CHAPTER XVI.

PYRAMIDS OF SAKKARAH-LISHT— MEDUM-THE FAYUM-LABYRINTH.
HE Pyramids of Egypt, at Gizeh, situated in the most northern part of the site of ancient Memphis, received treatment in the eleventh Chapter of this work, while the reader will be taken in this Chapter to the extreme part of its southern line or boundary and visit the Pyramids of Sakkarah, Dashur, etc.
Having already described the Serapeum and the tomb of Tih, the necropolis of Sakkarah, which takes its name from the village located here, will constitute a continuation of my narrative. It is the oldest and at the same time the most modern of the cemeteries of ancient Memphis. It is four and one-half miles long, with an average breadth of three- fourths of a mile, and like the cemeter}^ at Gizeh, properly speaking, belonged to the ancient capital of Lower Egypt {Memphis). The whole of this vast necropolis has been thoroughly searched by all kinds of people and exploring expeditions. Notwithstanding this fact the inde- fatigable efforts of Mariette Bay were rewarded by the discovery of the Serapeum as well as many other priceless relics of ancient Pharaonic History.
In our visit to the ruins of Memphis and to the Necropolis of Sakkarah we hired our donkeys at Bedrashen, a distance of about fifteen miles from Cairo, carrying our tents, provisions, etc., along with us, to enable us to camp just where we felt like, and remain as long as we desired, at any particular place, that we might explore the ruins of this ancient metropolis at our leisure.
After selecting our donkeys we started out across a dusty, sandy flat towards the little white-washed depot of Bedrashen. We rode across the track, and passed the squalid mud-hovels amid the date palms that composed the village, and rode on through a motley throng of villagers who had gathered in our path, shouting loudly for " baksheesh," while
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others were trying to dispose of their fruits and water, which they had for sale. We supplied ourselves abundantly with the fruit and continued on our way along the winding road leading to the celebrated necropolis of Sakkarah.
As we passed through the village of Bedrashen we noticed immense numbers of pigeons flying from their quarters on the walls of the square towers that were built expressly for their nesting places. As we rode along, shouting and laughing at the motley crowd, the dogs ran out and added their yelping chorus to swell the noise, for they ran beside us, barking loudly as we passed by. We soon left village and yelping curs behind and rode on through palm groves, fertile fields, and ponds of stagnant water, catching ever anon glimpses of the Pyramids of Gizeh, away off in the distance, and the mounds and groves of Mitraheny close at hand. We stopped to examine the statues of Rameses II., and con- tinued our journey on towards Sakkarah. Leaving Mitraheny on our right we rode straight along until we turned sharp off to the right, skirting the village of Sakkarah, until we came to the regular camping ground, near the sycamore and well, a short distance north of the village, from which the Necropolis takes its name. Here we camped upon the site of one 'of the most ancient cities of the world's history.
We pitched our tents and fixed things up very comfortably, spending the night around our camp-fire, under one of the most magnifi- cent moon and starlit nights I have ever seen in Egypt. As we sat there we chatted and talked of the grandeur of ancient Egypt, her lost arts and sciences, the decadence of her philosophies, and the wondrous knowledge possessed by the people by whom the Pyramids were built. These giant shapes were so clearly outlined in the silvery sheen of light softly falling around us, for the moon was at the full, the stars were as bright as electric lights, and as we stood looking around the voiceless city of the dead a picture of the scene was impressed upon my brain that will endure as long as life shall last. We awoke in t];ie early morning and found the sun lighting up with rainbow tints the scenery around us, and the odor of the coffee and our morning meal came float- ing into the tent, giving us an appetite which was soon satisfied. After breakfast the shagg}^ little donkeys were brought around, and we were again soon riding off to the southwest, towards the southern group of
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 367
ruins at Sakkarah, among which are the Mastaba Farun and other tombs, as well as the ruined Pyramid of Pepi II.
In riding across this part of Memphis we find a vast difference in the debris under foot from that at Gizeh, for there it was of a very coarse, sandy, gravelly appearance, with very little else to be seen, but here in Sakkarah we can find all kinds of things, such as scraps of mummy cloths, bandages, fragments of mummy flesh, in fact the whole plateau is covered with relics of all kinds, from human bones to beads, scraps of pottery, broken funeral statuettes, etc.
It was a lovely morning as we started out on our way to visit the ruins of some of the most ancient monuments in the Necropolis of Memphis ; stopping here and there before some point of interest, and seeing relics of a prehistoric civilization all around us, scattered about in utter confusion ; we pass the ruins of an ancient Pyramid, close beside our path, and yet we did not stop to examine it because we wanted to look at and explore the ruined temples and tombs further on, which we deemed far worthier of our time and attention. There are quite a large number of tombs in this vicinity which have been opened up, care- fully examined, and carefully covered again, for the purpose of pre- serving their interior decorations from the deteriorating effects of the air and the destructive hands of the vandal tourists that swarm through this ancient city of the dead, as well as through the whole of the Nile valley. We made our way directly towards the Mastaba Fanin, which was originally opened and thoroughly explored by Mariette Bey, who believed it to be the resting place, or tomb, of King Unas, on account of some of the stones used in its construction having the name " Unas " inscribed upon them.
It is a kind of an oblong structure, built with splayed walls, the entrance to which is on the north side ; but is now closed with barred gates and fastened, so that we were unable to gain admission to examine the interior. There are quite a number of ruined tombs and other structures in the immediate vicinity as well as numberless mummy pits. Close by is the Pyramid of Pepi II, in a very dilapidated condition, so much so that we gave up the idea of exploring it as the undertaking was considered too dangerous for us to make the attempt. We, therefore, mounted our donkeys and rode off in a northerly direction, that we might
368 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
examine the Pyramid of Seker-em-sa-f, son of Pepi I, and elder brother of Pepi II, whose mummy was taken from this Pyramid in 1881, and con- sidered the oldest known mummy of to-day. (For an account see Chapter XIII of this work.)
