Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 8, DIA-England

EGYPT.
i/pt. its appearance presents a character altogether new ; and
if itS general plan suggests the idea of a private habita¬
tion, and seems to exclude that of a temple, the magnifi¬
cence of the decoration, the profusion of the sculptures,
the beauty of the materials, and the perfection of the
execution, prove that this habitation formerly belonged
to a rich and powerful sovereign. The remains of this
palace occupy only the extremity of an artificial mound
or bank of earth, on which there were formerly other
structures connected with that which still exists ; at least
all the fragments scattered over the ground bear royal
names belonging either to the last Pharaohs of the eigh¬
teenth or the first of the nineteenth dynasty. In the same
line with these remains rises a portico a hundred and fifty
feet in length and thirty in height, supported by ten
columns, whose shafts are composed of wreaths of lotus-
stems, whilst the capitals are formed of buds and flowers
of the same plant, truncated so as to admit the coping.
On the four faces of the capitals are sculptured with much
care the royal legends of Menephtha I. and also those of
Rhamses the Great; and the names of these Pharaohs
are likewise inscribed on the shafts of the columns, but
joined together and included in a square tablet. The de¬
dicatory legend which adorns the architrave of the por¬
tico, occupying its whole length, establishes two principal
facts; first, that the palace of Kournah was founded and
erected by Menephtha I.; and, secondly, that his son
Rhamses the Great, having completed the decoration of
the edifice, surrounded it with an enceinte ornamented
with propylons, and similar to that within which each of
the greatroyal monuments at Thebes is contained. In fact,
all the bas-reliefs which decorate the interior of the por¬
tico, and the exterior of the three gates which lead to the
apartments of the Menephtheion, represent Menephtha I.
and more frequently still Rhamses the Great, rendering
homage to the Theban triad and to the other divinities of
Egypt, or receiving from the munificence of the gods royal
powers and precious gifts in order to embellish and prolong
life. And the only sculptures of the edifice posterior to
the time of Rhamses the Great consist of some royal
onomastic inscriptions, placed either on the sides or base¬
ment of the gates, but wholly unconnected with the pri¬
mitive decoration ; all of them, with the exception of one
which contains the names and titles of Rhamses-Meia-
moun, belonging to the reign of Menephtha II. the son
and immediate successor of Rhamses the Great.1
The catacombs in the western mountains are not less
abundant than the monuments we have described, in trea-
539
sures illustrative of the ancient history of Egypt. In the Egypt-
valley of Biban-el-Moiouk, a rocky ravine to the south-
west of Kournah, are the sepulchres of the kings of the
three Diospohtan or Theban dynasties, being the eigh¬
teenth, nineteenth, and twentieth.2 The site chosen for
the royal necropolis appears to be eminently suited to its
melancholy destination ; for a valley or ravine, encased, as
it were, by high precipitous rocks, or by mountains in a
state of decomposition, presenting large fissures, occa¬
sioned either by the extreme heat or by internal sinking
down, and the backs of which are covered with black
bands or patches, as if they had been in part burned, is a
spot which, from its loneliness, desolation, and apparent
decay, harmonizes well with otir ideas as to the most fit¬
ting locality for a place of tombs. No living animal, it is
said, frequents this valley of the dead; even the fox, the
wolf, and the hyena shun its mournful precincts; and its
doleful echoes are only awakened at intervals by the foot
of the solitary antiquary, led by inquisitive curiosity to
pry into the very secrets of the grave. The catacombs or
hypogcea are all constructed on nearly the same plan, yet
no two of them are exactly alike: some are complete,
others appear never to have been finished, and they vary
much in the depth to which they have been excavated.
In general, the entrance is by the exterior opening of a
passage twenty feet wide, which descends gradually about
fifty paces, then expands whilst the descent becomes more
rapid, and is continued for some distance farther. On
either side of this passage is a horizontal gallery, on a level
with the lowest part of the first descent; small chambers
also branch off sides of the second descent; at the inte¬
rior extremity there is a spacious and lofty apartment, in
the centre of which is placed the royal tomb ; and beyond
this there are commonly other small chambers at the sides,
whilst in some cases the principal passage is continued a
long way into the rock. The royal tomb is for the most
part a sarcophagus of red or grey granite, circular at the
one end and square at the other; but where there is no
sarcophagus a hole or grave is discovered, cut in the rock
to the depth of from six to thirty feet, and which ap¬
pears to have been covered by a granite lid. Almost all
the lids, however, belonging to the graves excavated in
the rock, have either been removed or broken. In those
sepulchres which have been finished, the walls from one
end to the other are all covered with sculptures and paint¬
ings executed in the best style of ancient art; and, owing
to the unparalleled dryness of the atmosphere in Egypt,
the colours, where they have not been purposely damaged.
1 Champollion, Lettres, 380, et seqq. It mav perhaps conduce to perspicuity, or at least serve to prevent mistakes, if we introduce
here the eight reigns anterior to that of Ithamses-Meiamoun, in their chronological order. They stand thus : 1. Amenophis II. or
Memnon ; 2. Horus ; 3. Rhamses I.; 4. Menephtha 1. or Ousirei; 5. llhamses the Great, or Sesostris ; 6. Menephtha II.; 7. Me¬
nephtha III.; 8. Rhamerreh ; and, 9- Ithamses-Meiamoun. The monuments of different orders having clearly demonstrated that
Rhamses the Great, the Sesostris of Herodotus, must be included in the eighteenth dynasty, as answering exactly to the Rhamses
called Mgyptus in the extracts of Manetho, it follows that in Rhamses-Meiamoun, the Rhamses-Sethos of the same lists of Manetho,
we recognise the head or chief of the nineteenth dynasty.
1 The following is Manetho’s catalogue of the Hiospolitan dynasties and kings.
XVIII. Dynasty- Diospolitan.
Years. B. C.
1. Thouthmosis or Amosis, reigned 24 1874
2. Chebron his son 13 1750
3. Amenophthis 20 1737
4. Ammosis, sister 18 1717
5. Mesphres, son 16 1699
6. Misphragmuthosis 23 1683
7- Thmosis or Thouthmosis, s 9 1660
8. Amenophis, s. (Memnon) 31 1651
9. Horus, s 41 1620
10. Acenchres, d 23 1579
11. Rathotis, sist 15 1556
12. Acencheres, s 17 1541
13. Acencheres II. s 11 1524
14. Armais 6 1513
Years.
15. Ramesses or Rhamses s. \ nj!
16. Armesses Meiamoun, s . f
17- Amenophis or Amenophth 15
B. C.
1507
1439
XIX. Dynasty. Diospolitan.
18. Rhamses the Great or Sesostris 53 ■
19. Rapasces 63
20. Ammenophthes \ #;n
21. Rameses or llhamses J
22. ' Ammenemes 15
23. Thuoris 7
XX. Dynasty. Diospolitan.
24...35. Twelve kings 125
1424
1371
1308
1248
1233
1226