DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4635#0020
i6
EL KAB.
in the long coffins of that coarse red earthenware,
fragments of which may be seen by the tourist on his
way to the tomb of Paheri. There are a few robbed
tombs near the foot of the hill, but no large cemetery
is known. It is possible that El Kab was not a very
large town at this period ; the family of Paheri and
Aahmes may have been the only great house of the
district.
24. Some examination was made of the beautiful
little temple of Amenhotep III, which lies an hour's
walk up the desert, not with the view of copying it,
for that work had already been undertaken by Mr.
Clarke, but in order to discover, if possible, where the
original temple was. It seems more than probable
that all the Vlth dynasty inscriptions on the great
detached rock near the temple were made by pilgrims
visiting a shrine ; many fragments of Old Kingdom
vases also are to be found lying near. It at first
occurred to me that a cemetery of the Old Kingdom
might lie here, and a search was made in all likely,
and some unlikely, places, but nothing was found,
except a broken water-jar with a late Greek inscrip-
tion. The early pottery near the temple was then
turned over ; it appeared to be a mere rubbish heap,
with no sign of tomb or of brick building. It lies on
the slope of the bank of loose detritus, on which the
temple itself is built. The torrent which, from time
to time, sweeps down the old river-bed, is, at this
point, wearing away its southern bank. Below the
heap of old pottery is a little vertical cliff, 4 m. high,
in so soft a rock that it is clear the steep face has
been recently formed, and the temple itself is threat-
ened by a small stream bed behind it. It may be,
then, as Professor Sayce first suggested, that the
original temple stood on the northern part of the
shoal which is now washed away ; this idea is con-
firmed by our finding in the stream bed opposite the
present temple the early table of offerings shown in
PL. IV, 1, with many more small fragments of in-
scription on pieces of sandstone. The original
temple, then, has gone, the pile of pottery thrown
out from it will be carried away too; even the temple
of Amenhotep may be undermined within no very
long period. The effects of sudden storms in the
desert are greater than might be supposed. There is
no vegetation to stop and absorb the rain, the ground
is excessively hard, and all that does not immediately
sink into the soil runs rapidly down into the larger
watercourses, and forms in a few hours a deep and
broad stream. Such a storm occurred three years
ago at El Kab, and the inhabitants tell us that, for
two days, a tributary stream entered the Nile there.
The railway engineers have had to provide for the
recurrence of such spates.
25. The foundation deposits may be considered
together. They came from two temples—the large
one within the walls, and the small temple of Thoth-
mes III, which lies to the north of the town, and west
of the hill of Paheri. In the latter the deposits were
very numerous for so small a temple (v. Pl. XXVI).
Under each corner of the main wall was one of the
little pits filled with sand, which have now become so
familiar, and at a metre's distance along the side wall
was another and larger deposit. The pits were about
•60 m. in diameter; in two, there was at the bottom
a recess, filled with the small cups of brown clay.
The objects are all closely similar to those found in
the other deposits of this reign at Koptos and Nubt.
One shape of pot, however (XXI, 14), has not been
seen in a foundation deposit before, and the flat tiles
(15 cm. long) of blue glaze, one in each deposit,
must be mentioned. All the deposits were carefully
unearthed, and the position of the different objects
noted, but there was no obvious design in the
arrangement.
The deposits found under the great temple are of
more interest; those of Amenhotep II, under walls
covered with inscriptions of Rameses II, give one
more instance of the latter's usurpations. Deposits
of two other distinct classes contained no inscriptions
of kings' names, and cannot be dated. Their position
is shown in the very rough sketch of the plan of the
temple in PL. I.
The contents of the different deposits is given
below :—
N. 1. A polygonal sandstone mortar (XXI, 46),
twenty small cups (43), three small round dishes,
three taller pots (44), flat tablets of red and green
glass, a bronze pan (30), five long glass beads (38),
the green glaze figure (29) like a small ushabti, a
small green glaze model of an ox with the legs tied
together, the bronze models (33, 34, 35), a tile of dull
green glaze, a model clay brick, a small piece of
bitumen, and a piece of resin which burns with a
smell like myrrh.
N. 4. Sandstone mortar, eye in green glaze (28),
the other objects as in N. 1, but with the addition of
tablets of calcite and lead.
N. 5 contained the glaze block (40), a bronze knife,
a little brick of myrrh, and pottery, as in the others.