We visited all the Pyramids in the Pepi group and did not attempt to explore an}^ of them excepting the one of Pepi I, into which we descended, and were well repaid for the labor, as the construction of the interior is widely different from those of Gizeh, or any other Pyramid we had heretofore examined. The hieroglyphic inscriptions here are of a pale bluish green color, as well as the interior decorations, and they are well worth seeing ; but it was very dangerous to go prospecting around in the interior of this dilapidated monument, consequently we concluded to go over to some ruins which could be seen a short distance from us, off to the south-east, proving on close inspection to be the remains of a ruined Pyramid and the debris of numerous tombs, etc. Here we stopped awhile and hunted among the ruins to see if we could find some relics of these ancient people, in the shape of scarabs, or funeral statuettes, but after grubbing around for an hour or more I found a verj' small statuette some fragments of opalescent glass, a few beads, and a few pieces of ve'ry fine mummy cloth. Becoming satisfied with what we saw here we rode back to our camp, situated about three-quarters of an hour's ride to the north-east.
On returning to camp, weary and tired, we dismounted and soon refreshed ourselves with a good shower bath and found that our appetites had been very much sharpened by our fatiguing ride around this most remarkable plateau. Our welcome meal was soon served, to which we all did ample justice, when we lit our cigars and entered into a lengthy discussion on the religions and philosophies of the people whose remains were scattered around the length and breadth of this necropolis of Sakkarah, for from one end to the other may be seen the flesh and bones, as well as fragments of the cerement clothes that enwrapped them, evidencing rifled graves, and desecration of the dead.
The various tombs examined since we came into this country bear ample evidence that these ancient people were most assuredly filled with the idea of Death and a Future Life. It is very certain they were not Atheists, for they believed devoutly in God and a Life to come. This
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 369
belief is in fact to be found in all religions tbrougbout tbe world, but it was specially taught by the ancient Kgyptians. The paintings upon the walls, in the interior, are evidences of their belief in a life to come ; but we must remember that in the examination of the pictures upon the walls, we are not in the tomb proper, but only in the guest-chamber, far above the tomb itself. (See Chapter XIII of this work.)
The mummy was deposited in a pit below, while its double, the Ka, was supposed to take a great interest in all things earthly, and they thoroughly believed that it would be filled with joy in the success of their sons and daughters, after they themselves had gone to Amenti and they loved to come back and see the pictures of their families reaping rich harvests from the fields they had carefully tilled during their lives.
Just before sundown we saw and studied the very peculiar methods adopted by the sacred beetle of the ancient Egyptians The AteiicJms Sacer^ the celebrated Scarabseus of the ancient people. They believed that there were no females among these sacred insects and that in order to propagate their species the Scarab would enclose a life germ within a ball of clay or the slime of the Nile mud, that this insect would mould or form itself into a little round ball, after which, it would push it back- wards to the desired location and bury it in the sands of the desert and from this grave would arise another Beetle or Scarab that in due time would perform the self-same methods for the continuance of its species.
The Scarabseus was esteemed a very sacred insect among the ancient Egyptians, they considered it an emblem of Immortality and a symbol of the Sun, which demonstrated Life, Death and the Re-incarna- tion of the Spirit. It was emblematical of the Sun, because, just as the Scarabasus pushed the germ of a Future Life in a round ball of dirt, the Sun pushed the Earth from West to East, making the sun, from the earth, apparently rise or re-incarnate in the East once in every twenty- four hours, which is symbolical of the return of the Spirit to thread itself and its various personalities upon the sutratma of many lives. We retired early, as we anticipated a long day's work on the morrow, in visit- ing the Step-Pyramid, as well as other points of interest, in this most extraordinary necropolis of Sakkarah and vicinity.
In the morning we got up with the sun, took a slice of dry toast and a cup of coffee and went forth with our guns. Inside of an hour we 24
370 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
returned with between three and four dozen very fine quail and a nice lot of ducks, getting back in time for breakfast and an early start to the various places we had planned to visit. Mounting our little donkeys we went skurrying off to the North, riding over fragments of broken pot- tery, bricks, etc., with here and there large blocks of granite which once belonged to one of the most famous and populous cities of ancient Egypt. We rode up to the Pyramid of Unas which we found in a ruinous condi- tion, and would not have been able to have seen the interior of this mon- ument if it had not been for a party of Cook's tourists, who arrived there just about the same time we did and they having cards of admission and key to the iron gate, we were allowed to enter and examine the interior of this Pyramid with them.
The entrance to it was originally closed with immense blocks of sandstone, which obstructions must have required a vast amount of time and labor to remove, that admittance might be gained into the interior. To-day the entrance is provided with an iron gate, to prevent people going in without permission and destroying the interior decorations and chipping off pieces from the sarcophagus, etc. The entrance leads us into a chamber running off from which are two others, one on each side of this first or entrance chamber. The two larger ones contain quite a number of well-preserved funeral inscriptions and in the one to the right we saw a granite sarcophagus close to the alabaster walls, adorned with very nice paintings of plain simple patterns, whose colors are nearly as bright to-day as when first placed there by the artist B. c. 3,333. We saw here in these chambers the same class of hieroglyphic inscriptions of a bluish green color as those described in the Pyramid of Pepi I, but with this difference they are not in sunk relief, but just simply incised.
