CHAPTER VITHE SOUTHERN VILLAGES

A STREET IN KHARGA.

KHARGA VILLAGE.

Viewed from the outside, say from the ridge of sand which hems in the village on the east side, one sees a vast array of walls, surmounted by screens of dried palm-branches, bound together to form compact hedges affording protection and privacy to those portions of the houses open to the sky. Two minarets rise above the general level, while all around are palm-groves and gardens, with the open desert rising to the western horizon.

Almost the whole of the population is engaged in agriculture, and as in some cases the wells aresituated far from the village, many of the peasants daily ride considerable distances to and fro on their sturdy but diminutive donkeys. There are two or three small shops in the village, but nothing in the nature of bazaars, the chief business transacted being the retailing of Nile Valley goods, such as drapery and groceries. The native women are adepts at basket- and mat-making, and mention must not be omitted of the very attractive spherical baskets made of palm-leaves and fibre, ornamented with coloured wools, and manufactured in every conceivable size and design. Pretty circular trays are made from the same substances; in fact, the number of uses to which the waste materials from the date- and doum-palms can be put is little short of marvellous.

Everything connected with the village is of the most primitive description, and until a very short time ago few of the inhabitants had been beyond the limits of their own fields. The advent of the railway caused no little commotion and stir in the oasis, and awakened trading instincts which had lain dormant since Roman times. Many of the villagers now travel to and fro between Kharga and the Nile Valley, and the Omda took an early opportunity of obtaining leave of absence from his onerous duties, and proceeded to Alexandria for a course of sea-baths!

Outside the village, with the exception of the antiquities, to which we shall call attention in a separate chapter, there is little of general interestbeyond the wells and gardens, among which there are many picturesque spots. At Bir Ain el Gôs, a few kilometres to the north, a primitive form of corn-mill may be seen working, the grinding-stones being driven by the water of the well by means of an undershot wheel.

It may be mentioned here that with very few, if any, exceptions the different streams which collectively make up the water-supply of the oasis find their way to the surface through artificially constructed passages. The great majority of these are bores of ancient construction, though a few have been sunk with modern plant during the last fifty years. The ancient wells are known as Aiyûn (sing. Ain), the modern as Abiyâr (sing. Bir); for example, Ain el Ghazâl, Bir Mansûra. In cases where a modern bore has been specially sunk to replace an ancient well, the two words are used in conjunction; for instance, Bir Ain el Gôs. The position of each well is nearly always conspicuously marked by a thick clump of acacias, from which (more especially in the isolated settlements in the northern part of the depression) the main irrigating channel generally runs in a southerly direction, the cultivated lands being of triangular form, with the apex at or near the source of the water, and raised little, if at all, above the general level of the surrounding plain. By this disposition the fields present the least possible front to the north, from which side comes the bulk of the sand which is such a curse to these outlying settlements.

Kharga village, being snugly situated among palm-groves, and directly to the south of Jebel Têr, is well protected from the fierce, sand-laden winds which so frequently scour the depression from north to south. The poor little hamlet of Meheriq, on the other hand, set on the open plain some 20 kilometres to the north, is exposed to every wind that blows, with the result that the sand has accumulated to such an extent that most of the palms have been buried, and many of the houses have been overwhelmed. The advancing dunes are, in fact, steadily pushing the hamlet southwards. At frequent intervals the occupants of the most northerly houses move their goods and chattels, and betake themselves to new quarters erected at the southern extremity. This periodical migration has, indeed, become so ingrained a habit that it is now regarded as of little moment; it is only when their wells and trees are threatened and destroyed that the wretched people call on Allah to stay His hand, and protect them from destruction.

Still farther to the north lie a number of isolated wells with small areas of cultivation, and at some of these there are settlements consisting of one or two families. Ain el Tawîl, 8 kilometres south-east of Kharga, is another little hamlet, rendered more conspicuous than most of these outlying settlements by the presence of a Sheikh’s tomb surmounted by a rather pointed dome. A third important dependency of Kharga is known as Um el Dabâdib, and is situated a day’s journey to thenorth. This place is of exceptional interest, in that its water-supply is not derived from wells, but from extensive tunnels driven into the hills. Some most interesting ruins exist in the neighbourhood, but a description of these and of the subterranean aqueducts must be postponed to a later chapter.

ENCROACHMENT OF SAND-DUNES AT MEHERIQ.

