This is not only the most curious of all the temples of Gibel el Birkel, four of the chambers being excavated out of the rock; but it is also in every respect the most picturesque and interesting, particularly from being in the best preservation. Though an excavation, it is apparently not very ancient.[25] I found no other name upon it than that of Tirhaka, which is found on the columns of the portico, and also in the interior. This is the Pharaoh, as will be seen by the [Historical Appendix,] who assisted Hezekiah in his war against Sennacherib. In clearing out the stones and rubbish from the sanctuary, to make it a more comfortable residence, I made the curious discovery of a gutter, 4 inches deep and 9 inches broad, which crosses the ancient stone floor. It was probably to receive the blood of the sacrifices.
The sculpture of this temple has not the striking characteristics of the true Ethiopian style; it more resembles the Egyptian, and is good, though by no means the best. It is not improbable that this Ethiopian dynasty, being possessed also of Egypt, introduced into their own country a taste for the improved style of Egyptian sculpture. Ages must have elapsed before the Ethiopian manner could have changed to one so entirely different as this is.
The next ruin I arrived at is marked D in the [plan,] and is nearly 300 feet distant from the Typhonium. This space of 300 feet between the two temples is covered with ruined fragments, doubtless part of the city. The temple D is not remarkable for architectural beauty. It is much injured, and the sculpture and hieroglyphics which ornamented the interior are quite defaced; scarcely a vestige of the latter remaining to tell that they existed. The plan of the temple may be distinctly traced. It consisted only of two rooms: the first ornamented with four columns; the second is the sanctuary, in which is a plain stone for an altar: the length of the edifice is 85 feet, and the width 65. I saw no reason to suppose that it ever had an additional portico in front. The defaced state of the hieroglyphics and sculpture is no proof, in this instance, of its great antiquity, but may be accounted for by the peculiar softness of the stone. Close or adjoining to this temple, on the east side, are some walls and columns of other edifices (E in the [plan]); but, from what remains, little, I think, would be gained by an excavation, as there are no hieroglyphics.
At 125 feet to the north, that is, behind the last-described ruins, are the remains of the propylon of a small temple. (See the foreground of [Plate XXIII.], and to the right, in the distance, of [Plate XXV.]) Its south side is ornamented with sculpture, representing the king sacrificing prisoners to Amun; a subject so often repeated on the propylons of Egypt. The other side of the propylon is also ornamented with sculpture. (See [Plate XXIII.]) It represents a sphinx on a pedestal, under which is a figure with feathers, and also a pedestal with some vases. I copied the hieroglyphics which were legible. They contain the name and titles of a king called Amun Sekon. The upper part of the oval, on the south side of the propylon, is destroyed; but on the north, where it is perfect, it seems to be Strength of Amun Sekon. The similarity of the name Sekon and Sethus, the first of the nineteenth dynasty, is curious. The hieroglyphics above the sphinx seem to allude to the offering of an obelisk to the king, and the inscription above the vases states their number to be forty. The width of this temple is 60 feet. The sekos has been destroyed by the falling of part of the mountain; and another temple, C, close adjoining, has suffered in a similar manner. Of the latter still slighter traces remain: a few fragments of columns and part of a wall alone indicate that it ever existed.
Pl. 20.
| On stone by C. Hullmandel, from a Drawing by L. Bandoni Esqr. | Printed by C. Hullmandel. |
TEMPLE BUILT BY TIRHAKA, GIBEL EL BIRKEL.
Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.
Great Temple at Gibel el Birkel.—The temple I next arrived at, 75 feet from the latter, marked F in the [plan,] had attracted my attention on first arriving at the mountain. It is now little more than an immense confused pile of ruins. One column only remains entire; having the capital of the form of the lotus-bud; denoting its epoch, not only by its style, but by the name still legible on the slab of the capital. Of the vast number of columns which ornamented the porticoes, vestibules, and apartments of this enormous edifice, one only remains; a sad relic of departed splendour: and this, defaced, tottering, and almost bent with age, cannot long answer the purpose of transmitting to posterity the name of its royal founder. It seems almost by a miracle to have survived the ruin which surrounds it: and we may congratulate ourselves on this circumstance; for, if it had fallen a generation earlier, the fragments would have been swallowed up by the desert or carried away by the Arabs; and, consequently, the style of the architecture, and the name of the king who, perhaps, built this splendid edifice, would have remained wrapped in impenetrable mystery.