To the South and South-East of this Pyramid are the remains of the tombs of the various dynasties from the XVIII upward, to more modern times, but they have all been broken into and ransacked, for the purpose of gathering the priceless treasures and relics from their interiors, or to satisfy the curiosity of vandal explorers. To-day this plain is strewn with fragments of the dead, pieces of wood which formed the coffins, broken pottery, statuettes, mummy clothes, human bones, etc. Instead of rambling around trying to find a tomb that had not been examined before, we made our way to the largest and most celebrated monument of
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ttis group, the Step-Pyramid of Sakkarah, whicli is located about two hundred and fifty yards to the North-east of the Pyramid of Unas.
It is not built with a regular slope like any of the other pyramids from base to summit, neither is it a perfect square, nor does it face the cardinal points of the universe, being built in six stages that recedes one into the other and diminishes in height as well as in breadth. The lowest step being thirty-seven feet high and the upper one twenty-nine feet, and all being about six feet wide. The extreme height of the struc- ture from the base to its summit is one hundred and sixty-seven feet. Much of this monument has been removed, possibly for building purposes in Cairo. The North and South sides measure three hundred and fifty- one feet two inches, and the East and West sides three hundred and ninety-three feet six inches, covering an area of a little over fifteen thousand square yards.
This Pyramid differs from others from the fact that it has four entrances, and the interior is a perfect maze of passages ; but its chief peculiarity in the interior is the excavation seventy-seven feet deep by about twenty-four feet square, sunk immediately under the centre of this remarkable monument, the roof of this excavation being dome-shaped of rubble-work, originally supported by wooden rafters, which have long since decayed and fallen away, and the roof is held in place by the strength of the cement with which the rubble-work was made. The bottom of this shaft or excavation is paved with granite blocks, beneath which is a chamber ten feet long and five feet high, the entrance to which was covered up with an enormous block of granite weighing four tons. It is as difficult to describe the plan of the interior of this Pyramid as it is to find out what the monument was originally used for. Many of the chambers have been decorated with a series of bluish-green convex " tiles," on the backs of which are a number of hierogl3^phics. General Minutoli entered this Pyramid in the year 1821 and discovered numerous very interesting relics in the various passages aad chambers, among which was a gilded skull and two human feet that were ornamented in a most peculiar manner all of which were afterward lost at the mouth of the Elbe.
In many of the chambers and passages were found fragments of broken alabaster and marble vases, stars and broken ornaments that no
372 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
doubt at one time formed the decorations of the different chambers in this most remarkable " Step Pyramid of Sakkarah." It is rather difficult to make the ascent of this monument alone ; but with the help of the Arab guide I had no trouble, comparatively speaking, in reaching tbe top of the most extraordinary Pyramid. The view from the summit is not near so good as that from the larger one at Gizeh, not being near so high, con- sequently we could not expect so fine a view.
In rambling around among these Pyramids and tombs we met a party of travellers who were making arrangements for a trip to the Penin- sula of Sinai; but had come out to this site of ancient Memphis for the express purpose of meeting some of my own party who had agreed to go with them, so instead of returning to Cairo they all rode over to our camp with us and we were very soon supplied with our evening meal, to which we all did ample justice. After the meal was over we lit our cigars and spent the evening in merriment and song, while the Arab servants and guides were making the necessary preparations for breaking camp. The next morning bright and early we packed our few personal traps, partook of a hasty meal, and rode off to Cairo, leaving the tents, baggage, etc., to be brought in by sumpter camels.
We arrived at Shepheard's dusty and tired, where we soon refreshed ourselves with a good bath and cooling drink from the fountain of Zem Zem, and that night we spent at the hotel with our departing friends. The next morning we wished them " bon vo3'age,'' as they started off on their long journey, to follow in the footsteps of the Israelites, to cross the Red Sea and explore the Sinaitic Peninsula. I did not remain in Cairo, as I was very anxious to get away and investigate the Tombs, Temples, Monuments, etc., of Upper Egypt; therefore the rest of us arranged for our boat to meet us at some point on the river to be decided on later, and in order to complete my investigations of the principal P3'ramids of the Nile Valley I found that we would have to visit Rikka, to be able to ex- amine the oldest monuments in the world, known as The Pyramid and Mast abas of Medum.
There are a great many authorities who believe the Step Pyramid of Sakkarah to be far older than any other fabric in the Nile Valley, basing their opinion or assertions upon the statement of Manetho, who attributes the Step Pyramid to Unenephus, who built the Pyramid at Cochome, as a
CORNER OF THE GREAT PYRAMID,
MAKING THE ASCENT.
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 373
monument to one of the Kings of tlie first Dynasty. Cochome was the Greek form of the hieroglyphic name Ka-kam " the Black Bull," which occurs on the " steles " and sarcophagi of the Apis tombs, as a place in the vicinity of the Necropolis. If this view be correct we have in. the Step Pyramid the most ancient structure in the world. But there: are numerous authorities who reject these statements, and assign its erection to one of the Kings of the fifth dynasty with very little evi- dence to prove their statements, consequently we are left to our own judgment in this matter. I shall describe the various monuments and leave it with you, my dear Brothers, as to which is the older.