Twelve kilometres to the south of Kharga lies the village of Gennâh. The intermediate country is largely covered by sand, which in the neighbourhood of the village has accumulated into large dunes, threatening it and its magnificent wells, Ain Estakherab and Ain Magarin, with ultimate destruction. Ain Estakherab is undoubtedly the finest well in the Libyan Desert, and has been running for hundreds, if not for thousands, of years; but unless special measures are taken to cope with the advance of the dunes immediately to the north and north-west, this splendid flow of water is doomed to destruction within the next ten or twenty years. Owing to the encroachment of the sand there is very little land available for cultivation near the village, the bulk of the water from the two wells being conducted in an open channel to the low-lying plain south-east of the hill-range known as the Gorn el Gennâh. This channel traverses 7 or 8 kilometres of porous desert before it reaches the first of the cultivated fields in the neighbourhood of the Gorn, and there is in consequence very great loss of water through seepage and evaporation.

The famous wells of Gennâh differ from most ofthose in the northern part of the oasis in that their mouths are large and deep pools of limpid water, from the depths of which great bubbles of gas constantly ascend to the surface. Little or nothing is known as to the age and depth of either of these wells; they have never been cleaned out in modern times, and are closed in at a depth of a few metres from the surface in such a way as to prevent soundings being made. With the object of determining if the large discharges are due to the wells being situated on exceptionally low ground, I recently had a line of levels run from headquarters to Gennâh. Contrary to expectation, it was found that Ain Estakherab and Ain Magarin discharged at levels considerably above the average elevation of the wells of the Kharga district; possibly, therefore, the exceptional flows in this district are due to its comparative isolation, and to the immunity thus obtained from the interference of other wells.

Between the villages of Kharga and Gennâh, along a north and south belt lying somewhat to the east and on the downthrow side of the fault, are a number of wells whose waters are almost invariably more or less charged with ochre and alkaline salts. In some cases the proportion of dissolved salts is sufficiently great to render the water unfit for either drinking or irrigation, and even where it can be used for the latter purpose, ochre is deposited to such an extent as to bind the soil into a hard cake. The occurrence appears to be due to the geological position of the wells in this tract, where, owing tothe beds being let down by the fault, the purple shales form the floor of the depression; it is perhaps from these beds that the waters derive their abnormally high contents of ferric oxide and other salts.

A PTOLEMAIC TEMPLE, QASR EL GHUATA.

DOUM-PALMS NEAR QASR EL GHUATA.

The wells near Qasr el Ghuâta are of similar nature, and thick banks of ochre have been deposited along their channels. I recollect on one occasion using the water of Ain el Ghuâta for making tea, and being considerably surprised at the inky blackness of the resulting liquid, although, in spite of the colour and a markedly ferruginous taste, the brew was not undrinkable.

Near the ruins of Qasr Zaiyan, and southward as far as the village of Bulaq, the country takes on quite a different aspect, owing to the numerous scrub-covered areas, dotted everywhere with semi-wild doum-palms. Doums thrive in very poor soil, and appear to be self-sown; they are to my mind far more graceful and picturesque than the ordinary date-palms, from which they differ in many important respects. The trunk of a well-grown doum-palm is forked, not once, but many times, the different stems preserving a considerable amount of symmetry; the branches, which are covered with the most atrocious hooks, terminate in sharp-pointed, serrated fan-shaped leaves. The fruit consists of bunches of hard nuts, and can be eaten either in its raw condition or after being ground into meal and cooked; most persons, however, except perhaps confirmed nut-eating vegetarians, would decline itin either state. Although the country throughout which the doum-palms abound appears to be more or less deserted, every tree has its owner among the inhabitants of the nearest village.

Bulaq, distant 25 kilometres from Kharga, has a population of 1,016, and is the centre of the mat and ‘zambile’ trade. The zambile is an open wide-mouthed basket which is used in every part of Egypt, and practically replaces the wheelbarrow of western lands. Formerly only small quantities were made for export, but the natives have not been slow to take advantage of the railway, and truck-loads of these baskets may now be frequently seen on the trains. The Bulaq varieties of mats and baskets are mostly made from the leaf of the doum-palm.

The village, bounded on three sides by sand and open desert, with the palm-groves and cultivated lands to the east, cannot be said to be particularly attractive. A few kilometres to the south is the tomb of Sheikh Khalid Ibn el Walîd, a large, square, whitewashed building surmounted by a dome.

Ain Girm Meshîm — Agûl el Douma — The Southern Villages — Jaja and Dakhakhin — Intermittent Flow and Geyser-like Action of Wells — Ain Dakhakhin — Fruit Gardens — Raised Cultivated Terraces formed of Wind-blown Materials — Gradual Elevation of Wells — Ancient Village of Dakhakhin — Ain Bergis — Beris Village — Ain el Hushi — Block-Houses and Dervishes — Maks Bahari — Method Employed in Cleaning out Wells — Ain Bella — Encroachment of Dunes — Dush — The most Southern Wells of the Oasis — Nakhail.

