384 Some Account of the Monuments 
the whole inclosure shows evidently that it was formerly adorned 
with superb architecture, which contained triumphal monuments. 
It is probable that this grand circus was not within the inclosure 
of the city, although quite close to Thebes : there was a similar 
Cireus, but smaller, on the eastern side, almost opposite the first. 
If we allow that both were outside of the city, we may also de- 
termine with great probability the southern front of Thebes. — 
It is not credible that those two establishments were destined to — 
the gymnastic exercises solely and to chariot-racing ; they were 
used apparently also for public meetings, and for the exercise of 
those armies which under the Sesostris, the Osymandyas and 
other conquerors, set out from thence for their conquests, and 
brought home there the triumphal marks of their victories. 
II. On going further northward, we meet, on the edge of this — 
sandy belt which extends along the Libyan chain, the antiquities — 
of Medynat-Abou. I comprise under this name, proceeding — 
from south to nerth ; 
a. A palace and a temple almost at the northern extremity of © 
the Circus. 
b. The Colossus of Memnon, with the other Colossi quite 
near, and the remains of a building which seems to be the Mem- 
nonium of Strabo. t a 
c. The palace and tomb of Osymandyas, frequently called 
Memnonium by travellers. 
All these monuments are almost at the foot of the Libyan | 
_ehain, and 1500 toises from the hill. 
We shall in the first instance take up the subject of the palace, — 
the pavilion which communicates with it, and the temple. Itis — 
a matter of great historical importance to meet with these — 
edifices, the interior arrangement of which proves in an incon- — 
testable manner that they were not temples properly so called, 4 
but buildings destined to be inhabited, and probably by kings. | 
The pavilion is a building of two stories; it has several halls | 
and chambers, and a great number of windows. Its position is” 
so well adapted, that from this point we perceive not only the — 
monuments of Medynat-Abou, but also those of the other side — 
of the Nile and the whole plain of Thebes. Every thing there 
seems to indicate the ordinary residences of kings: the orna- 
ments of the sides in particular confirm this hypothesis. These — 
representations differ essentially from those which are found in | 
the temples; they exhibit in part family scenes. Unfortunately | 
this edifice is very much damaged, and the upper story only is — 
preserved. a 
It is 250 feet north-west from this pavilion that the grand _ 
palace of Medynat-Abou is to be found. Its entrance is formed 
by those masses of architecture, foreign to the European style it 
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