Between three and four miles South of Sakkarah we find a group of Pyramids at Dashoor, they are four in number, two of stone and two of brick. The most Northern of the stone Pyramids is nearl}^ as large as the Great Pyramid at Gizeh at the base, but is not nearly so high. It contains three chambers, lying one beyond the other, and they are constructed in a very peculiar manner, for the stones which form their sides overlap each other and draw in toward the roof, making it s pyramidical chamber, large at the bottom and very small at the top or ceiling. The other stone Pyramid is rather remarkable on account of the manner of its construction, it having been built at two different angles and is known as the " Blunted Pyramid." Its base is six hun- dred and nineteen feet long and its height three hundred and twenty- one feet. There was a very peculiar door used for closing the entrance to this Pyramid. It was hung on a horizontal stone hinge, and was dis- covered by W. Flinders Petrie during his researches among this group.
Mr. M. de Morgan made some very valuable discoveries iu the years 1894-95 among the brick Pyramids of this group. He was very earnest and anxious in his explorations of these monuments, and gave the whole of his time and attention to the drifting into one of them, in order to find the regular passage or entrance into the interior. After he had drifted in to a considerable distance he discovered the real en- trance, originally formed by the men who constructed the Pyramid itself, and as soon as he found this passage-way he began exploring the interior.
After traversing various passages, he had the good fortune to dis- cover the burial place of two royal ladies belonging to the twelfth
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dynasty, whose tombs liad not been disturbed since tbey were deposited there by tender hands, iliirty ccnlitries before Chrisi, and just as they had been laid to rest in those remote and by-gone days of prehistoric civiliza- tion, so were they found, with not a single article displaced or disturbed. The jewels and golden ornaments glistened as bright and beautiful upon them as when first placed there by their loving friends who laid them to rest, away back in the remote ages of the past. The whole of these jewels and ornaments, as well as many other interesting relics are to be seen to-day in room seven at the Gizeh Museum.
This same gentleman, in the year 1S96, made some other very important discoveries. Not very far from the house in which he lived during his researches, and quite close to the barren plateau, are to be seen two low mounds formed from the remains of what was originally two brick Pyramids. He thought that possibly he might make new dis- coveries by investigating the ru^ins of these ancient monuments, and after considerable time and labor he was rewarded by finding the passage and chambers, which he thoroughly explored in search of relics. In the one farthest to the south he found two small black granite Pyramids about three feet high, and in one of the chambers discovered a ver}' large sarco- phagus of red granite with nothing inscribed on it. It is very difiicult and dangerous to-day to search among the ruins of this Pyramid, as it is simply impossible to do so without the assistance of men and ropes to help you ; and, in fact, will hardly repay one for the time and trouble expended in exploring its dark passages and chambers. The Northern mound contains a sarcophagus in one of the chambers, which can very readily be seen, but this is about all that would interest any one in this ancient ruin.
About nine miles south of this place are to be seen Tkc Pyramids of Lisht ; but they are in such a ruinous condition that it is not safe for any one to venture into them. Maspero attempted to thoroughly explore them, but he gave it up on account of finding so much water in ^ them. About the same time that M. de Morgan was investigating the group at Dashoor in 1S95, Mr. M. Guatier was exploring the ruins of these two Pyramids at Lisht, then considered unimportant, but after careful examin- ation he found within them statues of Usertesen I, very fine specimens of ancient Egyptian sculpture, and later on discovered a very large altar
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 375
that stood in a funerary chapel that had been built on the east side of the southernmost of the two Pyramids. It is exquisitel}' carved and is a very fine specimen of ancient Egyptian Art, being dedicated to Usertesen I. This place was, no doubt, the necropolis of one of the ancient cities of the Golden i\.ge of Egypt, when Memphis was in the height of her glory, but to-day it is in utter ruin and naught remains to tell us of the van- ished glorj^ of this ancient city except the ruined monuments that I have just described and the few relics discovered within them.
It is fully twelve miles to the south of Eisht before we come to those ancient monuments of Egypt, The Pyramids and Mastabas of Medtmi^ of which I have already spoken. Now, after carefully examining these wonderful fabrics, and devoting considerable study and much thought to the subject, I have come to the conclusion that they are the most ancient, in fact the oldest monuments in the world to-day, and for that reason, if no other, they are of especial interest to all men, and well deserving a visit from any one who goes to this most extraordinary part of the World, The Valley of the Nile.
One lovely morning we took passage on board a steamer that was going up the river, but stopped at Rikka for the accommodation of any one desiring to visit the celebrated monuments of a prehistoric age at Medum. It was a beautiful morning as our steamer pushed off from the bank, to ascend this glorious old river. There was a strong " etesian " wind blowing and the loud shouts of the sailors, as they hoisted their sails on some of the Dahabiyes, came floating to us over the bosom of the waters, reminding me of by-gone days, and the first time I visited Egypt and took passage on one of the Nile boats to examine the various points of interest that lay along its banks.
When I was a boy, it was the only way that one could travel on a trip to Upper Egypt. Ah! what enjoyable days they were to all of us; the boat was our home, our castle, for a few months at least, if no more. This floating home of ours had a peculiar charm and attraction that is difficult to explain. In our journeyings we could stop just when and where we wished. We could go off and hunt, or examine a tomb or temple at our leisure, and if the wind would not help us, we could always tie up to the bank and amuse ourselves in a dozen different ways. If I were going back to Egypt, to-day, to examine or explore the stupendous
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fabrics that adorn the banks of this grand old river Nile, I would take the Dahabiyeh in preference to any other mode of travel. Of course, one should not be pushed for time, but go with the understanding that you would have to depend principally upon the wind, with very little tow- path ; and all those who travel on a Dahabiyeh will most assuredly enjoy it above all other modes of travel used in Egypt. If they should make the ascent of the first cataract in one of these Dahabiyehs, the memory of it would remain with them so long as life would last. The ride up the Nile on the steamer is very monotonous, between Gizeh and Rikka, for the banks of the river are quite low, and all the villages are very much alike, with but little to be seen, excepting the various groups of Pyra- mids which rise here and there into our view as we steam along, causing one to ponder upon the prehistoric people who built them and the knowl- edge to which they had attained, in quarrying and moving tremendous blocks of stone, in order to build those tremendous fabrics that have been the wonder and admiration of every age in the history of the world.
