(46) On the east face of the high rock shewn at C on plate [VII], there are two short inscriptions in the Greek character. That on the right reads:
| ΑΜ | Am . . . . . . . |
| ΣΑΒΙΝΙΑΝΟΣ | Sabinianos (and) |
| ΣΕΡΑΠΕΙΩΝ | Serapeum, (sons) |
| ΟΡΣΟΥ | of Ursus. |
The first name is doubtful as I am uncertain how many letters are missing. The remainder are Greek forms of Latin names.
On the left of the above is the Greek name ΕΡΜΕΙΝΟΣ. Ἕρμεινος is known in C. I. G., 3, nos. 5109; 4716.
The names have been fairly nearly cut in the granite with a fine pointed chisel. {47}
(47) There are over 25 obelisks known to-day whose weights exceed 50 tons, and all must have come from Aswân, since it is the only convenient outcrop of granite in Egypt. It might well be asked from which quarries they have been taken. I have examined most of the quarries about Aswân and Shellâl, but must admit that I have not found one from which I am sure that an obelisk has been extracted. I think that, at any rate, some must have been taken from the quarries in the near neighbourhood of the Aswân obelisk, as the stratum is good, and it is the most conveniently situated from the river bank. It would well repay the trouble taken to clear the quarry to the south, and the valley leading up to the obelisk, completely, exposing the floor, as it is there that we may expect to find the bed of one of the larger obelisks. It must be borne in mind however, that a quarry, good enough to furnish a large obelisk, would be worked as long as there was good stone to be extracted from it. The sand does not come in at any alarming rate, and a credit of L. E. 5 every year would be sufficient to keep the whole quarry clear. I estimate the cost of completely clearing the south quarry and the valley at L. E. 1500. It would leave a magnificent monument.
CHAPTER VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(48) I have endeavoured to confine this bibliography to references which, directly or indirectly, concern the quarrying, transport and erection of obelisks in Egyptian times, omitting certain mediæval accounts such as those of Peter Gyllius, and such stories of marvellous Egyptian engines as are put forward by certain irresponsible writers. I have, however, given a very brief précis of the removals of the Vatican, Paris and the London and New York obelisks, as these have a general interest.
ANTIQUITIES DEPARTMENT, Annales du Service.—Several references to obelisks are given in the index of parts I–X, chiefly dealing with those of Karnak. In volume V, pp. 11 and 12, there is a discussion by Legrain on those before Pylon VII (section [11]).
(49) BARBER (Commander F. M., U. S. N., The Mechanical Triumphs of the Ancient Egyptians, published by Kegan Paul, 1900.—This is a popular description, in a portable size, of the best-known works undertaken by the Egyptians. In many ways it may be considered as a précis of Gorringe’s Egyptian Obelisks. It gives the details of removals of obelisks in modern times, shorn of elaborate technical details. He assumes that the large obelisks were raised in much the same manner as the Seringapatam obelisk (section [36]).