Dust and ashes of empires,
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Bull. Dust and Ashes of Empires W: A: ^HELTON, M.A., D.D. Professor of Semitic Languages and Literature in Emory University , Atlanta , Ga. Introduction by BISHOP WARREN A. CANDLER REVISED EDITION Nashville, Tenn. COKESBURY PRESS 1924 Copyright, 1934 BY Lamar & Barton ©C1A808569 Printed in the United States of America - Co - THE MEMORY OF RUTH Beloved daughter , youngest of the flock , born August 30, 1913, who watched and waited and prayed, during the long journey about which this book is written, and, who, on the eve of its publica¬ tion, February 18, 1922, passed through the fire and went home to God, to await the coming of loved ones from their last long journey; to her, who was beau¬ tiful and beloved in life and tri¬ umphant in death, this volume is affectionately dedicated. FOREWORD This unpretentious volume is a simple travel story, written for the popular mind and with no claim to be the result of profound scholarly investigation; but at the same time, it is the story of an expedition carried out in the most scientific way and under the direction of a master scholar in the archaeological field. It is the travel-record of one member of “The American Scientific Mission,” a name given to the expedition by the British Foreign Office after its arrival in the Near East. This narrative is an accu¬ rate description of those places which were visited and of the conditions prevailing at the time. The book deals largely in personal experiences and de¬ scriptions written on the ground or soon after the happenings. An attempt is made to bring a clear mental picture of Bible lands and historical places to that large body of people interested in this field who have not had the opportunity of traveling over the territory itself To the other members of the expedition (Dr. Breasted, Dr. Luckenbill, Mr. Bull, and Mr. Edger- ton) the author acknowledges a large debt of grati¬ tude, for kindnesses shown, for patience under the most trying circumstances, and for the good fellow¬ ship which prevailed through weary months of hardships and privations, and which forged, out of such fires, eternal friendships. The author is greatly indebted also to Dr. E. F. Dempsey, of Atlanta, Ga., for special favors; to Dr. (5) 6 Dust and Ashes of Empires A. T. Clay, of Yale University, for friendship and suggestions; to Emory University for sending him out and providing for his work during the long absence; and to the wife, who stayed by the stuff and bravely kept the flock. The writer desires especially to acknowledge everlasting obligations to that great nobleman of God, Mr. John A. Manget, of Atlanta, who so generously provided the funds for his partici¬ pation in the expedition and also for the laying of the foundation for a museum of antiquity at Emory University. It is confidently hoped that the readers of this vol¬ ume will find a clearer vision of the historical and geographical setting of the Bible and also many illustrations which will make plainer the meaning of certain passages, by means of the Oriental side lights herein suggested. The archaeologist will likewise find a setting for his investigations and will be able to make use of the survey which is woven into this story. With due recognition of its weaknesses as well as of its merits, and hoping for it a kindly reception from the reading public, we commit it to the press. The Author. Emory University, Ga., March 30, 1922. INTRODUCTION Here is a most interesting and informing book, in the reading of which the learned will find pleasure and the unlearned instruction. The author, Dr. William A. Shelton, devoted much of the year 1920 in making a scientific survey of many of the monumental ruins of the Near East, beginning with Egypt and continuing through Assyria, Babylonia, Syria, and Palestine. Through these lands the company of scholars of which Dr. Shelton was a member went, not as tour¬ ists passing along the familiar routes of sight-see¬ ing “globe-trotters,” but as earnest and qualified explorers they passed through regions where in “the dust and ashes of empires” repose things of supreme interest to mankind. They knew the places of great¬ est importance, and what to do when there. A serious purpose engaged them, and, in its pursuit, they were not discouraged by dangers, nor depressed by hard¬ ships, nor discouraged by difficulties. They were fortunate in the time of their going forth, just after the world war had closed, in which British armies had won victories that opened notable ways before them and extended desirable protection over them. In this volume Dr. Shelton has recorded much of the results of their labors, and in the most pleasing manner he has set down his own observations. In an easy, familiar style of unaffected simplicity (7) 8 Dust and Ashes of Empires he has told the story of the goings and doings of “The American Scientific Mission.” His narration is not beyond the comprehension of the most unlearned reader, nor beneath the consideration of the most learned. His pages are illumined by citations of historical incidents connected with the places visited, which impart an added charm to the record of the experiences of himself and his