390 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. 



search, is prosecuted. Hence some hope has been expressed that sooner or later the 

 excavators may light upon the very entrance of the crypt that led to the shrine 

 of the god himself. 



To the original sanctuary has succeeded a monument which, however posterior 

 to the temple of Osiris, is still none the less one of the most venerable in Egypt. 

 This is the so-called Memnonium, here erected by Seti I. thirty- three centuries ago, 

 in order to transmit his glory to future generations, but which his son, Hamses II., 

 turned to far more account to perpetuate the memory of his own exploits. 

 Geographical lists have been sculptured on the basement of this temple of Seti I., 

 and the British Museum possesses a " table of Abydos," a mutilated list of kings 

 from the temple of Ramses II. But a new " table of Abydos," containing the 

 complete list of the seventy- six kings from Menés to Seti, has been brought to 

 light by the researches of Mariette. 



Below Abydos the older monuments of Egyptian culture have for the most 

 part disappeared. Here nothing is met except towns and villages, which, if not 

 absolutely jnodern, no longer contain any important remains of ancient times. 

 Girgeh or Gerga, capital of a province, stands on the west side of the stream, which 

 being here abruptly deflected from the opposite side, has eroded the left bank, 

 carrying away half of the town, with its mosques and minarets. A little lower 

 down, Sohag and the industrious town of Akhnwi, the ancient Chemno and the 

 Panopolis of the Greeks, face each other on either side of the river. Then follow 

 on the western plain, Tahta and Abidig, near which is a gorge still visited by 

 pilgi'ims, who here assemble to worship the sacred serpent as of old. In this part 

 of Upper Egypt the Coptic language survived for some time after it had become 

 extinct elsewhere in the Nile Valley. 



SlUT. 



Farther on near the same bank, but more inland, are seen the picturesque out- 

 lines of a large town, which under the slightly modified form of S/uf or Assad 

 has preserved its ancient name of Saut. This is the Lycopolis, or " wolf town," of 

 the Greeks, so named because it was dedicated to the god Anubis. Platinus was a 

 native of Siut, which as the capital of all Upper Egypt is a place of some trade 

 and industry. Here are made a peculiar kind of black, white, and red earthen- 

 ware, and pipes so highly prized that they are even exported to foreign countries. 

 The bazaar is well stocked with the produce of Dar-For and the surrounding 

 oases, which finds an outlet through the neighbouring riverain port of Hamrah. 

 Till recently the Coptic monks of the adjacent village of Zawiet-el-Deir carried 

 on under special privilege the nefarious trade in the mutilation of children, who 

 were afterwards sold as guardians of the Egyptian harems. Other Cof>ts are more 

 worthily employed in the weaving of linen fabrics, which have become one of the 

 specialities of the industries of Upper Egypt. 



