DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.519#0010
IIKI.IOI'OUS: THE SITE
and on the north side. Within this city circuit, but
almost touching the east and west sides of it, lies
the great tcmenos of the temple, shewn in pi. I. On
the south of the temple site the ground is cultivated,
and nothing can be done. On the north of the temple
there is a large area of bare ground of ruins which
can be examined. Most of it is however covered
with scattered huts and houses which hinder excava-
tion. Amid these huts some recent work had dis-
closed part of a large building of stone, of the xixth
or xxth dynasty ; we were not inclined to incur the
expense of moving out the squatters in order to
follow it further. At Heliopolis, like most other
ancient sites, it would have been easy to clear any-
thing fifty years ago; but the recent land-grabbing
for dwelling and cultivation has so reduced the
Government property that it is a very costly matter
to get space for work. Some ancient houses were
cleared in the bare northern land, and the results are
stated further on.
A principal object of work was to find the extent
of the temple walls, and to ascertain their age. On
the north, south, and east of the temenos we found a
double wall (see plan). On the west it is complicated
by coming against the great city wall; and it is
further confused by the walls having been largely
dug away by the Khedivial brick-pit, as the ancient
bricks provide smooth and uniform earth. This pit
is also a nuisance to any one near it, owing to the
extent of stagnant water, and filth brought for brick-
making, which causes a pestilential smell and breeds
great quantities of sand flies and mosquitoes.
3. In one respect the site of Heliopolis is very
unusual. Nearly all great and celebrated cities were
abundantly occupied in the Roman age, and have a
great mass of Graeco-Roman material over the older
strata. At Heliopolis, on the contrary, not a scrap
of Roman pottery is found, and all the bare surface
of the mounds shows nothing later than the xxvith
dynasty. Being struck by this I carefully searched
all the ground, but could not find anything of a later
age. In another direction the same result appears,
on searching the banks of rubbish thrown out over
the eastern wall; again, nothing after the xxvith
dynasty could be found, and much of it was of the
dynasties before that. The only conclusion to be
drawn is that at the Persian invasion the city was laid
waste, and depopulated, on purpose to prevent it being
an outwork of Memphis on the eastern road ; thus
Persia could always approach Memphis directly with-
out any great fortress barring the way. Herodotos
alludes to the learning of the Heliopolitans, and to a
festival in honour of Ra, but does not refer to any
large city or population as at other centres.
4. On the plan, pi. i, will be seen on the east side
a gap in the wall and a small dotted square. This
square is the sand-bed of the eastern gateway, the
stone of which has been entirely removed. It is
276 inches wide. The double wall was traced to the
north of the gate ; but the inner wall disappeared on
the south. The wall has been largely dug out for
earth. At the south-east cprner it is entirely lost in a
modern enclosure. Along the south side it is seen
for some way on the outer side, and then appears
double with an inner wall. This is obscured by the
new metalled road to the Khedive's estate running
along the top of the inner wall, on its inner
side.
The S.W. corner is entirely lost in new levelling
of ground, and the brick-pit. Then a single very
thick wall appears along the west, running at an
obtuse angle to the western city wall. The city wall
is lost in a field, but is seen to north and south of
that. How it joined to the thick wall of the temenos
could only now be found if a field was taken up for
excavation.
The northern part of the city wall here ran up to
a stone gateway which still remains at the south end
of this piece of wall. The stone face of the gate side
is 128 inches wide for the recess of it, the projecting
pilasters on each side having been removed (see
bottom view, pi ix). As a city gate would have
double valves, this shews that the whole width of the
gate was probably 12 cubits, about 20 feet 8 inches,
each valve being somewhat under 10 feet 8 inches.
Thence the city wall runs north-east for about 1670
feet to the outer face of the north wall, with a
thickness of 44 to 48 feet, forming a high bank by
the side of the canal. The north wall is double, and
can be traced by the bricks having been dug away;
it runs at about 114" magnetic, and is lost in houses
and enclosures.
Returning to the temenos of the temple, we find
it starting along the north from a single western wall
which seems to be an inner city wall with buttresses.
Along the north it runs double until lost in low
ground and fields. At its best parts it is about
17 feet high, almost entirely banked up with ruins of
houses and town rubbish. Within the north-west
corner is shewn a dotted square, with a wall running
across it. This is the reservation of a modern
cemetery, which cannot be excavated ; the wall across
and on the north side. Within this city circuit, but
almost touching the east and west sides of it, lies
the great tcmenos of the temple, shewn in pi. I. On
the south of the temple site the ground is cultivated,
and nothing can be done. On the north of the temple
there is a large area of bare ground of ruins which
can be examined. Most of it is however covered
with scattered huts and houses which hinder excava-
tion. Amid these huts some recent work had dis-
closed part of a large building of stone, of the xixth
or xxth dynasty ; we were not inclined to incur the
expense of moving out the squatters in order to
follow it further. At Heliopolis, like most other
ancient sites, it would have been easy to clear any-
thing fifty years ago; but the recent land-grabbing
for dwelling and cultivation has so reduced the
Government property that it is a very costly matter
to get space for work. Some ancient houses were
cleared in the bare northern land, and the results are
stated further on.
A principal object of work was to find the extent
of the temple walls, and to ascertain their age. On
the north, south, and east of the temenos we found a
double wall (see plan). On the west it is complicated
by coming against the great city wall; and it is
further confused by the walls having been largely
dug away by the Khedivial brick-pit, as the ancient
bricks provide smooth and uniform earth. This pit
is also a nuisance to any one near it, owing to the
extent of stagnant water, and filth brought for brick-
making, which causes a pestilential smell and breeds
great quantities of sand flies and mosquitoes.
3. In one respect the site of Heliopolis is very
unusual. Nearly all great and celebrated cities were
abundantly occupied in the Roman age, and have a
great mass of Graeco-Roman material over the older
strata. At Heliopolis, on the contrary, not a scrap
of Roman pottery is found, and all the bare surface
of the mounds shows nothing later than the xxvith
dynasty. Being struck by this I carefully searched
all the ground, but could not find anything of a later
age. In another direction the same result appears,
on searching the banks of rubbish thrown out over
the eastern wall; again, nothing after the xxvith
dynasty could be found, and much of it was of the
dynasties before that. The only conclusion to be
drawn is that at the Persian invasion the city was laid
waste, and depopulated, on purpose to prevent it being
an outwork of Memphis on the eastern road ; thus
Persia could always approach Memphis directly with-
out any great fortress barring the way. Herodotos
alludes to the learning of the Heliopolitans, and to a
festival in honour of Ra, but does not refer to any
large city or population as at other centres.
4. On the plan, pi. i, will be seen on the east side
a gap in the wall and a small dotted square. This
square is the sand-bed of the eastern gateway, the
stone of which has been entirely removed. It is
276 inches wide. The double wall was traced to the
north of the gate ; but the inner wall disappeared on
the south. The wall has been largely dug out for
earth. At the south-east cprner it is entirely lost in a
modern enclosure. Along the south side it is seen
for some way on the outer side, and then appears
double with an inner wall. This is obscured by the
new metalled road to the Khedive's estate running
along the top of the inner wall, on its inner
side.
The S.W. corner is entirely lost in new levelling
of ground, and the brick-pit. Then a single very
thick wall appears along the west, running at an
obtuse angle to the western city wall. The city wall
is lost in a field, but is seen to north and south of
that. How it joined to the thick wall of the temenos
could only now be found if a field was taken up for
excavation.
The northern part of the city wall here ran up to
a stone gateway which still remains at the south end
of this piece of wall. The stone face of the gate side
is 128 inches wide for the recess of it, the projecting
pilasters on each side having been removed (see
bottom view, pi ix). As a city gate would have
double valves, this shews that the whole width of the
gate was probably 12 cubits, about 20 feet 8 inches,
each valve being somewhat under 10 feet 8 inches.
Thence the city wall runs north-east for about 1670
feet to the outer face of the north wall, with a
thickness of 44 to 48 feet, forming a high bank by
the side of the canal. The north wall is double, and
can be traced by the bricks having been dug away;
it runs at about 114" magnetic, and is lost in houses
and enclosures.
Returning to the temenos of the temple, we find
it starting along the north from a single western wall
which seems to be an inner city wall with buttresses.
Along the north it runs double until lost in low
ground and fields. At its best parts it is about
17 feet high, almost entirely banked up with ruins of
houses and town rubbish. Within the north-west
corner is shewn a dotted square, with a wall running
across it. This is the reservation of a modern
cemetery, which cannot be excavated ; the wall across