N. 2 and N. 3 consisted each of a single object, one
EL KAB.
in the long coffins of that coarse red earthenware,
fragments of which may be seen by the tourist on his
way to the tomb of Paheri. There are a few robbed
tombs near the foot of the hill, but no large cemetery
is known. It is possible that El Kab was not a very
large town at this period ; the family of Paheri and
Aahmes may have been the only great house of the
district.
24. Some examination was made of the beautiful
little temple of Amenhotep III, which lies an hour's
walk up the desert, not with the view of copying it,
for that work had already been undertaken by Mr.
Clarke, but in order to discover, if possible, where the
original temple was. It seems more than probable
that all the Vlth dynasty inscriptions on the great
detached rock near the temple were made by pilgrims
visiting a shrine ; many fragments of Old Kingdom
vases also are to be found lying near. It at first
occurred to me that a cemetery of the Old Kingdom
might lie here, and a search was made in all likely,
and some unlikely, places, but nothing was found,
except a broken water-jar with a late Greek inscrip-
tion. The early pottery near the temple was then
turned over ; it appeared to be a mere rubbish heap,
with no sign of tomb or of brick building. It lies on
the slope of the bank of loose detritus, on which the
temple itself is built. The torrent which, from time
to time, sweeps down the old river-bed, is, at this
point, wearing away its southern bank. Below the
heap of old pottery is a little vertical cliff, 4 m. high,
in so soft a rock that it is clear the steep face has
been recently formed, and the temple itself is threat-
ened by a small stream bed behind it. It may be,
then, as Professor Sayce first suggested, that the
original temple stood on the northern part of the
shoal which is now washed away ; this idea is con-
firmed by our finding in the stream bed opposite the
present temple the early table of offerings shown in
PL. IV, 1, with many more small fragments of in-
scription on pieces of sandstone. The original
temple, then, has gone, the pile of pottery thrown
out from it will be carried away too; even the temple
of Amenhotep may be undermined within no very
long period. The effects of sudden storms in the
desert are greater than might be supposed. There is
no vegetation to stop and absorb the rain, the ground
is excessively hard, and all that does not immediately
sink into the soil runs rapidly down into the larger
watercourses, and forms in a few hours a deep and
broad stream. Such a storm occurred three years
ago at El Kab, and the inhabitants tell us that, for
two days, a tributary stream entered the Nile there.
The railway engineers have had to provide for the
recurrence of such spates.
25. The foundation deposits may be considered
together. They came from two temples—the large
one within the walls, and the small temple of Thoth-
mes III, which lies to the north of the town, and west
of the hill of Paheri. In the latter the deposits were
very numerous for so small a temple (v. Pl. XXVI).
Under each corner of the main wall was one of the
little pits filled with sand, which have now become so
familiar, and at a metre's distance along the side wall
was another and larger deposit. The pits were about
•60 m. in diameter; in two, there was at the bottom
a recess, filled with the small cups of brown clay.
The objects are all closely similar to those found in
the other deposits of this reign at Koptos and Nubt.
One shape of pot, however (XXI, 14), has not been
seen in a foundation deposit before, and the flat tiles
(15 cm. long) of blue glaze, one in each deposit,
must be mentioned. All the deposits were carefully
unearthed, and the position of the different objects
noted, but there was no obvious design in the
arrangement.
The deposits found under the great temple are of
more interest; those of Amenhotep II, under walls
covered with inscriptions of Rameses II, give one
more instance of the latter's usurpations. Deposits
of two other distinct classes contained no inscriptions
of kings' names, and cannot be dated. Their position
is shown in the very rough sketch of the plan of the
temple in PL. I.
The contents of the different deposits is given
below :—
N. 1. A polygonal sandstone mortar (XXI, 46),
twenty small cups (43), three small round dishes,
three taller pots (44), flat tablets of red and green
glass, a bronze pan (30), five long glass beads (38),
the green glaze figure (29) like a small ushabti, a
small green glaze model of an ox with the legs tied
together, the bronze models (33, 34, 35), a tile of dull
green glaze, a model clay brick, a small piece of
bitumen, and a piece of resin which burns with a
smell like myrrh.
N. 4. Sandstone mortar, eye in green glaze (28),
the other objects as in N. 1, but with the addition of
tablets of calcite and lead.
N. 5 contained the glaze block (40), a bronze knife,
a little brick of myrrh, and pottery, as in the others.
N. 2 and N. 3 consisted each of a single object, one