companions. The tale he thus tells enlightens the intellect and enthralls the imagination. It reads like a romance. Best of all, every chapter is pervaded by a pro¬ found reverence for the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures which stimulates faith in their authentic¬ ity and inspires respect for their authority. Many passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament are illumined by what he tells of these ancient lands in which Abraham journeyed, Jacob saw visions, Moses wrote laws, David sang, and the prophets “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Wherefore, this is an edifying book; for Dr. Shelton writes out of the first-hand knowledge of an archaeologist, and not out of the subjective theoriz¬ ing of a rationalistic critic whose investigations have not been wider than the revolution of his swivel-chair, and whose penetration into things Oriental has not been deeper than his inkwell. He tells in plain language what he has seen and knows, and not what he might imagine “probably"' was. It is a pleasure to commend a volume of such marked excellence. Warren A. Candler. Atlanta, Ga., April 15, 1922. CONTENTS Page Foreword. 5 Introduction. 7 Chapter I The Land of the Pharaohs. 11 Chapter II The World’s Most Venerable Monuments. 18 Chapter III Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished. 35 Chapter IV “The Pearl of Egypt”. 54 Chapter V On the Trail of Moses. 60 Chapter VI On Southern Seas. 71 Chapter VII Abraham’s Homeland. 75 Chapter VIII By the Ancient Rivers. 84 Chapter IX Babylon the Fallen. 100 Chapter X Bagdad: The City of the Caliphs. 117 Chapter XI Up the Tigris. 123 (9) 10 Dust and Ashes of Empires Chapter XII Nineveh, “That Great City”. 134 Chapter XIII On the Trail of Abraham. 142 Chapter XIV Across the Syrian Desert. 161 Chapter XV Aleppo and the Orontes Valley. 165 Chapter XVI The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast. 180 Chapter XVII Damascus: A Paradise in the Desert. 195 Chapter XVIII Bashan and Galilee. 203 Chapter XIX Esdraelon, Sharon, and Sorek. 211 Chapter XX The Holy City. 224 Chapter XXI Round about Jerusalem. 249 Chapter XXII Tut-Ankh-Amen. 273 DUST AND ASHES OF EMPIRES CHAPTER I The Land of the Pharaohs On each side of the Strait of Gibraltar is a high mountain. The one on the African coast rises from a promontory of the mainland itself and is only a few hundred yards from the other one, which rises from the waters off the Spanish coast, a jagged rock, forming the world’s greatest fortress. These two were to the ancients the Pillars of Hercules, and to that world there was "nothing beyond.” No man dared to venture beyond the confines of this land¬ locked sea — land-locked save for this narrow strait — and no one dared to negotiate the unknown world outside of these narrows. Within this inclosure was the world of the long ago. Later years saw the development of Italy as a center of her civilizations; but with all of the grandeur of the mighty Caesars, they never succeeded in eclipsing the glory of the more ancient Mediterranean world. From a point on the northeast shore near the present city of Beirut, circling across the desert to the east, and dropping down around the southeast corner of the sea, you have a small half circle, a little bellied on the east side, which forms the "Near East” — not only the cradle of the Semitic race, but of our own civilization. Passing through Italy, the home of the Caesars, we have no intimation of that ancient glory except from the piles of ruined palaces and where the ever- belching Vesuvius has preserved for us the mighty glory of Pompeii and Herculaneum. A mere specter of the once splendid civilization, Italy stands to-day in pitiable contrast to her ancient self. Her beauti¬ ful Adriatic bears us onward toward our destination. Sailing out once more onto the Mediterranean, we at length come in sight of Alexandria, lying like a pearl over the blue-green waters of her bay. Perhaps more colors are to be seen in the waters of the Bay of Alexandria than in any other place in the world. What strange emotions stir the heart as one first catches sight of the shore lines of Egypt! How much that name means to the world, and what stories and dreams it conjures up! The desert first comes into view, as it piles its sands down to the very water's edge west of the city, with here and there a scrub palm struggling for existence near the water's brink. We then set foot on the soil of the land of the Pha¬ raohs, and are met by a group of motley beggars, guides, and porters, who suggest anything but Pharaoh or the remnant of the long-lost glory of the Pharaohs. The meeting of these vultures of the sea¬ ports is conducive neither to good temper nor good morals, and murder easily suggests itself to the mind. The Land of the Pharaohs 13 But at last we are here and with a purpose to make a scientific survey of all the monuments of the Near East, beginning with Egypt. We are the American Scientific Mission, organized by Dr. J. H. Breasted, of the University of Chicago, who is our director. The other members of the party are Dr. D. D. Luck- enbill, of the University of Chicago; Mr. Ludlow S. Bull, of New York City; Mr. W. F. Edgerton, of Philadelphia; and the