Chapter IX: Letter VII: Saqâra, the 18th March, 1843

A short time ago, I made an excursion with Abeken and Bonomi to the more distant Pyramids of Lischt and Meidûm. The last especially interested me extremely, as it has solved in a general manner some enigmas in the structure of the Pyramids, which had long occupied my mind.[14] As an exception to the general rule, it lies almost in the lower plain, in the immediate neighbourhood of Bahr Jussuf, and is only just removed out of reach of the inundation; but it rises up so high and stately from the flat surface of the surrounding country, that it attracts notice even from a great distance. Its square, sharp-angled tower-like centre, which diminishes slightly at the summit, namely, at an angle of 74°, rises from an envelopment of rubbish, which surrounds it almost half-way up, to the height of 120 feet. Another hundred feet higher, there succeeds a platform, from which rises a more slender tower of moderate height, in the same angle, which again, in the centre of its flat upper surface, bears the remains of a third elevation. The walls of the principal tower are for the most part smoothly polished, but have stripes at intervals that have been left rough, the cause of which are first appeared almost inexplicable; but on more minute examination, I also found in the interior of the half-destroyed building which surrounds the base, some rising walls that were smooth, and having the same angle as the tower; in front of these, again lay other walls, which followed one upon another like scales. At length it occurred to me that the whole building had proceeded from a small Pyramid, which had been erected in stages of about forty feet high, and then first increased and heightened simultaneously on all sides, by superimposed coverings of stone, from fifteen to twenty feet in breadth, till at length the great steps were filled up so as to form one common flat side, giving the usual pyramidal form to the whole.

This gradual growth explains the enormous magnitude of particular Pyramids, beside so many other smaller ones. Each king began the building of his Pyramid as soon as he ascended the throne; he only designed a small one, to ensure himself a complete tomb, even were he destined to be but a few years upon the throne. But with the advancing years of his reign, he increased it by successive layers, till he thought that he was near the termination of his life. If he died during the erection, then the external covering was alone completed, and the monument of death finally remained proportionate to the duration of the life of the king. If, in the course of centuries, all the other conditions which determine our calculations had equally remained, then, as by the rings of a tree, we might even now have been able to calculate the years in the reigns of particular kings, by the coatings of the Pyramids.

On the other hand, the great enigma of the bearded giant Sphinx still remains unsolved! When, and by whom, was the colossal statue erected, and what was its signification? We must leave the reply to more fortunate successors. It is almost half-covered up with sand, and the granite stele, above eleven feet high, which stands between the paws, and which in itself forms the back wall of a small temple, which is here inserted, was totally invisible. Even the immense excavations made by Caviglia, in the year 1818, had long disappeared, so as not to leave a trace behind. By means of between sixty to eighty persons labouring for whole days together, we almost reached the base of the stele, a drawing of which I caused immediately to be made, as well as an impression on paper, and also a plaster cast, in order to set it up one day in Berlin. This stele, on which the Sphinx is itself represented, was erected by TUTHMOSIS IV., and dates from the first year of his reign. Thus, he must have found the Colossus already there. We are accustomed to regard the Sphinx, in Egypt, as a portrait of the king, and generally indeed, for that of a particular king, whose features it is said to represent; therefore, with the single exception, as far as I am aware, of one female sphinx, which represents the wife of King Horus, they are always andro-sphinxes. In the hieroglyphic written character, the Sphinx is called NEB (the Lord), and forms _e. g._ the middle syllable in the name of the King NECTANEBUS.

But what king does our Colossus represent? He stands in front of the second Pyramid, that of Schafra (Chephren), not exactly in the axis, yet parallel with the sides of the temple, which stands before it, and in such a manner, as if the rock beside the Sphinx on the northern side was intended as its counterpart. Sphinxes, rams, statues, and obelisks, used besides always to stand in former times in pairs before the entrances of the temples. But what a powerful impression would have been made on the approaching worshipper by two such giant watchmen, between which the ancient pathway led up to the Temple of Chephren. They would have been worthy of that period of vast colossal monuments, and in due proportion with the Pyramid which rises up behind. I cannot deny that this connexion would be most satisfactory to me. What other motive would have induced the Theban kings of the 18th Dynasty, who are alone to be thought of in the New Monarchy, to adorn the Memphitic Field of Death with such a wonder of the world, if entirely unconnected with what surrounds it. In addition to this, upon the steles of Tuthmosis, the name of King CHEPHREN is inscribed in a line, which farther on is almost entirely broken away; a portion of his Name-Shield, unfortunately quite isolated, has been still preserved, therefore undoubtedly it had some sort of reference to the builder of the Pyramid which is situated behind it.