We landed at Rikka and secured donkeys to carry us out to this most remarkable Pyramid, standing seemingly upon a mound that was located fully an hour's ride from the river. It was a most delightful trip, and the great 'fabric that we are now approaching shines out resplendent in the glorious sunshine, in most exquisite coloring. We rode off down the track and turned into the square green fields of corn, beans, clover, etc., that ran up to the very foot of the necropolis of " Mi-Tum " Medum and the celebrated Pyramid itself, which is called by the fellaheen and Arabs " Harem-el- Kadab," or the False Pyramid. We now discovered that what we had taken to be a mound, upon which this famous Pyramid had been built, was simply the rubbish surrounding it at its base, formed no doubt from the outer casing which rose mound like all around the structure.
Mr. Flinders Petrie spent a great deal of time and patience in his explorations of the various points of interest among the tombs and temples of Medum, and has given to the world a vast amount of informa- tion in relation to these ancient buildings of the Third and Fourth dynasties. When first the stone composing this marvellous Pyramid was brought from the quarries it was most assuredly pure white limestone ; but to-day it is of a beautiful orange hue, it having gradually changed,
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witli the rolliug centuries, from a pure white into a most magnificent yellow color, whose golden hues must be seen in order to be fully appre- ciated. This Pyramid rises in three stages above an apparent artificial mound, which is at least one hundred and twenty feet above the plain. The first stage above the mound is sixty-nine feet, the second twenty feet, and the third about twenty-three feet, the whole forming a square tower that rises in three stages, whose summit is fully two hundred and thirty feet above the level of the plain, having the appearance of some of the ancient mastabas of the old empire. The whole fabric seems to have lifted itself out of the brown mass of rubbish at its base into a most magnificent, glorious, shining golden tower that points upwards into the azure vault above. Once seen it will live in one's memory through all his life. The entrance to this Pyramid is situated on the north side, nearly fifty-four feet above the level of the desert sands, the passage descending at a certain angle for a distance of two hundred and thirty- four feet, where it falls upon a level passage-way of about forty feet in length, from the end of which a vertical shaft leads upwards into an empty chamber or tomb.
Maspero entered this Pyramid on the thirteenth day of December, 1882 ; Avhen he found the passages and chambers he at once realized that it had been broken into and its sarcophagus and the contents taken therefrom. Mariette Bey states that the name of the king by whose order this Pyramid was erected for the repose of his own mummy is positively unknown, but there is every reason to believe that it Avas Sneferou, the predecessor of Cheops, for his tomb is unknown. This Pyramid is a most magnificent specimen of ancient Egyptian architecture, with its closely fitting joints and polished blocks of Mokattum limestone showing conclusively the rare excellence to which the ancient Egyptians had attained. Sneferou was, according to Bruysch Bey, the last king of the third dynasty B. c. 3766. Mariette Bey claims that the third dynasty commenced b. c. 4449, and that Sneferou was the first king of the fourth dynasty who reigned about b. c. 4235.
It was in the most northern mastaba of the necropolis of Medum that Mariette, in January, 1872, discovered two of the most marvellous portrait statues that has ever been foi:nd. They are almost life-size, and were carved out of limestone, being remarkable as the oldest known statues
378 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
existing in the world to-da}-, and represent Ra-Hotep — son of Sneferou, " commander of the king's warriors, chief of the priests in the temple city of On, Heleopolis, the town of the Sun God Ra — and his princess wife, Nofrit, or Nefert, the beautiful — the king's granddaughter." Once seen these statues will never be forgotten, for the exquisite carvings are perfect and shows the wonderful skill and knowledge to which sculptors had attained in that early period, over six thousand years ago. The ej^es of these wonderful statues once seen will so impress themselves upon you that you will always remember them, for they are perfectly life-like. The eyes are made of rock crystal, resting upon a back-ground of silver, which reflects the light in such a way that it appears as if they were eyes of a living human being.
In order that you may get the opinion of one of our greatest Egyp- tologists respecting these statues, I will quote you from Maspero's "Dawn of Civilization," page 363, wherein he states that these two statues were : " discovered in a tomb near Meydoum. According to the chronological table of Mariette, it is five thousand and eight hundred years old. Their rock crystal eyes are so bright that the Arabs emplo3^ed in the excavation, fled in terror when they came upon the long- hidden chamber. They said that two afreets were sitting there ready to spring out and devour all intruders. These statues were discovered in a half ruined mastaba and have fortunately reached us without having suffered the least damage, almost without losing anA' of their original freshness. They are to be seen in the Gizeh Museum, just as they were when they were discovered by Mariette in the condition in which they left the hands of the workmen.
" Rahotpu [Ra-Hotep) was the son of a king possibly Snofrui {Sneferoii) ; but despite his high origin I find something humble and retiring in his physiognomy. Nofrit {Nefert), on the contrar}-, has an imposing appearance, an indescribable air of resolution and command invests her whole person, and the sculptor has cleverly given an expres- sion to it. She is represented with a robe with a pointed opening in the front ; the shoulders, bosom, waist and hips are shown under the material of the dress with a purity and delicate grace which one does not always find in modern works of art. The wig secured on the forehead b}^ a richly embroidered band, frames with its somewhat heavy masses the
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 379
firm and rather plump face ; the eyes are living, the nostrils breathe, the mouth smiles, and is about to speak. The Art of Egypt has at times been as fully inspired, it has never been more so than on the day in which it produced the statue Nofrit'' (Nefert). Ra-Hotep sits with his right hand extended across his breast and his left upon his knee. He wears a simple jewel upon his neck and his body nude excepting for the waist-cloth that enwraps his loins. It is a most exquisite specimen of ancient Egyptian sculpture. There has never been a time in the history of Egypt when they could produce statuary more speaking and life- like than these two statues of Ra-Hotep and his charming wife, the Lady Nefert.