author. Our first task was to survey the Nile valley, which we did from Alexandria to Shellal at the First Cata¬ ract, seven miles above the important city of Assuan. No country has been able to develop independent of a river, and this is especially true of those countries which lie over against the great deserts. And all the more true, necessarily so, in the ancient world, when the method of travel was not such as to justify men in taking the risks of long journeys away from known water courses; and so practically all travel routes followed some water course. In such a land as Egypt, a rainless country, all water came from the Nile, its one river; and, in fact, Egypt is a vast desert of hopeless sand rescued from its native condition by this wonderful river, which brings a tremendous volume of water from the highlands of Central Africa. Away up near the Congo, where it rains much, this stream has its birth and makes its way to Khartum, after which it fights through desert and granite barrier for a distance of nineteen hundred miles, until at last it comes to empty its waters into the sea. The whole length of the Nile is said to be four thousand and thirty-seven miles, and for the last nineteen hundred miles it has no intake, but a 14 Dust and Ashes of Empires great demand upon its supply from evaporation, percolation, and irrigation. And yet it brings enough water down to sail large vessels all the way from the mouth at Alexandria to the First Cataract at Assuan, a distance of six hundred and seventy-eight miles. Not only does this river water the land which it rescues from the desert, but also fertilizes it; for no better fertilizer can be found in the world than the silt from the river and canal beds brought down by the inundation. The natives are constantly seen taking up the silt from the canal beds and scattering it over their farms. The river begins rising about August 1, after the rainy season of July, in the terri¬ tory about the headwaters. By September 1, or a little earlier, the land is almost covered with water. All the canals are full, and this continues for two or- three months before it finally regains its normal volume. There are gauges, called Nilometers, along the river which have been in use from earliest times. The amount of silt brought down is so great that new terri¬ tory is constantly being formed in the bay at Alexan¬ dria and at the mouth of the other arms of the river farther to the east. Perhaps during the millenniums all of the delta has been thus formed. A few years ago British engineers undertook successfully the building of a dam at the First Cata¬ ract, above Assuan. It is the largest dam in the world, being one and a fourth miles long, built of red granite brought from the overhanging cliffs. It is from forty feet wide at the top to one hundred and fourteen feet wide at the bottom. The maximum depth is eighty-eight feet, and it forms a lake one hundred and eighty-five miles long and has reclaimed 15 The Land of the Pharaohs between five hundred thousand and six hundred thousand acres of land and serves to regulate the water supply for all Egypt, inasmuch as it keeps its one hundred and eighty sluice gates closed when the Nile is low and opens them when it is high. The lake is highest when the Nile is lowest and when water is most needed. The valley differs in width from nothing, where the sand of the desert piles in from both sides, to several miles, as at Baliano, where it is perhaps eight miles wide, and on down to the delta, with varying widths. The delta is a fan-shaped district, measur¬ ing from Alexandria to Cairo about one hundred and thirty miles, and thirty-five miles wide at its widest point. The silt soil here is very deep, and it is per¬ haps the most fertile in all the world. Cotton, cane, durra, beans, barley, wheat, clover, onions, vege¬ tables in general, and many other things are raised; and besides feeding the natives, they form also a large export. The live stock consists of camels, donkeys, water buffalo, cows, a few sheep, goats, and a very few horses. The fellahin, or lowest class of natives, form about ninety-eight per cent of the population. They are a miserable lot, living in huts built of sun-dried brick, mud, reeds, or in some cases living in tombs and rarely in tents. They do the hard work and receive little for it, just as they have always done. The other two per cent of the people are those who can read and are called “effendi,” wearing red fezzes to distinguish them from the com¬ mon herd. These are a lazy lot, lying around the coffeehouses all day, discussing politics and demand¬ ing self-government. The land yields immense 16 Dust and Ashes of Empires treasures, and the effendi are usually quite well-to- do, though they never do anything to earn what they get. The population of Egypt is given as approxi¬ mately thirteen million. The British government holds a mandate over them, but allows them as much freedom of action as possible. The principal cities of Egypt are Alexandria and Cairo. Alexandria has about four hundred thousand population and is one of the two great seaports of Egypt. It was founded in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great and was greatly embellished