Afterleaving the wells belonging to Bulaq the traveller has to cross a stretch of desert about 40 kilometres in width before reaching the first well and cultivated land of the southern group of villages. On this expanse water is only found in one locality—at Ain Girm Meshîm, a pool with a very small flow. There is little doubt that this was at one time a very good well, as traces of irrigating channels extend outwards to a considerable distance; moreover, a large salt-pan is still visible to the west, and this could only have been formed at a time when there was far more water running to waste than at present. The immediate neighbourhood is picturesquely dotted with doum-palms,some of those near the well being magnificent trees.

Agûl el Douma, lying 17 kilometres south-west of Ain Girm Meshîm, on the opposite (west) side of the belt of dunes, is a place which, previous to my inspection, had probably never been visited by Europeans, although known to a few of the Bedawin. Surface-water can be obtained by digging to a depth of a few feet near one of the doums. The place, marked by a small area of scrub and a doum-palm or two, was formerly used to some extent by Arabs carrying contraband from the south, as by watering here they were able to pass through the oasis unobserved.

The most northerly of the southern villages are Jaja and Dakhakhin, but 6 kilometres to the north lies an isolated group of doum-palms, known as Ain el Douma. At the present time the place is uninhabited, the old well being completely sanded-up, though water may be obtained by digging out the centre. Both north and south of Ain el Douma occur smooth plains of alluvial clay, in the latter direction extending to the villages of Dakhakhin and Jaja.

Jaja is visible from a distance of many kilometres on account of a thick clump of dark green acacias, growing on the summit of an eminence. Dakhakhin, on the other hand, is hidden, being on the south side of a sandy hill covered with short scrub only. A low-lying portion of the alluvial-covered plain separates the two villages, which are situated close together on an east and west line.

At Jaja there are scattered doums and a number of acacias, as well as a small dense grove of date-palms, altogether a goodly number of trees. The well is a broad and deep pool surrounded by vertical walls of brown clay, representing the material from time to time thrown out during the process of cleaning. Large bubbles of gas are generally to be seen rising intermittently to the surface, while at times the pool becomes perfectly still, except for the occasional small bubbles which continue to rise at different points. Then follows a strong flow from the actual bore (situated near the south side of the pool), the water boiling up and breaking the surface with considerable force and noise, which may continue for several minutes before everything becomes quiet again. In all probability the markedly intermittent flow is due to the temporary blocking of the bore-hole by the sediment forming the bottom of the pool, the mud being from time to time forced back by the accumulating pressure of the water and gas below. The temperature of the water was found to be 86° F., and the yield was stated to amount to 1½ qirats, or about 35 to 40 gallons a minute.

Dakhakhin is charmingly situated on the southern slope of an eminence, alongside a dingle, prettily wooded with tamarisk and doum-palms. The well is on the north side, and higher up than the village. One of the irrigating channels, cut out near the bottom of the western slope, follows the winding of the dingle to a thick clump of date-palms nearthe mouth. Higher up, alongside the village, the water in another channel races down the hill in a series of little runs and falls, the stream threading its way through fruit-gardens containing date-palms and vines, fig, mulberry, and apricot trees, as well as pomegranates and bananas.

Ain Dakhakhin is a huge pool when full, though at times, when the retaining bank on the south side is cut, a large part of its sandy bed is exposed. The flow, taxed, I believe, as 3½ qirats (110 to 120 gallons per minute), varies at different times of the year, and depends to a considerable extent on the amount of sediment in the pool. Cleaning is periodically undertaken, in order to remove the sand which drifts in from the north side in large quantities.

Neither in Ain Jaja nor Ain Dakhakhin is there any trace of wooden casing similar to that with which the ancient wells of Northern Kharga are so commonly lined. This bears out the conclusion to which I was led on other grounds—that the original outlets were many metres lower than at present, on the level of the surrounding plain, in fact. The eminences of Jaja and Dakhakhin appear to have been formed almost entirely by the gradual accumulation of blown sand and clay-dust, compacted and held together by vegetation. The material is swept by the prevalent winds from the clay plains and sandy deserts lying to the north, and deposited on the cultivated lands, owing to the presence thereon of water and vegetation. Its deposition is encouraged by the peasants, as theadmixture of sand and clay forms a loam of suitable texture for agricultural purposes, and is regarded as having considerable fertilizing value.

