Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the vignette by E. H. Palmer,
The Desert of the Exodus, p. 317.
The expression Kîm-Oîrît, “the very black,” is applied to
the northern part of the Red Sea, in contradistinction to
Ûaz-Oîrît, Uazît-Oîrît, “the very green,” the
Mediterranean; a town, probably built at a short distance
from the village of Maghfâr, had taken its name from the
gulf on which it was situated, and was also called Kîm-
Oîrît.
The marauders took advantage of any inequality in the ground to approach unperceived, and they were often successful in getting through the lines; they scattered themselves over the country, surprised a village or two, bore off such women and children as they could lay their hands on, took possession of herds of animals, and, without carrying their depredations further, hastened to regain their solitudes before information of their exploits could have reached the garrison. If their expeditions became numerous, the general of the Eastern Marches, or the Pharaoh himself, at the head of a small army, started on a campaign of reprisals against them. The marauders did not wait to be attacked, but betook themselves to refuges constructed by them beforehand at certain points in their territory. They erected here and there, on the crest of some steep hill, or at the confluence of several wadys, stone towers put together without mortar, and rounded at the top like so many beehives, in unequal groups of three, ten, or thirty; here they massed themselves as well as they could, and defended the position with the greatest obstinacy, in the hope that their assailants, from the lack of water and provisions, would soon be forced to retreat.*
* The members of the English Commission do not hesitate to
attribute the construction of these towers to the remotest
antiquity; the Bedouin call them “namûs,” plur. “nawamîs,”
mosquito-houses, and they say that the children of Israel
built them as a shelter during the night from mosquitos at
the time of the Exodus. The resemblance of these buildings
to the “Talayôt” of the Balearic Isles, and to the Scotch
beehive-shaped houses, has struck all travellers.
Elsewhere they possessed fortified “duars,” where not only their families but also their herds could find a refuge—circular or oval enclosures, surrounded by low walls of massive rough stones crowned by a thick rampart made of branches of acacia interlaced with thorny bushes, the tents or huts being ranged behind, while in the centre was an empty space for the cattle. These primitive fortresses were strong enough to overawe nomads; regular troops made short work of them. The Egyptians took them by assault, overturned them, cut down the fruit trees, burned the crops, and retreated in security, after having destroyed everything in their march. Each of their campaigns, which hardly lasted more than a few days, secured the tranquillity of the frontier for some years.*
* The inscription of Uni (11. 22-32) furnishes us with the
invariable type of the Egyptian campaigns against the Hirû-
Shâîtû: the bas-reliefs of Karnak might serve to illustrate
it, as they represent the great raid led by Seti I. into the
territory of the Shaûsûs and their allies, between the
frontier of Egypt and the town of Hebron.
Drawn by Boudier, from the water-colour drawing published by
Lepsius, Denhn., i. 7, No. 2.