by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who made it a great center of learning, erecting here a library which was said to contain as many as nine hundred thousand rolls, or volumes. He was a great patron of learning and drew many notable scholars to his capital. It was here under his patronage that the Scriptures were first translated into another language, when Alexandrian Jews translated them from the Hebrew to the Greek. The modern city has a fine museum of Greek and Roman remains, and near the center of the city stands what is known as Pompey’s Pillar, a beautiful monolith, standing eighty-eight feet high, and was perhaps one of several which formed a colonnade of the famous Serapeum in the long ago. This city was the scene of many notable historical events of Greek and Roman days. Cairo is the largest city of all the Near East, having about seven hundred thousand population. It is at the handle of the open fan, a term used to describe the shape of the delta, and it has sometimes been called the diamond stud on the handle of the fan. It is of great antiquity, being the traditional site of 17 The Land of the Pharaohs the battle of the gods, Set and Horns, in the long ago of Egyptian religious tradition. Its greatest glory was during the days of the caliphs, and they embel¬ lished it with many mosques, some of which are per¬ haps the most beautiful in the world. It has a won¬ derful citadel, which lies just under the Mokattam hills and back of three mosques, the Alabaster, the Blue, and the Mosque of Sultan Hassan. The latter bears on its south wall a number of cannon balls, sticking in the wall and fired by the artillery of Napoleon Bonaparte in his siege of the city in 1798. Near here is the cemetery with the tombs of the Mamelukes and the tombs of the Caliphs, famous monuments of that age. It contains a great museum, the largest museum of antiquities in the whole world. In fact, it is a great building so full that it has enough stuff on the outside lying about to furnish another museum of antiquities greater than any other in the world. Within these halls repose the survivals of the most glorious civilization the earth has ever sup¬ ported — statues great and small, sarcophagi, tomb furniture, fragments of temples, jewelry enough in quantity and quality to grace the greatest court of this century, literature in the form of stele and papyrus, working tools and war implements of the long ago, the bodies of the great kings who ruled the land, and other things too numerous to mention. I think the most impressive things one sees in this museum are the mummies of such men as Rameses II., Thothmes III., Merneptah of the Exodus, and others. 2 CHAPTER II The World's Most Venerable Monuments Of all the objects of interest about Cairo the great¬ est are the pyramids, the grandest monuments of all the ages and of all civilizations. How wonderfully impressive they are, sitting there on the edge of the desert, great piles representing at once the greatest effort of human genius and the' acme of human stupidity, and withal the evidence of the ever¬ present consciousness of the immortality of the human soul and an attempt to realize that great hope. There are five groups of these pyramids in this vicinity, the most northerly of which is the Abu Roash group. The farthest one south at this point is that of Dashur. The oldest is Sakkarah, and the one nearest Gizeh is Abusir. But the first interest of all travelers is to see the pyramids of Gizeh. Premier Clemenceau declined to run for president of France when first approached about the matter with the excuse that he wanted to see the pyramids of Egypt^ once before he died. He got his wish, and I saw him there in February. In the Gizeh group there are three pyramids— Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), and Men- kure (Mycerinus) — and designated as first, second, and third pyramids. These pyramids stand in a row, the diagonal of each being in direct line with the others. The third, or Pyramid of Mycerinus, is by far the smallest of the group, its present perpendicu- (18) * THE SPHINX AND THE GREAT PYRAMID. This great monument is a portrait statue of Khafre, the builder of the Second Pyramid, which stands just behind the Sphinx. FROM THE TOP OF THE GREAT PYRAMID, OVER THE SECOND PYRAMID, AND INTO THE SANDS OF THE SAHARA. The World's Most Venerable Monuments 19 lar height being two hundred and four feet and its original height being two hundred and eighteen feet. The highest casing of this pyramid was of limestone, while the lower part of it was cased with polished red granite from Assuan. Also a most valuable contri¬ bution to the historical details of pyramid-building is the causeway of this one, which still remains in almost perfect condition, showing the method by which the stones were conveyed from the Nile valley. As in the case of all other pyramids, it has its mor¬ tuary temple on the east side and next the river. There are here, as at the others, the small piles under which members of the family were buried. The second pyramid, or that of Khafre, stands on higher ground than the Great Pyramid and seems from" the "desert side to be higher; at present it is only two and one-half feet lower, its present height being four