AIN DAKHAKHIN.

There is little doubt that originally nearly all the wells in Southern Kharga had their outlets on the same level as the plain. Owing to the periodical deposition of wind-borne materials, the cultivated lands have gradually risen, until at the present day they form, in the majority of cases, terraces standing well above the general level. This continual raising of the land has necessitated a corresponding elevation of the wells, with the result that the wooden linings originally put into the bores have been completely lost sight of. Instead of issuing from a clean, unobstructed hole, the water has now to force its way upwards through a great mass of sandy mud, and before it can be utilized it has to rise to a much higher level than formerly. Little wonder, then, that the flows of the majority of these wells have very much decreased, with the consequence that the cultivated tracts are much smaller than of old. In more than one case the outlet of a well had, in modern times, risen to such a height that the discharge had become reduced to a mere trickle. Twenty or twenty-five years ago, for instance, Ain Dakhakhin was on the summit of an eminence which, by the slow accumulation of sand and clay, had reached a height of 30 metres above the surrounding plain. Remedial measures were then taken by the inhabitants, and its level reduced by between 8 and 9 metres, the presentlevel of the well and highest fields being 23 metres above the plain.

The height of a cultivated terrace above the general level of the plain on which the well was originally sunk affords some measure of its antiquity. It is difficult, however, in the absence of observations extending over a number of years, to estimate what the general rate of accumulation may have been. It would, moreover, vary greatly with local conditions, but if an average rate of a centimetre a year be assumed, the age of Ain Dakhakhin is indicated as being something over 3,000 years.

The ancient Dakhakhin lies a kilometre to the S.S.E., and, when inhabited, must have been as ugly as the modern village is pleasing. When the diminution of the flow of Ain Dakhakhin became serious, the people migrated to their present location, so as to be near the well and under the shelter of the hill. The ruins are only slightly above the level of the plain, but cover an area many times greater than that occupied by the modern village. This circumstance alone shows how insignificant is the present flow compared with what it must once have been.

The most northerly of the group of wells in the neighbourhood of Beris is Ain Bergis, situated on the south side of a broad platform of sandy lacustrine beds. In this case there is a containing bank across the valley below the well, but at the time of my visit it was cut, so that the bottom of the pool wasexposed. The latter consisted of a circular basin of soft sediment, through which muddy water was oozing and bursting in small shoots, suggesting an action in many respects analogous to that of geysers and mud-volcanoes. The natives informed me that the basin takes two days and nights to fill after the bank has been closed.

Between Ain Bergis and Dakhakhin stretches a continuous plain of alluvial clay, amounting to several thousands of acres. In its present state this heavy clay land is not regarded as of much value for cultivation, but in the event of new wells being sunk it could be lightened and improved by allowing and encouraging the deposition of blown sand and dust—by following, in fact, the practice which from time immemorial has been in vogue in this district.

The best wells in the neighbourhood of Beris are Johar, Foq el Doum, and El Hushi, the last named yielding 6 qirats, the others 9 each. The remaining wells in the district give from 2 to 4 qirats. In situation and appearance the Beris wells do not differ essentially from those already described, so that we may pass on to a brief notice of the village.

Nothing of particular interest is to be met with in Beris, the chief village of the southern part of the oasis. It is rather exposed, and many of the streets are consequently dusty; in fact some of those on the north side are deep in blown sand. Thick groves of date-palms enclose the village on the east and south sides, but not on the north. The cultivatedlands lie partly to the north and partly to the south-east, but are ineffectual in protecting the village from the dust-laden northerly winds, except to a small extent when the fields are under full crops. The village well is Ain el Hushi, a large bubbling pool some 15 metres in diameter, situated in the palm-groves immediately south of the village.

Solidly-built rectangular mud-brick buildings are found alongside most of the larger wells in the Beris district, and a modern visitor would have some difficulty in guessing to what use they could ever have been put. They were, as a matter of fact, erected by the Egyptian Government during the time of the Dervish raids, to serve as block-houses for the garrisons maintained in the oasis for the purpose of protecting the wells and villages. During this period several notables and petty officials in this and the oasis of Dakhla were carried off by the Dervishes into captivity in the Sudan.

Maks Bahari, the next place to the south, is a tiny little hamlet on the southern slope of a sandy eminence, with extensive clay lands studded with numerous doum-palms, but without water to irrigate more than a small portion of these. The village well is on the south side, and yields about 80 gallons per minute. As usual, it forms a pool contained by a bank, the latter being cut periodically to allow of the well being cleared of sediment.

