the walls of the court were 47 feet high,
the building must have been raised to over 90 feet
of vertical brick walling, of which I have seen 60
feet still standing as a complete wall face. Half of
this height was buried by filling up between the
cross walls of the floor, to a high-level platform.
Thus the great mass of the north end of the palace
was a single erection from the present field level,
or even deeper than that. The southern part,
however, was gradually built at different periods,
as we found three or four stages of building, and
some pottery of the xviiith dynasty, where we
removed the floor of the old broadway. In future
years all this part must be carefully dissected.
70. The fosse, separating the palace from its
approach on the south, was cleared some way down,
removing much of the berms which had been added
to its sides. Here, on the south side, was found
the massive bronze corner of a door, pi. xxxii 3,
xxxiii 13. It is 18 inches wide, 176 high to the
edge, the pivot v6 high and wide. The breadth of
the limbs is 7'4, and the thickness 1*4 inches. The
metal is '25 thick, leaving '9 for the wood. The
cedar planking is still inside of it, fastened by
bronze rivets passing through both plates. The
inscription is of Psamtek II ; but the surface is
clearly lowered from the signs Hor to nebti, from
Hor nub to taut, in the cartouche after Ra, and
over the second cartouche. This suggests that
Taharqa was the original maker, as his Hor nub
name ends in taut, which is on the original face;
moreover his Horus name would not project above
the hawk, and the face of the bronze has not been
lowered there. (Edinburgh.)
In the fosse was also found a plaster cast of
the head of a young hippopotamus, xxxix, 3. It
is 19 inches high, and is the largest ancient plaster
casting that is known. That it was a casting from
life, is seen by the mode of subsequently marking
the eyes with rough cuts; if it were a modelled
head the eyes would have been equally modelled.
It was found turned with the smooth back up, as
part of a paving of the fosse, about fifteen feet
below the palace floor of Apries. (Cairo.) Also in
the fosse were found two large rough blocks, of
rock-crystal and of red jasper, evidently brought as
material for working. (Univ. Coll. London.)
In the wall of the great building forming the
south side of the fosse, which was covered by the
berm, our men found some small bronze figures of
Horus, in course of cutting a way through it. They
left the place for me to examine, and I found more
figures in position ; there were in all ten of Horus,
and one of Imhotep (xxxviii, 5, scale 1:4). I found
that there had been a hole left in the wall, a foot
in each dimension, open on the face. In that the
figures had been placed, wrapped in cloth, and
packed in earth, to within two inches of the face.
Then they were plastered up, leaving the face quite
smooth, and the whole was whitewashed over
uniformly. They were probably for the conservation
or protection of the building, and they explain many
other stray groups of bronzes found in ruins. The
largest Horus is of excellent work, now at Chicago ;
the Imhotep is at University College, London ; and
the other figures at minor museums.
In the palace court, just at the foot of a wall,
was found the long steel sword, xxxviii, 2. Over
it was the steel framing of the scabbard, here put
by its side. The handle is of bone; the blade is
THE PALACE
is from the further plot north-east of the colossus.
It mentions the king making monuments, and
erecting a great pylon of fine stone. (Carlsberg.)
These conclude the monuments from the temple of
Ptah. Such completely blindfold work as going
through ten feet of soil in an area of fifty acres,
cannot be expected to give great returns at once ;
but, by steadily clearing portions of it, we may
expect that some important statuary or inscriptions
will occasionally well repay the continuous ex-
cavations.
CHAPTER XIII
THE PALACE.
69. WORK was continued this year upon the
palace, but was cut short by the opening of the
site of Ptah, as it was necessary to take advantage
of the disposition of the landowners, when they were
inclined to let their land. As Mr. Wainwright was
occupied with the removal of the Meydum tombs,
till near the end of the season, there was only
Mr. Mackay to manage the Ptah site, except a part
that Mr. Bushe-Fox took towards the end. It was
not possible therefore to continue much work on the
palace mound.
When I first went down to Memphis I started
sinking great pits in the corners of the Great Court.
These shewed that the walls of it, and the lattice
of cross walls that supported the columns, descend
for over 45 feet below the floor. As the columns
shew that the walls of the court were 47 feet high,
the building must have been raised to over 90 feet
of vertical brick walling, of which I have seen 60
feet still standing as a complete wall face. Half of
this height was buried by filling up between the
cross walls of the floor, to a high-level platform.
Thus the great mass of the north end of the palace
was a single erection from the present field level,
or even deeper than that. The southern part,
however, was gradually built at different periods,
as we found three or four stages of building, and
some pottery of the xviiith dynasty, where we
removed the floor of the old broadway. In future
years all this part must be carefully dissected.
70. The fosse, separating the palace from its
approach on the south, was cleared some way down,
removing much of the berms which had been added
to its sides. Here, on the south side, was found
the massive bronze corner of a door, pi. xxxii 3,
xxxiii 13. It is 18 inches wide, 176 high to the
edge, the pivot v6 high and wide. The breadth of
the limbs is 7'4, and the thickness 1*4 inches. The
metal is '25 thick, leaving '9 for the wood. The
cedar planking is still inside of it, fastened by
bronze rivets passing through both plates. The
inscription is of Psamtek II ; but the surface is
clearly lowered from the signs Hor to nebti, from
Hor nub to taut, in the cartouche after Ra, and
over the second cartouche. This suggests that
Taharqa was the original maker, as his Hor nub
name ends in taut, which is on the original face;
moreover his Horus name would not project above
the hawk, and the face of the bronze has not been
lowered there. (Edinburgh.)
In the fosse was also found a plaster cast of
the head of a young hippopotamus, xxxix, 3. It
is 19 inches high, and is the largest ancient plaster
casting that is known. That it was a casting from
life, is seen by the mode of subsequently marking
the eyes with rough cuts; if it were a modelled
head the eyes would have been equally modelled.
It was found turned with the smooth back up, as
part of a paving of the fosse, about fifteen feet
below the palace floor of Apries. (Cairo.) Also in
the fosse were found two large rough blocks, of
rock-crystal and of red jasper, evidently brought as
material for working. (Univ. Coll. London.)
In the wall of the great building forming the
south side of the fosse, which was covered by the
berm, our men found some small bronze figures of
Horus, in course of cutting a way through it. They
left the place for me to examine, and I found more
figures in position ; there were in all ten of Horus,
and one of Imhotep (xxxviii, 5, scale 1:4). I found
that there had been a hole left in the wall, a foot
in each dimension, open on the face. In that the
figures had been placed, wrapped in cloth, and
packed in earth, to within two inches of the face.
Then they were plastered up, leaving the face quite
smooth, and the whole was whitewashed over
uniformly. They were probably for the conservation
or protection of the building, and they explain many
other stray groups of bronzes found in ruins. The
largest Horus is of excellent work, now at Chicago ;
the Imhotep is at University College, London ; and
the other figures at minor museums.
In the palace court, just at the foot of a wall,
was found the long steel sword, xxxviii, 2. Over
it was the steel framing of the scabbard, here put
by its side. The handle is of bone; the blade is