Medum has most assuredly furnished a great number of works of Art, which certainly goes to prove that sculpturing, frescoing, painting, etc., was most thoroughly comprehended by the artists who wrought them, when the Craftsman who worked in the Mokattum hills were quarrying the stones for the erection of the Pyramids in the extraordinary city of Memphis. The tomb in which Mr. Flinders Petrie made his headquarters during his explorations of this ancient necropolis, the tomb of Nefermaat, was a veritable treasure house of beautiful carvings, paintings, etc., illus- trating the scenes of hawking, hunting, fishing and agricultural pursuits, very finely executed. It was in this tomb, or rather Lady Atot's chamber, that Mariette found the fresco of geese which now adorns the Gizeh Museum, and many other beautiful works of Art that were executed by these people long before the Sphinx looked to the East in the plains of Gizeh, across the desert sands of Arabia.
Students of hieroglyphics and ancient Art will find here in Medum a rich field to repay them for their time and trouble. The inscriptions found here upon these monuments present some of the oldest forms of writing, very clear, simple and beautiful in their grammatical construc- tion as well as in clearly defined letters and carvings. Mariette Bey considered the tomb of Nefermaat to be the most carefully constructed and the best built tomb throughout the whole of the " Land of Egypt." The paintings are all well preserved, and many of them to-day are most exquisite specimens of Egyptian skill, although executed three thousand seven hundred and fifty years before Christ. The artists who executed the work show rare ability, as they painted and carved true to nature, for
380 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
nothing is misrepresented, but each and all, in their proper colors and exact proportions. The Craftsmen who built the temple, or tomb, were thoroughly competent and well qualified to handle the enormous blocks of stone found here, and some of them in the ceiling measure twenty feet in length and fully three feet thick, weighing not less than forty tons each. This fact alone demonstrates to us, of the present day, the wondrous knowledge in Architecture possessed by the artisans who wrought long centuries before authenticated history. No one visiting the valley of the Nile should fail to see the celebrated tombs and temples of Medum and examine carefully the interior and exterior parts of these ver}' remark- able relics of the " Golden x\ge of Egypt."
One of the most delightful places in which to spend a winter in Bgypt is the Fayum. But few tourists go into this most interesting and fertile oasis that lies just one day's journey from the city of Cairo by rail or about three days on horseback ; but all who take the time to go always come away charmed and delighted with their ramblings from one place to another, where the continual clamoring for "Baksheesh, O Hawadji'' is seldom or never heard. For my part I much prefer the horseback ride to the cars, for the simple reason that one who goes on horseback will be enabled to take in the whole of the various groups of tombs, temples and Pyramids, from the plains of Gizeh to Medum, and either he or they will most assuredly enjoy the trip far better than they could in the hot dusty cars. If you ride on horseback you can rest when you wish, stop where you like, and examine the various points of interest at your leisure ; while on the cars you would only be enabled to catch glimpses of tombs and temples that would well repay you to visit. Again, going on horseback you would be in a far better position to study the manners and customs of the fellaheen, who till the soil to-day in the same manner that their great ancestors did ere Joseph was sold into the " Land of bondage."
Beside all this you will be enabled to see the peculiar encampments of the Bedouin Arabs, who locate here in many of the fields rented from the fellaheen, and feed their camels and horses on the rich lucerne that grows here in such abundance. You will most certainly pass on your way a great many hunters who go out from Cairo to shoot over the cultivated fields that border the desert sands lying along your path, and considered to be the best place for quail shooting throughout the whole of Egypt.
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 381
But I do not wish to dwell too long upon the charms of horseback riding from the city of Cairo to the Fayum, for if I did this chapter would lengthen out to such an extent that I would be unable to describe this very interesting part of Egypt where Joseph lived and gave his name to one of the oldest canals in the " Land of Egypt."
The province or district in Egypt called the Fayum is a natural peculiar basin-shaped depression in the Libyan Desert, and is one of the most fertile provinces in the valley of the Nile. It is surrounded by desert sands, with the exception of the fringe of vegetation that adorns Bahr-Yusuf, which connects it with the river Nile and is about two hundred and seven miles in length. It flows into this fertile valley through a natural opening, caused by a peculiar trend of the Libyan chain of moimtains, which a little north of Benisuef begin to circle off to the northwest, returning again toward the east and the river Nile. It has in its peculiar convolutions inclosed a ver^^ large tract of land, that was called by the ancient Eg37ptians Arsinoe and now known as the Fayum, coming from the Egyptian word '• Phiom," signifying the sea, marsh or lake country, described in the hieroglj'phic inscriptions of the fourth d3'nasty as " Ta-slic,^^ the land of the lake.
The opening of this valley is about four miles wide, through which the canal passes, and where it is divided into numerous branches that ramify from the main stem to the various parts of the valle}^, so as to irrigate and reclaim a vast amount of the desert sands (See Chapter VI of this work). The Fayum is noted for its fertility, as it pro- duces an abundance from all seeds sown or planted in its remarkably rich soil. Here in this wonderful valley are to be seen large fields of corn, cotton, sugar cane, beans, clover, etc., besides all kinds of vege- tables. It produces ver}' fine grapes, from which they manufacture an excellent wine. This place is noted for its olives and it abounds in date palm groves, roses growing in rich profusion, while apricots, figs and other kinds of fruit are quite prolific. Considerable cattle is raised here, and since sugar-cane has been planted and found to do so well, a large number of sugar factories are to be found here.