After the winter crops are harvested in the spring, it appears to be the general practice for the cultivators to pay special attention to their water-supply.The retaining banks are cut and the water allowed to drain off at the lowest level possible, the wells being sometimes left in this condition for several months, so that they gradually clean themselves with a minimum of trouble to their owners. The mud, exposed on the sides of the basin, continually slides downwards into the central pool, and is carried away in suspension by the outflowing water.

Drift sand has been very destructive in the neighbourhood of Maks Bahari. At Ain Bella, 2½ kilometres to the N.N.W., there are at present only a few acres under cultivation, but the tract anciently tilled is seen in the eroded remnants of an alluvial platform to the north and north-east; this is now a deeply-grooved and ridged hummocky area of loam, full of dead palm-stubs, with rootlets ramifying in every direction. The original terrace appears to have extended far to the north, the portion now remaining being composed of alternating layers of sand and clay, dipping steeply to the south. At the present day many of the cultivated terraces are not only being gradually raised by the continual deposition of wind-borne materials, but are being extended horizontally, owing to the constant additions of layers of sand and clay-dust to the steeply-inclined southern or lee faces. In many respects the growth of these terraces is analogous to that of sand-dunes, though, unlike the latter, the northern portions of the terraces are practically stationary.

At one time or another many wells existed tothe west, but are now buried in the dunes, their former presence being testified by isolated exposures of arable land and by occasional trees and bushes. The dunes, following their natural S.S.E. course in the direction of the prevailing winds, seem to be still encroaching on the belt of country occupied by the existing wells and cultivated lands, and it is probably only a matter of time, perhaps a few hundred years, before they blot out the whole of the south part of the oasis. The sand speedily envelops any settlements which are abandoned, as nothing encourages the formation of dunes to such an extent as vegetation, and this nearly always abounds in the neighbourhood of the wells.

There is little to commend itself to notice at Maks Qibli, the southern of the two hamlets of the same name; there are scattered doums, several groves of date-palms, and small patches of cultivation irrigated by isolated wells, all on high ground. Here, as elsewhere in this part of the country, much land has gone out of cultivation, though it must be mentioned that the villagers are rather progressive in planting trees and maintaining small vegetable gardens.

Dush lies out of the main line of villages, being 10 kilometres east of Maks Qibli, not far from the eastern wall of the oasis. It is a pretty little place, with small clumps of palms, and two white Sheikhs’ tombs on the north side. Ain el Burrda, the big well immediately alongside the village, ceased flowing about three years ago, to the great grief ofthe inhabitants, who now have to carry their water from Ain el Karm, itself barely running. Fortunately, the great Ain Johar, situated to the south but irrigating land to the north, continues to discharge with unabated vigour. More conspicuous than the village is the ancient Qasr Dush, occupying the summit of a small hill to the east. This will be noticed later.

DUSH VILLAGE.

The wells attached to the hamlets of Dush and Maks mark the limits of the oasis to the south. The most southerly running well of any importance is Ain el Qasr, though Ain Zaha el Din, still farther to the south, just trickles, and irrigates a tiny area of not more than a few square metres. Ain Mabrûka, a kilometre south of the last-mentioned well, is overgrown with green weed, and surrounded by a patch of tamarisk, short prickly scrub, and two or three wild palms. This is the most southerly point at which exposed water is to be seen, though in the midst of a large area of scrub still farther to the south a sanded-up well of the name of Ain el Terfai is reported to exist.

The scrub-covered area of Ain el Terfai is about 25 kilometres south of Beris. To the south the surface gradually rises, and is absolutely devoid of vegetation, the oasis-depression having given way to the true desert. The next available water is at a place called Nakhail, 60 kilometres to the S.S.E.; the water there is good, but only exists in small quantities, obtainable in one or two spots by digging to a depth of a couple of metres.

Previous Descriptions of Archæological Remains — Mr. Lythgoe’s Excavations — Dr. Ball’s Report — Article by Professor Sayce — Prehistoric Period — Earliest Historical Records — Persian Domination — The Army of Cambyses — Temple of Hibis — Græco-Roman Period — Qasr el Ghuâta — The Roman Emperors — Proclamations on the Temple of Hibis — Qasr Dush — Nadûra — Ruins at Ain Amûr — Qasr Zaiyan and the Town of Tchonemyris — Roman Fortresses — Dêr el Ghennîma — Qasr Lebekha and Um el Dabâdib — Monasteries — Watch-Tower in Bellaida — Introduction of Christianity — The Christian Necropolis — Representations of Biblical Scenes and Personages — Embalming — Celebrities banished to the Oasis — The Columbaria — Olympiodorus describes the Fertility of the Oases under the Romans.