hundred and forty-seven and one-half feet. The most interesting thing about it is the fine casing that still remains at the top, the lower casing having been removed for building purposes long ago. The Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) stands on the very edge of the desert plateau and completely overshadows the others; in fact, everything in the ancient world pales into the commonplace beside it. It originally rose to a height of four hundred and eighty-one feet above the level of the plain; but centuries ago the top was removed to give standing room for those who climbed it, and the stone thus removed was used in building the great mosque of Sultan Hassan, in Cairo. It is now four hundred and fifty feet from base to top, and a pole thirty-one feet high is kept on top to show the original height. This 20 Dust and Ashes of Empires great mass covers thirteen acres of ground and is com¬ posed of approximately two million three hundred thousand stones quarried in the Mokattam Hills, directly across the Nile valley and back of Cairo. Each of these stones weighs more than two and one- half tons. They are all limestone except the larger ones in the center over and around the tomb chamber, which are of the finest red granite brought down the river from Assuan. These stones were transported across the Nile valley on rafts during the inundation, the rafts following the canals until they reached the edge of the desert at a point nearest the place where they were to be built into the great pile. From here they were dragged up a great causeway built of smooth limestones which were carved and inscribed. Up this incline plane they were conveyed to the workmen. First the plateau was leveled and sub¬ terranean passageways, vaults, and chambers were made. This preliminary preparation took, according to Herodotus, ten years, using the full quota of men. The number of men, according to the traditions during Herodotus' day, was one hundred thousand, working three months in the year — that is, during the inundation, when they could not farm — besides the great number of artisans and quarrymen used all the year round. One can imagine this great king drawing on all the resources of the known world of his day. After the plateau and the causeway were ready, it then required twenty years more to build the pyramid. The Greek historian, Herodotus, visited the pyra¬ mid in 450 B.C. and gives this account of it: The World's Most Venerable Monuments 21 The pyramid was built in the form of a flight of steps. After the workmen had completed the pyramid in this form, they raised the other stones used for the incrustation by means of machines made of short beams from the ground to the first tier of steps; after the stone was placed there, it was raised to the second tier by another machine, for there were as many machines as there were tiers of steps; or perhaps there was but one machine, easily moved, that was raised from one tier to another as it was required for lifting the stones. The highest part of the pyramid was thus finished first (by smoothing). The parts joining were taken next, and the lowest part next to the ground was completed last. It was recorded on the pyramid in Egyptian writing, how much was spent on radishes, onions, and the roots of garlic for dis¬ tribution among the workmen; and if I rightly remember what the interpreter told me, who read the writing, the money they cost amounted to sixteen hundred talents of silver. If this were really the cost, how much more must have been spent on the iron with which they worked and on the food and cloth¬ ing of the workmen. Herodotus was always too credulous, but his ac¬ count of the cost could hardly have been exaggerated; and of course he was imposed on by the guides, just as tourists are to-day. No guide or any other native can read the hiero¬ glyphics to-day, and no man could read them prior to one hundred years ago. W e cannot yet determine how these ancients performed their work so well, for this pyramid, built in the thirtieth century before Christ, has been examined by the best engineers of the mod¬ ern world; and though it is built of such enormous stones and these lifted to such a height, the com¬ pleted building is found to be so exact in its detail that it does not vary on the square of the compass as much as one-one hundredth of an inch. The length of each side is seven hundred and fifty-six feet, the 22 Dust and Ashes of Empires perpendicular height is four hundred and eighty-one feet, the height of each sloping side is six hundred and ten feet, and the angle at which the sides arose was fifty-one degrees and fifty minutes. The cubic con¬ tents of the masonry was three million two hundred and twenty-seven thousand cubic yards. According to Herodotus, the causeway up which these gigantic stones were dragged was ten hundred and seventeen yards long, forty-eight feet high at the highest places, and sixty feet broad, and its remains can still be seen on the east side of the pyramid. At the exact center of the great pile is the chamber in which was laid the mummy of the king, and the effort to enter this is a most trying experience. You enter from the thirteenth tier of stones from the bot¬ tom, forty-nine feet above the