Meroueh is an ill-built miserable place. In the fortress where the katshef resides, and which formerly belonged to Melek Shoush, is a pedestal of basalt, on which are two ovals, with names and titles on them, which I could not copy, on account of the accumulation of filth that covered them. I had it washed, and traced sufficient of the hieroglyphics to perceive that the name is the same as that of an Ethiopian king I afterwards found on the great temple at Gibel el Birkel. In the court of the same castle is a fragment of a statue of the same material, the sculpture of which is good. The coincidence between the modern name of Meroueh and the ancient capital Meroe is curious. Was this the commencement of the kingdom of which Meroe was the metropolis?
CHAPTER XI.
ANTIQUITIES OF GIBEL EL BIRKEL. — DESCRIPTION AND DIMENSIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN. — TEMPLE BUILT BY THE TIRHAKA OF THE BIBLE. — VARIOUS OTHER INTERESTING REMAINS AND TEMPLES. — PYRAMIDS. — CIRCULAR AND POINTED ARCH INVENTED IN ETHIOPIA.
Gibel el Birkel is situated an hour’s walk, or three miles and a half, to the east of the small town of Meroueh, and the mountain is 5150 feet distant from the Nile. It is an insulated hill, situated in a large plain; and below it, on the south side, are the ruins, also the cultivated land and the river. The other sides of the mountain are bordered by the desert, which has, no doubt, made encroachments on what was once cultivated land. The height of the eminence is about 350 feet. The exterior is rough, part of it having been worked to furnish materials for the temples, and more recently large masses have fallen, and almost entirely buried two temples which were situated beneath. The hill is of sandstone, of a soft description, which accounts for the dilapidated state of all the remains; for not only would the influence of time and the seasons be greater, but the difficulty would, of course, be less in destroying them. In some parts, the mountain is nearly perpendicular: the form is very picturesque, and highly imposing, particularly at a distance.
My general view ([Plate XVIII.]), drawn by myself with the camera lucida, will give a correct idea of the site of the ancient city; but it differs so much from the view Cailliaud has published, that it will scarcely be recognised as the same place; and, indeed, nearly all our plans and drawings are equally dissimilar. I can only state, that neither time nor pains were spared, either by my artist or myself, to render ours as accurate as possible. The total circumference of the mountain (see [Plate XVII.]) is about 5000 feet, which may be divided thus:—
| Feet. | |
|---|---|
| From the temple of Isis or Typhonium to the temple destroyed by the mountain | 400 |
| From the latter to the Grand Temple | 100 |
| To the point where the mountain takes a direction almost to the north, passing the traces of the town, which extends for 500 feet | 600 |
| Direction towards the north | 700 |
| Ditto towards the north-west | 1100 |
| Ditto towards the south-west | 100 |
| Ditto nearly south | 2000 |
| 5000 |
Pl. 17.
| From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr. & L. Bandoni. | Printed by C. Hullmandel. |