Now there are two monuments of antiquity known in such a situation, namely, the ruins of Dimay (Dimeh or Dimé) and an ancient temple (if it is a temple) discovered by Dr. Schweinfurth 7 or 8 kilometres north of Dimay.[6] Dimay itself is 3 kilometres from the nearest point of the present Lake Qurûn, and the surface of its causeway or quay at its upper end, near the old town, is 69 metres above the water surface of the lake (May 2nd, 1892), or at R.L. + 25·44. The south end of the quay is now about 2·85 metres lower, but it was doubtless originally somewhat higher than this, as its present is not apparently its original surface, some of the layers of stone having disappeared.
I had a trench dug against this quay or causeway, at about the middle of its length, to determine the depth to which the masonry was carried down.
If this had been merely a causeway, it is not easy to understand the necessity for so great a depth of masonry. It was therefore more probably a quay projecting into the water. This quay is 400 metres long, and its direction is due north and south. The level of the plateau sloping up to the end of the causeway on the south of Dimay is from R.L. 13·00 to 17·00; the plateau on the north side of the ruins is at R.L. 21·45.
The ruins of Dimay are Roman on the surface, but I do not know if it has been established that below the Roman remains there do not exist more ancient ones. Dr. Schweinfurth thus expresses his opinion about this old town: “Dimé seems to have filled the position of ‘tête-de-pont’ in relation to the Fayûm, as in consequence of its strong position, it afforded a secure outlet and final station for the caravan road opening out towards the Oasis. That the tribes of the Libyan Desert must even in the times of the Romans have been very restless and enterprising, is testified by the numerous similar fortifications, which in the day of the so-called good emperor, were erected on all the principal exits and entrances to the Oasis roads.”
Seven or eight kilometres north of Dimay (magnetic bearing from north entrance in Dimay enclosure wall 12° east of north) is found the ancient so-called temple, discovered by Dr. Schweinfurth in 1884. I give here photographs of the exterior and interior of the building, as well as its ground plan, that those who are capable of judging may have the means of estimating from them its probable age. ([Plates XIV.,] [XV.,] and [XVI.]) The important level, so far as the subject of this paper is concerned, of the old town, marked by mounds of ancient pottery on the south of the “temple,” was determined on the occasion of my visit. The level of the upper parts of these mounds was found to be R.L. + 24·58. The pottery was, of course, spread out to lower levels, but probably the ancient town was built between the levels of 23·00 and 26·00.
Dr. Schweinfurth remarks that the buildings dating from the XIIIth Dynasty are all distinguished by the same kind of four-cornered arrangement as this temple and generally scorn every kind of ornament; and he notes that the great size of the blocks and peculiar method of fitting the stones together give it a resemblance in style to other old buildings. Instead of giving his further description, I refer to the ground plan and photographs. It is worth noticing that the north-west room has no visible means of communication either with the exterior or with the other chambers of the building; also that the displacement of the stones, forming the upper half of the chambers on the raised floor, is suggestive of an earthquake, the upper stones having slid on the lower to a measurable extent in a north-easterly direction. Cracks in the roofing stones corresponding with the displacement seem to confirm the theory of earthquake action.
Plate XV.
INTERIOR OF DR. SCHWEINFURTH’S “TEMPLE,”
FROM WEST END OF OPEN ROOM.