foundation on the perpendicular; the passageway is three feet and four inches by three feet and eleven inches, and descends for one hundred and six and one-half yards on an angle of twenty-six degrees and forty-one minutes; then up a very slippery passage for forty-one yards into a high hallway, which is itself one of the marvels of the pyramid. It is one hundred and fifty-five feet long, twenty-eight feet high, three feet four inches wide at the bottom, and a little more than six feet wide at the top. It is built of the finest Mokat- tam limestone and is so well laid that not even a needle point could be inserted between the joints. How they ever constructed such splendid masonry so far away from the light of day and under such straitened conditions is hard to fathom. It may be, of course, that this work was done before the top of the pyramid was put on, but even then it would be The World's Most Venerable Monuments 23 no easy task. From this great hall you pass into a horizontal passage twenty-two feet long which ex¬ pands into an anteroom of the tomb chamber itself. All this journey into the very heart of the pyramid is made over a wet, slippery pavement, through the narrow passages and to the tune of loathsome bats’ wings. When this passage was made, in order to foil tomb robbers, granite portcullises were dropped in behind the returning men who had conveyed the mummy into its resting place. When the robbers came to these they could not dig through them; so they dug around them, and through these very small holes around the granite barriers one must drag his body with a feeling that he may not quite make it and be left hanging in there far from the outside world. Within the king’s chamber one breathes with more freedom, especially after he finds that it has two air passages leading out to the top of the pyramid. The sides of the room on the north and on the south are seventeen feet in length, while the east and west sides are thirty-four and one-half feet each, and the height is nineteen feet. The roof is formed of enor¬ mous slabs of granite, measuring eighteen and one- half feet in length, above which five mysterious chambers have been found, the two uppermost con¬ taining the name of Khufu. It has been suggested that these were intended to strengthen the roof of the tomb chamber. This great central chamber, entirely lined with granite beautifully joined to¬ gether and whose floor is one hundred and thirty- nine and one-half feet above the level of the plain, contains nothing now but the empty stone sarcoph¬ agus, much mutilated and bearing no inscriptions. 24 Dust and Ashes of Empires How vain are the attempts of man to fight remorseless time and try to preserve the frail human form in an effort to seize upon that most priceless of all boons, immortality ! The great pile stands and probably will stand until time is no more, but the body of the vain and selfish old king who built it has long since fallen a prey to vultures, jackals, or natural decay. There are other chambers — one directly below the king's chamber, which has often been referred to as that of the queen; but her pyramid has been found at another place. This was likely the king's chamber at a time when the idea was to build a much smaller pyramid, and this was the center of that one; but as the old king lived on, he increased the pile, continuing to build as long as he lived. There is also a passage which leads downward for a distance of two hundred and ninety-three feet, ending in a horizontal corridor thirty-seven feet long. There are still more of these, about which there is much speculation and little knowledge. From the top of this monumental pile a splendid view is to be had. To the east are the Mokattam Hills and the beautiful city of Cairo, with the eastern desert and Heliopolis beyond. At our feet is the long line of trees flanking the paved roadway, built for the visit of Napoleon III., and which leads from the foot of the pyramid to the very gates of Cairo — Cairo with its wonderful citadel and its many graceful minarets, the green Nile valley seamed with canals; to the north the ancient pyramids of Abu Roash; to the south the Sahure and Sakkarah and Dashur groups; to the west the awful Sahara with its billows of sand ever rolling inward as if to baffle any attempt AT THE TOP OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. Mr. Edgerton and the author. THE MOSQUE OF THE SULTAN HASSAN, CAIRO. The black spots on the wall are cannon balls fired by the artillery of Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1798, when he captured Cairo. The mosque to the right is the Alabaster Mosque, the most famous of all mosques. The World’s Most Venerable Monuments 25 to expose to the profane gaze of modern men the re¬ mains of the glorious civilizations which lie buried here. The greatest of the pyramid temples is that of the Khafre, or the second pyramid. It is a splendid granite structure built down near the level of the Nile valley, or, if not near, much lower down than the platform on which the pyramids themselves are built. It is of the finest red granite from Assuan. The comers are carved rather than joined and it is a very fine bit of workmanship. Alongside of this, and just a little