Thearchæological remains of the oases have been referred to, and in some cases described in more or less detail, by most of the travellers who have left any records of their journeys in the Libyan Desert. Among the latter may be mentioned Cailliaud, Hoskins, Schweinfurth, and Brugsch. At the same time, compared with the antiquities of the Nile Valley, those of the oases have received scant attention; indeed, it is only within the last year or two that any systematic excavations have been undertaken. At the present time Mr. Lythgoe, assistedby Mr. Winlock, is excavating in the neighbourhood of the Christian Necropolis, for Mr. Pierpont Morgan, on behalf of one of the American museums, and the results promise to be of the greatest interest and importance. It is to be hoped, therefore, that, in a few years, we shall be in possession of a detailed and authoritative account of the history of the oasis during the last few thousand years, as it must be admitted that the only information available at the present day is woefully scrappy and in many respects unreliable. Ball, in his report on Kharga published in 1900, gave an excellent summary of all that was at that time known concerning the antiquities, together with a number of useful plans of the chief buildings. Since that date, with the exception of a press article by Professor Sayce, little, if anything, has been published.

Without making any pretensions to special archæological knowledge, I shall attempt to give a brief sketch of the past history of the oasis, at the same time drawing the reader’s attention to the distribution and general characters of the more important remains.

Although the oasis of Kharga was doubtless inhabited in prehistoric times, as, indeed, is shown by the existence of flint implements of Palæolithic type on the surrounding plateaux, and also to a lesser extent within the depression, no graves referable to the prehistoric period of Egyptologists—i.e., the period immediately preceding that known as the first dynasty, when Menes united Egypt about3,300B.C.[4]—have as yet been discovered. But while it is known that the Egyptian kings claimed the allegiance of the inhabitants of the oases as far back as the eighteenth dynasty (1545-1350B.C.), the earliest known monumental records in Kharga date from a much later period—i.e., the twenty-seventh dynasty—when Egypt was under Persian domination.

It was at this time that Cambyses, in an endeavour to subdue the inhabitants of the outlying oases, lost a large portion of his army in the Western Desert, probably somewhere to the west or north-west of Kharga. The Persian monarch had recently defeated the Egyptian king, Psammetikh III., at Pelusium, and made Egypt a Persian province. On his arrival at Thebes some 50,000 men were detached from the main army proceeding to Ethiopia, and ordered to march against the Ammonians and burn the oracular temple of Jupiter Ammon. This abortive expedition into the Libyan Desert is described by Herodotus (‘Thalia,’ 26) as follows:[5]

“The men sent to attack the Ammonians started from Thebes, having guides with them, and may be clearly traced as far as the city Oasis, which is inhabited by Samians, said to be of the tribe Æschrionia. The place is distant from Thebes seven days’ journey across the sand, and is called in our tongue ‘the Island of the Blessed.’ Thus far the army is known to have made its way; butthenceforth nothing is to be heard of them, except what the Ammonians, and those who get their knowledge from them, report. It is certain they neither reached the Ammonians, nor ever came back to Egypt. Further than this, the Ammonians relate as follows: that the Persians set forth from the Oasis across the sand, and had reached about half-way between that place and themselves, when, as they were at their midday meal, a wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops, and caused them wholly to disappear. Thus, according to the Ammonians, did it fare with this army.”

In modern times considerable doubts have arisen as to which oasis was the objective of this army, and certainly the description of Herodotus is such as to admit of various conclusions being drawn. Rohlfs considers that Dakhla, not Siwa, was its goal, and remarks that, however light-headed Cambyses might have been, he could hardly have been so foolish as to have chosen Thebes as the starting-point of an army destined for Siwa. The same writer points out that a temple dedicated to Ammon does exist in Dakhla, and that the distance of the latter oasis from Thebes corresponds with the ten days mentioned by Herodotus. Vivien de St. Martin (“Le Nord de l’Afrique dans l’antiquité,” 1863, pp. 40-41) had, some twelve years previously, come to somewhat similar conclusions.

Ascherson, on the other hand, regards it ashighly improbable that Dakhla, which was hardly known and certainly of little importance in the time of Cambyses, could have been the objective of so dangerous and difficult an undertaking, and points out, moreover, that the temple of Ammon in that oasis dates from much later (i.e., Roman) times. He further remarks that Parthey (‘Das Orakel und die Oase des Ammon,’ Abhandl. der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Berlin, 1862, S. 131-194), in a contemporaneous work, had already met the objections raised by Vivien de St. Martin. According to the ancient maps the distance from Memphis to Siwa was much the same as that from Thebes to Siwa. No reliance, moreover, can be placed on the distances given by Herodotus. Judged with reference to Thebes, the country of the Ammonians certainly agrees more or less with the position of the oasis of Dakhla; but considered in relation to Augila (a place which has retained its name unchanged up to modern times), it corresponds with the modern Siwa, where the well-known oracular temple of Jupiter Ammon actually existed.

It seems to me quite reasonable to suppose that Cambyses only decided on the despatch of this expedition after reaching Thebes, and from there the route, via Kharga, Dakhla, and Farafra, would be fairly direct, and have the advantage of passing through oases, well provided with water and food-supplies, separated by marches not exceeding four days. Possibly, moreover, the ‘oasis’ throughwhich the army is recorded to have safely marched may not have been Kharga at all, but Baharia, or even Farafra, either of which would have been reached by striking into the desert along one of the roads leaving the Nile Valley in the neighbourhood of Assiut or Mellawi; this would have been quite a likely route for an army starting for Siwa from Thebes, as over a third of the distance would have been along the fertile plains bordering the Nile.

The evidence, however, seems to favour the view that the army proceeded westwards from Thebes, and passed safely through Kharga, possibly also through Dakhla; in those days the latter may have been coupled with Kharga, as it was later, when the two together were called the Great Oasis. As it is impossible to imagine a body comprising 50,000 men being destroyed by a sandstorm, I am inclined to agree with Hoskins that the army was purposely misled and sacrificed by the guides, with the object of preventing the capture of Siwa and the destruction of the far-famed temple of Jupiter Ammon. In the deserts to the north and west of Dakhla immense accumulations of sand cover, without a break, thousands of square miles of country; only one or two possible tracks cross this lonesome wilderness, and these, following narrow troughs hemmed in by hills of sand, are invisible even from the distance of a few hundred yards. Only a party thoroughly acquainted with desert travelling could hope to penetrate this region, and nothing would be easier than to encompass the lossof a large and unwieldy army among these terrible dunes. It seems probable, moreover, that this body of troops was as ill-equipped and badly led as the main army which at the same time was marching southwards to Ethiopia. Led by circuitous routes till they reached a point many marches distant from the nearest well, worn out by the incessant clambering over endless ridges of soft sand, their stores of water and food exhausted, their tracks obliterated by the ever-moving sand, the fate of the unfortunate soldiers, deserted at the last by the treacherous guides, could not long have remained in doubt.

The Persians left a magnificent record of their rule in the temple of Hibis, situated 4 kilometres north of Kharga village. Founded (or possibly only rebuilt) by Darius I. between 521 and 486B.C., in honour of the god Ammon-Ra, it was enlarged by Nektanebos about 150 years later. In the hieroglyphics the King is mentioned as having built the temple of good white stone, and as having covered its portals, made of Libyan acacia-wood, with bronze from Asia. There are long lists and representations of the offerings made to Ammon-Ra the sun-god, commencing with the wine of the oasis. The building is situated in the midst of fields and palm-groves, and the accompanying illustrations give a good idea of its general aspect and architecture. The main portion has its long axis east and west, and measures 44 by 19 metres, the walls being about 6 metres high. To the east of the chief entrance there are three isolated pylons,one of them being at the present day almost hidden by palms. The entire building is constructed of Nubian Sandstone, believed to have been obtained locally, though the quarry has never been located. Hibis means ‘the town of the plough,’ and is referred to in the Ptolemaic inscriptions at Edfu as the capital of Kenem (Kharga). It is not certain whether the town, which probably existed into the Middle Ages, was in the immediate vicinity of the temple, or, as suggested by Rohlfs, near Nadûra, a smaller edifice on a marked eminence a little to the south-east.

THE TEMPLE OF HIBIS.

Apart from the temple of Hibis most of the antiquities in the oasis belong to the Græco-Roman period, and probably the most interesting and important of these is the temple now known as Qasr el Ghuâta, situate 6 kilometres south-east of Gennâh, on a conspicuous eminence composed of sandstones and shales. Qasr el Ghuâta dates from the time of the Ptolemies, and, as the cartouche of Ptolemy III. (Euergetes I.) appears on the entrance walls, it may be presumed that it was erected during his reign, between 247 and 222B.C.The actual temple is of sandstone, and measures approximately 10 by 20 metres, the main entrance being richly inscribed and having ornamental columns with beautifully designed capitals. The interior consists of three courts or rooms, the first plain, the second with four ornamental columns and walls decorated with exceptionally well-cut hieroglyphics, while the third is much smaller, and contains enclosed passages andcells. The building is hemmed in by numerous crude enclosures, with partitions of sun-dried brick, the whole of which, forming a large rectangular block, was originally surrounded by a high brick wall of considerable thickness. According to Schweinfurth, the outer crude erections formed the quarters of a garrison at a later date.

It was during the sway of the Roman Emperors that the Egyptian oases attained their maximum importance. During this period, from 30B.C.to about the beginning of the seventh century, extensive towns existed in Kharga, and the oasis was strongly garrisoned and protected by forts. Temples and other edifices were erected, while a great development of the water-supply took place. During the same period the oases were used as places of banishment, just as they were in earlier days under the Pharaohs, and have been, in a way, in quite modern times. Juvenal, the Latin satirist, was banished to Syene at the beginning of the second century, as a punishment for his attacks on the Court, and he appears also to have been for a time confined in Kharga; Athanasius, Nestorius, and other celebrities likewise made unwilling acquaintance with this portion of the Empire.

Sayce remarks that the oases under the Romans were thoroughly cultivated, a brisk trade in wine being carried on, and mentions that on one of the temple walls there are several inscriptions which lead one to infer that Kharga yielded a considerable revenue. One of the best known,dated in the first year of the reign of the Emperor Galba (A.D.68), is a long Greek inscription on one of the pylons of the temple of Hibis; this has been carefully copied by more than one traveller, and translations have been published by Young, Letronne, and Hoskins. In it the Prefect of the oasis, Julius Demetrius, communicated the answer of the Governor of the province, Tiberius Julius Alexander, to various complaints made by the inhabitants, not only of the oasis, but of other districts under the same jurisdiction. The proclamation admits the justice of the complaints, and lays down at great length the steps to be taken in regard to the appointment of tax-gatherers, the payment of debts, and imprisonment for various offences; it deals with deeds of sale, the marriage portions of women, rents, military service, legal appeals, the punishment of libellous informers, etc.; forbids extortion and exorbitant taxes; orders the restitution of illegally exacted moneys; and ordains that taxes are to be based on the extent of the Nile inundation.

A still earlier inscription, on the southern portion of the same pylon, refers especially to the inhabitants of the oasis, and is translated by Hoskins as follows:

“Cnœus Virgilius Capito says: I have both heard long ago some unjust expenses and false charges to be made by certain persons avariciously and shamefully abusing their powers: and I have just now been informed, that in the territory of the Libyans certain things are consumed by those seizing them under pretence, as itwere, because of their necessities, as being set apart for their expenses and entertainments; which charges are neither true nor admissible: and in like manner under the name of the service of couriers. Wherefore I command those travelling through the nomes, soldiers, and horsemen, and serjeants, and centurions, and tribunes, and all others, to take nothing nor to exact the privileges of couriers, except certain have my warrants; and these passing along only indeed to be accommodated with lodging: and that it be laid down, that no man do any thing, beyond what were established by Maximus. But if any individual may give, or consider any thing as given, and exact as for the public service, I will exact ten times the amount of what he has exacted from the nome, and give a fourfold portion to the informer out of the property of the condemned. The royal scribes, and the village clerks, and the clerks of the districts in each nome, shall keep a register of all, that is expended by the nome upon any one: that, if this or any thing else has been irregularly committed, they may be recorded, and may repay sixty-fold. But the inhabitants of the Thebaid may for four months come up to the tribunals of accounts: and let them address themselves to Basilides, the freedman of Cæsar, an officer of the tribunal of accounts, and to the comptrollers; that, if any thing may be adjudged or done contrary to what is just, I may in like manner put this in order.”

These are interesting side-lights on life in the oasis in those days, and show that the people were well treated by their highly gifted foreign rulers, who, as is well known, respected the customs and religion of the Egyptians and, other nations over whom they ruled.

Although there exists in the neighbouring oasis of Dakhla a temple erected during the reign of Vespasian, the earliest Roman temple in Khargais probably Qasr Dush, the ancient Kysis, erected by Trajan inA.D.117, and dedicated to Isis and Serapis. The temple, standing in the midst of the ruins of a town, occupies the summit of a hill a couple of kilometres north-east of Dush. The main building, constructed of stone, has its long axis north and south, and measures 15 by 7½ metres. It is preceded by a forecourt, in front of which are two pylons, the first bearing a Greek inscription relating the date of its erection. Hoskins gives the following translation of this inscription:

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