On the other hand, indeed, the question arises: If King Chephren was represented here, why does not the image bear his name? It is rather designated as HAREM-CHU (Horus in the Horizon), that is, as the image of the Sun-god, the emblem of all kings, and also HARMACHIS in one of the Greek inscriptions which have been found in front of the Sphinx. It does not appear to me altogether improbable that Pliny’s fable is founded on this, who makes a King Amasis (Armasis) be buried in the Sphinx;[15] for we surely cannot suppose it was a real sepulchre. Another consideration to be borne in mind is that I have not in general met with the image of the Sphinx in that oldest period of the builders of the Pyramids; yet too much stress need not be laid on this; the form of the Sphinx is not often found, even in inscriptions or representations, in the New Monarchy. In short, the true Œdipus is still wanting for this king of all sphinxes. He who can clear away the inexhaustible sand-flood which is again burying that very field of tombs, and who can expose to view the base of the Sphinx, the ancient pathway to the temple, and the surrounding hills, might soon venture to decide this question.

The enigmas of history are in this land associated with many enigmas and wonders in nature, which I must not leave wholly unnoticed. I must at least describe to you the most recent.

I had descended into a mummy-pit with Abeken, that we might open some sarcophagi we had discovered, and I was not a little astonished, on stepping out, to find myself in an actual snow-storm of locusts, which almost darkening the sky, moved above our heads in hundreds of thousands from the desert in the south-west towards the valley. I fancied it was a single flight, and in haste called the others out of the tombs, that they might witness the Egyptian wonder before it had passed away. But the flight continued, indeed the workmen said, it had even begun an hour previously. We now observed for the first time, that the whole country, far and wide, was covered with locusts. I sent a servant into the desert to find out the breadth of the flight. He ran for about a quarter of an hour, then returned, and said that still as far as he had been able to see, he could discover no termination. I rode home, still in the midst of the storm of locusts. They fell down in heaps on the border of the fruitful plain; and so it lasted the whole day through, till evening, and so on the next, from morning till night, to the third, indeed to the sixth day, and even longer, but in less numerous flights. The day before yesterday, a storm of rain seems for the first time to have beaten down the rear-guard, and destroyed them in the desert. The Arabs make great smoking fires in their fields, they rattle and scream all day long to protect their crops from the unexpected invasion. But it will avail them little. These millions of graminivorous winged insects cover even the adjacent sandy plain like a new living vegetation, to such a degree, that scarcely anything is to be seen of the ground; and when they swarm up from any point, they fall down again on whatever is in the immediate neighbourhood; exhausted by their long journey, in their eagerness they fill their hollow stomachs, and, as if conscious of their enormous numbers, they appear to have lost even all fear of their natural enemies, man, animals, smoke, and noise. But what is most wonderful to me, is their origin from the naked desert, and the instinct which has led them from some oasis across the inhospitable sandy sea, to the rich pastures of the Nile valley. The last time that this land-plague of Egypt exhibited itself to a similar extent was above fourteen years ago. The people say that it is sent by the comet which we have observed in the south-west for the last twelve days, and which now, in the hours of evening, since it is no longer outshone by the moon, again stretches its magnificent tail of fire across the heavens. The zodiacal light, which is so rarely seen in the north, has also been visible of late almost every evening.

I have only now been enabled completely to conclude my account with Gizeh, and to combine the historical results. I have every reason to rejoice over it; the 4th and 5th Dynasties are completed, with the exception of one king. I have just received the somewhat illegible drawing of a stone which has been built into a wall in the village of Abusir, representing a series of kings of the 4th and 5th Dynasties upon their thrones, and, as it appears, in chronological order. I intend to ride there myself to see the original.