travels

76 TRAVELS IN EGYPT, NUBIA,and formed his divan. Having replied to his questions, andobtained a promise of horses for myself and Osman, to enableme to crOss the desert that night and visit Ibrim, I took myleave, and went to the rocks behind the village, followed bya numerous party of the natives, who came in hopes ofseeirig me discover treasures in the ruins, the supposed objectof the visits of all Europeans to this part of the world. TheMamelouk, who fancied himself wiser than the rest, askedme whether the Enghsh, French, or Genoese had built thetemples, and whether the object of my visit was not the workof my ancestors.When I arrived at the rocks, I found that the supposedtemple was only a large excavation, evidently a burial-place.The approach to it was through two rows of incompletesquare pillat^, hewn out of the rock; their height above theground is about four feet. At the end of this approach is arough sort of portico, composed of four square pillars, withentablature. A ceiling, the greatest part Of which is fallendown, connected them with the front of the excavation,scarped perpendicularly from the rock. On the outside frontof the pillars of the portico are the lower parts, from thewaist, of whole length statues in full relief; their heightoriginally extended to the top of the entablature: theyappear to have had the conical casque common to Egyptianstatues, and stand on square bases.ΚΥΠΡΙΑΚΗ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΘΗΚΗ