This valley is a branch of one that opens into the Lybian chain, near the palace of Kourna; or, perhaps, is rather an isolated chasm in the rock, which has been joined to that valley, by an artificial passage. The main valley leaves the plain of Thebes in a north-western direction, and winds, by continually bending to the left, until it tends to the south-west; in this way it again approaches the river, so as to be separated from the site of the tomb of Osymandyas, only by a narrow cliff. Through this, it is not irrational to presume, there must exist a subterranean passage, which probably formed the principal entrance to Beban-el-Molouk. Thirteen tombs are now known in this valley; eleven have been open since the time of Strabo, by whom they were visited; a twelfth was discovered by two members of the French expedition; and the last has more recently been explored by the enterprising Belzoni.

These tombs are constructed upon a plan nearly uniform, and less complicated than many of the private excavations on the face of the mountain. They consist of long galleries, and halls of various dimensions; but in each of these, one hall is distinguished from the rest, by the care that has been bestowed on its structure and embellishment, and in this the body of the royal founder lay. Although any one of these excavations, if it were found alone, would be an interesting object of study, they differ extremely among themselves, both in size and magnificence. Their extent varies from fifty to three hundred and seventy feet, and while some are loaded with ornaments, others are almost entirely bare.

The most magnificent of all these tombs, is that distinguished by the name of the catacomb of harps, and which, by the use of the alphabet of Champollion, has been shown to be the tomb of Ramses Meiamoun, the grandfather of the celebrated Sesostris, and the father of the monarch under whose reign the Exodus took place. The great hall of this tomb is remarkable for its size, and the beauty of its roof, which is cut into the form of flat vaults, and is supported by eight pillars. The sarcophagus stands at the entrance; it is a vast oblong vessel of rose Syenitic granite, adorned both without and within with hieroglyphics and paintings; its dimensions are such as to conceal within it a man when standing erect. The cover had disappeared, and was not seen by the French commission, but Champollion states, that it is the one since found by Belzoni, and placed in the Museum of the University of Cambridge; it is ten feet in length, of the same material with the sarcophagus, and bears upon it, sculptured in high relief, the image of Ramses Meiamoun, surrounded by his titles and royal legend. The sarcophagus is so large, that it could never have passed the gate of the valley, and must therefore have either been raised over the ridge, or brought through a subterranean passage now unknown. The view presented by this great

sepulchral hall, is terrific. A frise extends around it, covered with the representations of men actually beheaded, or suffering that punishment; above them stand the executioners waving their swords, and the blood flows in all directions.

As a contrast to this scene of carnage, one of the lateral chambers that open from the first gallery, contains a picture of great interest and beauty, and which has given its name to the tomb, from its comprising the figures of two players on the harp. These were first noticed by Bruce, and a delineation of them published in his travels. The whole scene appears to represent an act of public worship, and the musicians chant the praises of the divinity. The attitudes of the harpers are easy, and their hands appear to run over the strings exactly as those of the players of the present day. The harps are decorated with a taste and elegance, which, in the words of the work before us, "our most renowned modern makers would not disavow, although we live at a time when this instrument, become fashionable, is more regarded for its beauty of decoration, than even for its musical perfection." One of the harps has no fewer than twenty-one strings, and wants nothing that the modern ones have,, except the pedals.

But the Valley of Beban-el-Molouk did not suffice to contain the mighty shades of the Egyptian kings. In after times, those who resided at Memphis, erected mountains to contain and hide their ashes, and many of the Theban monarchs appear to have had tombs built in the open air, instead of being excavated in the One at least, and the most magnificent of all, was thus constructed, the celebrated sepulchre of Osymandyas. This edifice has been recognised and ascertained by the labours of the French commission, and such evidence is adduced by them of the identity of the monument they describe, and that mentioned by Diodorus, that we cannot resist it.

We shall first cite portions of the description of that author, and then mention the parts and works of art which have been found still in existence, and are unquestionably identical.

"At the entrance of this monument, is a pylon built of stones, painted of various colours; its length is two plethra, (two hundred feet) its height forty-five cubits; passing from this, a square peristyle is met with, each side of which is four plethra; in place of columns, there are monolith figures sixteen cubits in height; the whole roof is composed of single stones, two orgyia (twelve cubits) in width, and embellished with stars upon a blue ground. Beyond this peristyle is another passage and pylon similar to that first spoken of, but more fully adorned with various sculptures; in the entrance are seen three statues cut from a single block of Syenitic stone. One of these, which is seated, is the greatest of all that exist in Egypt; whose foot exceeds in length seven cubits. The other two, which are placed at his knees, one on the right, the other on the left, do not equal it in. magnitude. This work is not only worthy of praise from its magnitude, but wonderful for its style of art, and remarkable for the excellent nature of the stone, as

See American Quarterly Review. Vol. i. p. 457.

in its vast mass no flaw or fissure is to be detected. There is inscribed upon it "I am Osymandyas, King of Kings. If any one wish to know how great I am and where I lie, let him excel some one of my works.' But there is also another sta tue of his mother, a monolith of twenty cubits, having three queens upon her head, to signify that she was the daughter, the wife, and the mother of kings. After this pylon, was a peristyle, more worthy of praise than the former, in which were various sculptures, representing the war carried on by him against the revolted Bactrians."

"Upon the first wall, the king is seen attacking a fortification surrounded by water, and fighting in the van against some of the enemy along with a lion who assists him strenuously, which some of the interpreters say, is to be understood of a real lion, which the king had tamed and brought up, and which partaking with him of the dangers of battle, aided by his vigour to rout his enemies. But others say, that being excessively brave and warlike, he wished to be thus flattered, signifying the qualities of his mind by the image of the lion."

"Against the last wall (of this peristyle) are seen two seated monolith statues, twenty-seven cubits in height, and beside them, are three passages, by which a hall supported upon pillars, after the manner of an odeon, is entered, each of whose sides are two plethra."

"There is an ascent hence to the top of the tomb, which being mounted, there is upon the monument a golden circle three hundred and sixty-five cubits in circumference, and a cubit in thickness; the days of the year are inscribed upon divisions each of a cubit, with a notation of the rising and setting of the stars according to observation, and of the significations to be drawn from them according to the Egyptian astrologers. But they say this circle was carried away by Cambyses and the Persians, at the time that he conquered Egypt. Such, then, they say, is the tomb of the king Osymandyas, which not only excels the others in the magnificence of its structure, but also in the skill of the workmen."Diod. Sic. Biblioth. Histor. Lib. i.

Let us see how far the edifice whose remains are still seen, corresponds with this description. It is first to be remarked, that it is on the Lybian side of the river, on the narrow border of barren soil that lies between the mountain and the inundated valley; that it is, of all the edifices extant, nearest to the tombs of the kings, lying beneath the narrow cliff which separates the valley of Beban-el-Molouk from the plain of Thebes.

The entrance to the building is by a gate inserted between two pyramidal masses; the height is, as near as our estimate of ancient measures will reach, the same as that given by Diodorus, as is the extent of the front. The stones show traces of decoration, but are too far worn to exhibit them clearly. This gate gives entrance to a rectangular peristyle or court, whose dimensions correspond with those of the pylon, and not with those given in the text of Diodorus. But as it is obvious that the pylon must have formed one of the sides, the present text cannot be correct in assigning a different dimension. The lateral enclosures of this court have disappeared, but fragments of its flat roof remain, exhibiting yellow stars on a blue ground. The second pylon and its passage can still be identified, and are in all respects conformable to the description of Diodorus. The court itself is filled with such quantities of fragments of

granite, that at first sight it seems like a quarry of that material. On closer examination, these fragments appear to be the remains of an enormous colossal statue, of which the head, the trunk, and one arm, from the elbow upwards, still remain in one piece. Another block lies near, which contains the rest of the body and the thighs. These two pieces have been separated by wedges, the traces of which are still to be seen. The head of the statue has retained its shape, and the ornaments of the headdress are still distinguishable, but the face is entirely mutilated. Among the scattered fragments, the left foot and hand have been found. The pedestal of this statue is yet in the place pointed out by the Greek author, and both it and the statue are of the beautiful rose granite of Syene; the polish is exquisite. From the measures taken on the spot, this colossus, when seated in its place, must have been fifty-four French feet in height.

To this court succeeds, after passing the portal of the pylon, another peristyle, on the sides of which caryatides are still seen remaining, in the place of pillars, as described by Diodorus in the first court, and which he permits us to infer, formed also the deeoration of the second. On the first wall are figured representations of warlike actions. The site of the war is marked by a river, which, distinguished by undulating lines, and painted blue, passes from the top of the wall on the left, to the bottom, where it traverses its whole length. This river surrounds with its waters a citadel, which appears to be the object of attack and defence. But its inhabitants have not waited for the invaders within the walls, but have passed the river to meet them. They are mounted in cars, each of which carries three warriors dressed in long tunics. They have long beards, and by them, their dress, and the shape of their shields, are distinguished from the Egyptians. The latter are led by their king, who is attended by a lion. We have not room for extracting the remainder of the description of this interesting picture. Enough has been given to assist in showing the identity which is to be established.

Against the fourth wall are still the remains of two monolith statues, and three doors conduct thence into a vast hall supported by pillars, of which many yet remain. Beyond this, all is rubbish; but we think that the evidence, more particularly that of the battle of the fortress, and of the vast monolith statue, the greatest in Egypt, is irrefragable, and that this monument is no other than the tomb said to be of Osymandyas, and described by Diodorus. The name then of Memnonium, and palace of Memnon, given by Danville and several modern travellers, is errone

The exact spot, whence the block out of which this enormous colossus was chiselled, has been found, bearing the marks of the tools, by Jomard, the mem. ber of the French commission who describes the vicinity of Syene.

ous. The hieroglyphic inscriptions have been decyphered by Champollion, and all have reference to Sesostris.

A monument of similar character once existed within a short distance of this tomb; its place is still marked by two vast colossi that remain seated in their original position. Behind these, scattered for a considerable distance through a wood of acacias, are to be found the fragments of granite statues. But the building has itself disappeared; evidences however exist to show, that its material was the limestone of the neighbouring mountains, and that it has been used to burn into quick-lime. These vast statues are formed of a breccia of agatised pebbles, held together by a siliceous cement. One of them, although mutilated and defaced, is still in a single block; the other has been broken, and the head adapted to the lower part of the body by courses of the common sand-stone, used so generally in the buildings of Thebes. This broken statue is identified, by innumerable inscriptions which testify the fact of its having emitted sounds, with the vocal Memnon; and its hieroglyphic legend shows it to have been the effigy of Amenophis II. We shall insert translations of two of the inscriptions.

"I Publius Balbinus heard the divine voice of Memnon, or Phamenoph. I came in company with the Empress Sabina, at the first hour of the sun's course, the 15th year of the reign of Adrian, the 24th day of Athyr, the 25th of the month of November."

The other is as follows,

"I write after having heard Memnon."

"Cambyses hath wounded me, a stone cut into an image of the Sun-king. I had formerly the sweet voice of Memnon, but Cambyses has deprived me of the accents that express joy and grief." "You relate grievous things. Your voice is now obscure. O wretched statue! I deplore your fate."

This statue then was Memnon,-the building at whose portal it stood, the Memnonium.

Having given an account of the sepulchre of King Ramses Meiamoun, we shall, as a specimen of an Egyptian palace, describe that which appears by its hieroglyphic inscriptions to have served him for a residence while living.

The entrance is by a pylon two hundred feet in length, about thirty in thickness, and nearly seventy in height; decorated, in a manner peculiar to itself, with small squares, enclosing cyphers that cover the whole front. This pylon has a wide and lofty gateway, which leads to a vast court enclosed on two sides by galleries, and on that opposite to the entrance by a second pyIon. One of the galleries is formed of seven large square pillars, each side of which is six feet. To the outer face of these are attached as many statues of Egyptian divinities, twenty-three feet in height. The opposite gallery is supported by eight large columns, with unequal intercolumniations.