This valley was the site of that ancient reservoir " Lake Moeris," the remains of which are to be plainly seen and traced to-day. It was originally used for the purpose of regulating the annual flow of the inuu-
382 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY,
dations of the river Nile, for irrigating the various parts of the " Land of Bgypt." Strabo tells us that " Lake Moeris, owing to its size and depth, is capable of receiving the superabundance of water during the inunda- tion, without overflowing the habitations and crops ; but later, when the water subsides and after the lake has given up its excess through one of its two mouths, both it and the canal retain water enough for purposes of irrigation. This is accomplished by natural means ; but at both ends of the canal there are also lock-gates, b}^ means of which the engineer can regulate the influx and efflux of the water."
The cultivated part of this fertile valley is about twenty-five miles long by about thirty miles wide, and the district contains a population of two hundred thousand inhabitants, while the annual revenue is very nearl}^ a million dollars. Its principal commerce is cotton, corn, cattle, mostly sheep, which are considered to be the best breed in the valley of the Nile. This province contains a large number of towns and villages, and is a perfect paradise for hunters, especially upon and around the borders of Berket el-Ourun (the lake of the Horn).
The water of this lake is very salty and brackish in midsummer, just before the annual inundations of the Nile. It lies considerably below the bed of the river, and is no doubt fed by the filtrations from the canals and the Nile. The view of the lake from the cultivated fields and uplands of the Fayum is just simply grand, as it lies nestling up against the fertile fields and vegetation that goes sloping down to the edge of the rippling waters, shining like a sea of burnished silver, glittering in the glorious sunlight from an unclouded sk}', fairly dazzles one's vision. The various shades of green from the fertile fields, tamarisk bushes and dense palm groves lend a charm and fascination to the scene that is indescribably grand and beautiful. The lake is nearly thirty-five miles long and about seven miles wide, and its depth varies according to the season of the year. It lies at the foot of a richly cultivated upland on one side and bordered by the desert sands on the other, which stretches off into a series of rolling hills that connect with the rocky mountain chain which bounds our horizon in that direction. The lake abounds with fish, and in the winter there is not in the whole of Egypt a better place for hunting, tor here are to be found quail in immense quantities and all kinds of aquatic birds fairl}^ swarm from one end of the lake to
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 383
the other, while among the tamarisk bushes and palm groves are to be found plenty of wolves and wild boar.
There are a few very interesting ruins at various points around this lake, and the principal ones are to be found about fifteen miles from the town of Nesla, and which is called Qttasr Ouncn^ the remains of an ancient Egyptian temple, that is well Avorth visiting. It contains a great many chambers, stairways and passage-ways, giving unmistakable evidences of the good workmanship of the craftsmen who erected it. There are quite a number of ruins scattered around in this vicinity, and among them a number of arches of both stone and brick and partially demolished walls, around which can be found ancient copper coins, fragments of glass, etc., if yon will take time to grub around in the sand among the ruins. On the borders of this lake, not far from Senhur, are to be found some old ruins called El-Hamman ; in fact, we can find the remains of tombs, temples, reservoirs, etc., all around this lake, that will prove of deep interest to all those who visit them. Medinet el-Fayura, '' The town of the Lake," is the capital of the Fayura, and has a popula- tion of about forty thousand inhabitants. It is a typical Egyptian town, with its long covered bazar and motley assemblage of people, who congre- gate there, and its baths, with Greek coffee houses, etc., etc., all going to make up a modern twentieth century town in the valley of the Nile. We notice that these people hold their regular markets on Sunday.
This town is located on one of the main branches of the Bahr Yusuf, where we could see the women continually going and coming at certain times to fill their heavy clay " goolahs " with water, to be used for their household ; they carry these heavy " goolahs " upon their heads, with a peculiar grace that is truly remarkable. The canal runs through the town and is distributed to the various parts throughout this fertile valle}^ by devices, such as water-wheels, flumes, etc. The canal in many places is more like a river, as it goes winding along by the houses and walls of the town, giving a charming effect to its surroundings, and reflecting the houses, trees and walls of the town in its flowing waters. There we can see the bearded wheat of ancient Egypt growing luxuriantly, very long in the ear, but short in the straw.
Every person who goes into the Fayum should not fail, upon any consideration, to get an introduction to the Mtidir of the district, as it
384 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
would be of very great assistance to either him or them iu all their busi- ness transactions ; but more especially if there is any trouble with the fellaheen, for horse, camel or donkey hire. There are no especial build- ings in this modern town, that I cared for, and the only one of real interest that I noticed was the mosque of Ouait Bey, which is in a very ruinous condition. It is a kind of a mosaic structure that contains various columns originally belonging to different buildings in the old city of Arsinoe, formerly Crocodopolis, the ancient Egyptian city of S/ia/, or Pa-Sebek (" the abode of Sebek "), who is represented with the head of a crocodile, and there in lake Moeris they used to keep this sacred animal, and worshipped it throughout the whole of the Arsinoite Nome in the ancient days of Egyptian history. In fact one of their triads that was worshipped here was Sebek, Hathor, and Horns.
Leo Africanus says, " The ancient city {Pa-Sebek) was built by one of the Pharaohs, on an elevated spot near a small canal from the Nile, at the time of the exodus of the Jews, after he had afflicted them with the drudgery of hauling stones and other laborious employments."
