Between Augela and See-wah, the next town towards Cairo (and probably the Siropum of Ptolemy) the road passes over a chain of very high mountains, named in these times Gerdobah: and this is unquestionably the same ridge that terminates on the Mediterranean, a few days journey farther on; and which by the suddenness of its descent towards the sea, was antiently named Catabathmus. This chain or ridge divided Cyrene from Marmarica.
The scite of the antient Temple of Jupiter Ammon, was a few days journey (perhaps four or five) inland from the plain of Gegabib, so often mentioned. I think I may venture to say this on the authority of Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny, and Arrian; from each of whom, some particulars may be collected respecting its situation. First, Herodotus says, (Book IV.) that the Temple is situated ten days from Ægila; (frequented by the Nasamones on account of the dates) and on the road from Thebes to Ægila. Next, Arrian says, on the authority of Aristobulus, that Alexander went to it, from the scite of his new city of Alexandria, along the sea coasts of Egypt and Marmarica, to Paraetonium: which latter was situated, according to the same authority, sixteen hundred stadia from Alexandria. Pliny gives it at two hundred Roman miles (Book V.) These accounts are perfectly conclusive; and the position of Paraetonium, is also very clear in Ptolemy; and is moreover known to the Moderns under the name of Al Bareton: so that no difficulty can arise here. Arrian says farther, that Alexander struck inland from Paraetonium, and entered the Desart: but he does not say how far the Temple lay from the sea coast. This is supplied by Strabo, (Book XXVII.) who gives the distance at thirteen hundred stadia. Allowing these to produce one hundred and thirty, or one hundred and forty miles; and taking Herodotus’s ten days from Augela at one hundred and seventy (we must not consider them as caravan journies, but as ordinary ones) the meeting of these lines of distance, place the Temple in latitude twenty-nine degrees, and a small fraction; and in a South Westerly direction from Parætonium. Pliny says, (Book V.) that the Temple is four hundred [Roman] miles from Cyrene; that is, twice as far as Parætonium is from Alexandria: and this agrees with the former position. Lastly, Ptolemy places it one hundred and ninety-five geographic miles from Paraetonium; and from Cyrene three hundred and forty.—But Ptolemy’s scale, in Africa Tab. III. gives too much distance (as I have said before), and corrected, it should be one hundred and sixty-six from Parætonium. As these authorities do not vary amongst themselves more than thirty miles, I consider them as conclusive.
M. D’Anville’s position of this Temple is about thirty miles farther to the Southward; that is, from the Mediterranean; but he does not quote his authorities. In his Geographie Ancienne Abregee, vol. iii. p. 42. he has the following passage: “Selon la Géographie actuelle, ce qu’on trouve sous le nom de Sant-rieh, paroit en tenir la place; & par la Nature du pays, qui ne laisse point distinguer d’autre objet, on n’est point embarrassé sur le choix.” Edrisi (Geo. Nub. p. 41.) places Sant-rie ten days Eastward from Augela, and nine days from the Mediterranean; which carries Sant-rie farther from the sea-coast, than Strabo allows to the Temple; but accords with Ptolemy. Savary, vol. ii. Lett. VIII.) quotes Abulfeda, to shew that the Oases were only three days journey West of the Nile; and Ptolemy places the largest of them, named El Wah by the Arabs, under the parallel of 27°. I suspect Abulfeda is wrong; and that Ptolemy is nearer the truth, when he allows one hundred and twenty-three miles, (or one hundred and five corrected) for the distance of the Great Oasis from Ptolemais on the Nile, in the direction of West, something Southwardly. Then Edrisi allows only nine days between Sant-rie and El Wah; whereas the scite of the Temple of Jupiter Ammon, by the above authorities, should be, according to my apprehension, at least twelve days from El Wah. But we are young in African Geography: and as I have said before, the data furnished by Arrian, Strabo, and Pliny, may satisfy us.
The description of the Oasis (or Island in the midst of the sandy Desart) which contained the Temple, is pretty generally known: but for the sake of those who may not recollect the particulars, I have extracted the following account.
Arrian says, that it is not more than forty stadia in extent; Diodorus fifty; say, six or seven miles. All accounts agree, that it has one or more fountains of water; and that it was planted with divers kinds of fruit trees: Arrian particularly notices the Palm and Olive. What appeared to be a very great natural curiosity, was, a fountain, which according to Arrian, (whose account is the least extravagant) varied in its temperature, in a greater degree than any other that has been heard of: that is, it was very warm, or hot, at midnight; very cold in the heat of the day. I presume these phenomena will not appear very extraordinary to those, who consider, that a deep-seated spring will preserve a mean degree of temperature at all seasons: so that, in effect, it was the atmosphere that underwent the change; and with it, the bodies of those who made the observations.
The Temple was surrounded by a triple wall, forming three distinct quarters or divisions; one of which was appropriated to the use of the Monarch. In the time of Herodotus, when probably the Temple was in its glory, the dominions of the Ammonites reached within ten days journey of the City of Thebes: the people were a colony of Egyptians and Ethiopians, and spoke a mixed language, (Herod. Book III.) Ammon, or Hammon, was the Egyptian name of Jupiter; and the image of the god, similar to that at Thebes; that is, it had the head of a Ram. (Book IV.)
In the time of Strabo, about four hundred and fifty years after Herodotus, the Temple was almost deserted; as the Oracle was grown out of fashion.
It is probable that some remains either of the triple wall, or of the Temple, may be found at this day; although the materials may have undergone a different kind of arrangement. The transport of the materials across the Desart could only have been accomplished by the strong impulse of superstition: and being once collected, nothing but a like cause could remove them. See-wah appears to be the nearest town to this Oasis; and is probably not more than six days journey on the North East of it: the spring, together with the ruins of the Temple, and the triple wall, might ascertain the spot, if the curiosity of the present age demanded it.
March, 1790.