Kus. The temple stands on a hill, within a very thick wall in which are built several staircases and galleries; the total length of the enclosure was about 250 feet. The temple was built in the 19th year of Trajan, i.e., A.D. 116, when Marcus Rutilius Rufus was Prefect of Egypt,* and measures 48 feet in length, 25 feet in width, and is oriented to the south. The vestibule

is 13 feet in length and 16 feet in breadth, the portico next it measures 27 feet in length and 18 feet in breadth, and has four columns. Three doorways in the north wall lead into two long chambers and the sanctuary, which had a division across the centre. The length of this portion of the temple is about 23 feet. Both the chambers and the sanctuary have arched roofs.

On the north wall are sculptures in which the Emperor Domitian is represented making offerings to Horus. About 180 feet from the temple is the ruin of some brick building, probably of a monastery; it is about 60 feet in length, and is remarkable as containing a true Gothic arch. The age of the building is unknown.

* A correct copy of the Greek text of the inscription on the first pylon is given by Dittenberger (ii, p. 421).

Antiquities of Khârgah.—The most important of these is the famous temple at Hibis built by Darius I, 521 B.C., and added to by Darius II, and restored by Nektanebês, 378-360 B.C.; it is the only Persian temple in Egypt. It is about 150 feet in length and 60 feet in breadth, and has a forecourt and three pylons; its enclosure was about 500 feet long. It is oriented almost due east and west. On the north side it is almost hidden by thick groves of palm trees, and close by it runs a clear stream of water; on the south is a large pool of water, which probably occupies the site once held by the sacred lake. On the north side of the first pylon is a Greek inscription of 66 lines dated in the second year of the reign of the Emperor Galba (A.D. 69), and from it we learn that the inhabitants had made complaints about the manner in which they were ruled and had formulated their grievances in various petitions to the authorities. The inscription is a decree in which redress

Plan of the Temple of Kysis.

is promised to the people, and it lays down regulations concerning taxation and orders that henceforth the persons of men shall not be seized for debt, that men shall not be made taxcollectors against their will, that no freeman shall be imprisoned, that a man shall not be tried twice for the same offence, etc. On the south side of the same pylon are Greek inscriptions, one of which was cut in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius Claudius. Between this pylon and the gateway are the remains of an avenue of sphinxes, or rams, and the first and second pylons were joined by a similar avenue, nearly 50 feet long. The third pylon is 140 feet from the second, and on it are sculptures, in which Darius is represented making offerings to Amen and other gods. The vestibule is 25 feet from the third pylon, and is about 52 feet long and 32 feet broad. At each side of the vestibule is a doorway. The

temple proper is about 150 feet long. The hall contains 12 columns, the pronaos four columns, and the sanctuary has likewise four columns, and several small chambers on each side of it. Strictly speaking, there are two sanctuaries in this portion of the temple, a fact which is proved by the breach in the sequence in the reliefs on the walls. On the south side are the staircase, which leads to the roof, and a crypt; on the north side are the staircase and the chambers which were dedicated to the worship of Osiris. There are also three doorways, one in the hall, one in the pronaos, and one in the sanctuary. The portion of the temple here called the pronaos, though it has been thought to be the chamber in which offerings were presented, is peculiar to this temple. In it we find representations of the king offering jars of wine to Amen and other deities, and inscriptions containing a list of offerings, a wonderful Hymn to Ra in 46 lines, and the Secret Ordinances of Amen, which, it is stated, were copied from wooden tablets. As the visitor passes into the sanctuary he will see cut on the door jambs inscriptions in the so-called "enigmatic writing." The reliefs in the sanctuaries are of great interest mythologically, and it is clear that they deal chiefly with the ceremonies which were performed annually in Egypt in connection with the festivals held to commemorate the death, burial, and resurrection of Osiris. Many of the gods have forms which appear to have been unknown about 1500 B.C., but several of them are cut upon the well-known "Metternich Stele." The outside of the temple is covered with poorly executed sculpture of little interest. The scenes are presentations of offerings to the gods. In some places the decorations are unfinished. For the cartouches of the kings who restored this temple see the List of Kings on pp. 727-749. Behind the temple is a small detached building, the use of which is unknown, and to the south-west of the west Plan of the Temple

of Hibis.

end is another detached building, which Hoskins thought might have served as a dwelling for the priests. Compared with the great temples of Karnak and Abydos, the temple of Darius is inferior both as regards plan and execution. Still, it is a remarkable building, and should be seen and carefully

examined by every lover of Egyptian architecture. It is unfair to contrast it too closely with highly-finished buildings like the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, for we do not know what it would have been like had it been completed. It must also be remembered that Khârgah is about 130 miles from the Nile, and that workmen and tools would have to be transported from Egypt across that terrible stone plateau to build the temple. It may reasonably be asked, Why did Darius and the Ptolemies

and the Roman Emperors build so many fine temples in this Oasis? None of the kings of Egypt built temples solely with the view of spreading the knowledge of their religion among the outlying peoples of their Empire, for none of them possessed the spirit of missionary enterprise. They built temples in the Sûdân and the Oases and Sinai solely with the idea of encouraging and developing trade and commerce, and temples and their neighbouring buildings served both as fortified outposts and storage places for gold and other merchandise. The great trade route from Egypt to Dâr Fûr passed through the Oasis of Khârgah, and the temples stood near it, so that the garrisons might afford protection for the caravans and the goods which they brought from the far south. The temple of Dûsh (Kysis) was at the south end of the Oasis, and the temple of Khârgah at the north. Wherever an important trade centre existed there was a temple built. Darius, the Ptolemies, and the Romans developed the Sûdân trade to a remarkable degree, and the temples of the Oasis prove that the products of the south were of great value. In recent years the glory of the old Forty Days' Road (Darb al-Arba'în) has departed, and the British have caused most of the Sûdân trade to follow the course of the Nile. Should that route, however, become unsafe, the old desert roads would be again used by the merchants, and caravans would travel to the south by the routes which they followed for thousands of years.

The temple of Nadurah stands on a hill rather more than half a mile to the south east of the temple of Darius. The main building is about 36 feet in length and 26 feet in breadth, and stands in an enclosure surrounded by a brick wall. Antoninus Pius about A.D. 140.

Wall of unbaked bricks.

0

TEMPLO

Plan of the Temple of Nadûrah.

It was probably built by

Of special interest is the early Christian Cemetery, called Al-Baghwât,, i.e., "the tombs," which stands on the southern slopes of Jabal Têr, about a mile from the temple of Darius. Here are the ruins of about 200 tombs. These rise one above the other, and as they are built in streets the place may be fittingly described as a city of the dead. The tombs are built