There are extensive ruins on the site of this ancient city, and many very important antiquities have been found here, also a large quantity of papyri, mostly Greek, and some of them written in hieroglyphics and hieratic characters dating back to the time of Rameses III.
It was here, within the Fayum, that the celebrated Labyrinth was built by Amen-em-hat III. It was a most extraordinar}^ building and is said to contain three thousand chambers, half of which were subter- ranean and the other half lying above ground, and the whole of each series connected together by the most intricate passages and irregular corridors. It was considered very dangerous for any one to venture into the interior, without a guide, for fear of getting lost among the labyrinth of passages that ramified throughout the whole of this remarkable edifice.
Herodotus says that " the Temples of Ephesus and Samos may justly claim admiration and the Pyramids may be individually compared to many of the magnificent structures of Greece, but even these are inferior to the Labyrinth. It is composed of twelve courts all of which are covered, their entrances stand opposite to each other, six to the north and six to the south, one wall enclosing the whole. Of the apartments above the ground I can speak," continues Herodotus, " from my own
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 385
personal knowledge and observation ; of those below, from information I received. The Egyptians who bad charge of the latter would not suffer me to see them ; and their reason was, that in them were preserved the sacred crocodiles and the bodies of the Kings who constructed the Labyrinth. Of these, therefore, I do not presume to speak ; but the upper apartments I myself visited, and I pronounce them amongst the grandest efforts of human industry and art. The almost infinite niimber of winding passages through the different courts excited my highest admiration ; from spacious halls I passed through smaller chambers, and from them again to large and magnificent saloons, almost without end. The walls and ceiling are marble, the latter embellished with the most exquisite sculpture ; around each court pillars of the richest and most polished marble are arranged, and at the termination of the Labyrinth stands a pyramid one hundred and sixt}' cubits high, approached by a subterranean passage, and with its exterior enriched by figures of animals."
The object of building this remarkable structure cannot be fully conjectured, nor will it ever be properly known. Neither should we have been enabled to have known anything, for certain about it, if Herodotus had not given us the above description and told of its exact location — at the entrance of the canal into Lake Moeris ; and when Mr. Flinders Petrie, in 18S7-8, started a systematic exploration at the supposed site of the Labyrinth and the Pyramid of Hawara he most assuredly settled many mooted questions. He not only found the site of the Labyrinth, but he found the remains of two statues whereon was inscribed the name of Amen-em-hat III, the creator of Lake Moeris and the Fayum, and also the pedestals upon which they stood, thus proving beyond the shadow of a doubt the assertions of Herodotus, who wrote of having seen two statues that stood upon the tops of two Pyramids that were erected in the middle of Lake Moeris. These two statues of Amen-em-hat III, were no doubt erected in commemoration of the work that he had done in reducing the size of the lake, deepening its waters, and in this way reclaiming a vast area of swampy marsh land that had long been submerged by the flooding waters of the river Nile.
Mr. Petrie, in the year 1889, opened the Pyramid of Hawara, wherein
he expected to find at least the mummy of the original Pharaoh, who 25
386 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY,
founded the Labyrinth and made the Fayum a paradise ; but he was very much disappointed upon entering the Pyramid and discovering the cham- ber, to find the sarcophagus of both Amen-em-hat and his daughter, Ptah-nef-eru, empty, with the lids of each lying askew on top of them.
One thing very remarkable about this chamber, was that it was carved from a single stone. The dimensions of this chamber are twenty- two feet, three and one-half inches long by seven feet ten inches wide, by six feet two inches high. The stone is of very hard quartzite sandstone, with walls very nearly three feet thick and weighing about one hundred and eighty tons.
Under the head of a mummy excavated at Hawara Mr. Petrie also found a large roll of papyrus, which contains almost the whole of the second book of " Homer's Iliad." This was not the property of some old, dried-up philologist, for it laid under the skull of a 3^oung lady, whose features are still attractive and very intellectual, finely chiselled and refined looking. Both the skull and the papyrus, together with the jet black tresses of this nameless Hypatia, are now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. It is one of the three oldest manuscripts of " Homer's Iliad" known to exist. There are two others that also came from Egj'pt. They are all' useful in correcting the received text. There is another Pyramid about five or six miles to the east of the Labyrinth which is called Illahun, or El-Lahun. Mr. Flinders Petrie penetrated this Pyra- mid and found many interesting things, but to-day it is hardly worth spending the time to visit it.
^xtn 35ilors!)ip— lotiiac— iHasonic Allegories.
387
By lustrous heralds led on high
"Cbc omniscient Sun ascends the sky,
Ris glory drawing every eye.
HU-seeing Sun, the stars so bright
mhicb gleamed throughout the sombre night,
Now scared, like thieves, slink fast away,
Quenched by the splendor of thy ray.
"Chy beams to men thy presence show; Like bla::ing fires they seem to glow. Conspicuous, rapid, source of light, "Chou makest all the welkin bright. In sight of gods and mortal eyes, In sight of heaven thou scal'st the skies.
Bright god, thou scann'st with searching ken
I^hc doings all of busy men.
Chou stridcst o'er the sky, thv rays
Create and measure out our days;
"Chine eye all living things surveys.
Seven lucid marcs thy chariot bear, Self-yoked, athwart the fields of air. Bright Surya, god with flaming hair. Chat glow above the darkness, we Beholding, upward soar to thee, for there among the gods thy light Supreme is seen, divinely bright.
— 1 lamlatt'd Jiom the Sanskrit by Dr. J. 3/iiii:
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 389