back, is the Sphinx, the most imposing of all ancient statuary. It is hewn out of the solid rock, which formed part of the plateau on which the pyramids are built and continues to form part of that plateau, but so low down as to be continually sanding up. The hill was not entirely sufficient to make the likeness, so it was reenforced by masonry, and when complete was the portrait of King Khafre, the builder of the second pyramid. Perhaps the natural likeness to a lion suggested to the workmen, as they labored far above it on the pyramid itself, the building of a portrait statue of the king. It was afterwards taken for an image of the sun god and worshiped as such, its original purpose having been forgotten. It was a huge thing, sixty-six feet high and one hun¬ dred and eighty-seven feet long. The length of the nose is five feet and seven inches, while the ear measures four and one-half feet and the breadth of the face is thirteen feet and eight inches. The head is quite modern, in that it has a hollow in it. It has suffered violence from earthquake, from the fanati¬ cal zeal of the Mameluke iconoclasts, been used for a 26 Dust and Ashes of Empires target, fallen a prey to British vandals (who took away to the British Museum the beard, headdress, and other things) ; and yet, in spite of all this, it re¬ mains the most impressive figure in all the world. Again and again it has been covered with sand, and has been excavated many times, One prince of the fifteenth century before Christ records in the temple how he uncovered it; but as often as it is laid bare, it finds itself a prey to the ever-incoming sands of the desert, and even now its base is twenty feet beneath the sand. Here it sits at the foot of the great pyramids, on the edge of the Nile valley, looking across that valley and watching its changes as it has watched them for nearly fifty centuries, over it the silent pyramids, back of it the pitiless Sahara, in front the green valley, and stretching far back into history it has watched, a gaunt specter of forgotten civilizations. About twenty miles south of the Gizeh group of pyramids are two other groups of great interest. Abusir, the first of these, is not the oldest, but shows perhaps the highest indication of civilization to be found along the Nile or in the ancient world. These pyramids were built by the kings of the fifth dynasty (about 2800 B.C.). The main pyramid was origi¬ nally about one hundred and sixty-three feet high, with sloping sides two hundred and fifty-seven feet, and was fronted by a splendid temple, lying as usual on the east side and whose ruins indicate a splendor hardly equaled in a period so ancient. A large colonnaded court, with black basalt pavement and sixteen palm columns of granite, originally sup¬ ported the roof of the court. This court was joined The World’s Most Venerable Monuments 27 by a transverse room and another with five recesses, in which stood statues of the king. Storerooms, treasuries, and many other rooms are indicated in the debris of this temple. Perhaps the most interesting thing found here was twelve hundred feet of copper drain pipe which seems to have formed a sewer system. There was also found a copper plug which looked like the stopper to a bath tub, but some have doubted the authenticity of this. On the walls of this remarkable temple is found the earliest sur¬ viving record of seagoing ships, in which a voyage is described to the Phoenician coast, from which the king, Sahure, brought back Semitic Syrians — the earliest known representation of these people. We have here also another account of how this fleet went to Punt (Ophir) and brought back many things of interest, including fragrant gums, incense, and ointments. The king describes the land of Punt as “ God’s land/’ There are at least three other pyramids in this group. The pyramid of Sakkarah, built by King Zoser probably earlier than 3000 B.C., stands out in the desert, in the midst of a necropolis containing the remains of tombs representing almost every age of Egyptian history down to and including the convent of St. Jeremiah, founded in the second half of the fifth century A.D. and destroyed by the Arabs in 960 A.D. The Step pyramid, as the Zoser monu¬ ment is sometimes called, consists of six stages, the lowest of which is thirty-seven and one-half feet in height, the second thirty-six feet, the third thirty- four and one-half feet, the fourth thirty-two and one-half feet, the fifth thirty and three-fourths feet, 28 Dust and Ashes of Empires and the sixth twenty-nine feet, and each stage re¬ ceding six and one-half feet. The perpendicular height is about two hundred feet and the whole is built of inferior limestone quarried in the neighbor¬ hood. This is the oldest stone structure known to man¬ kind and is supposed to have been built in stages, so that in case the king died it could be stopped at that point, but as long as he lived he could still build on. When one thinks of the great antiquity of this great pile, it becomes all the more wonderful and awe-in¬ spiring as the mighty effort of a great man who lived far back toward the childhood of the race. Zoser, the builder of this mighty monument, was the first of the great kings whose history we know. 