26 Proceedings of the Roi/al Irish Acadcmtj. 



architecture native to Meroe, and only afterwards brought to perfection in 

 Egypt. It is evident from the decoration of the temples which have been 

 uncovered that they were dedicated to the worship of Amnion, and that lumiau 

 sacrifice was common, as the immolation of iDoys and young men is depicted on 

 the walls of a temple, and jars containing burnt bones were found in a chamber 

 underneath. On the base of one of the monuments a zodiac has been found ; 

 and portraits of priests, frequently repeated upon the monuments, show them 

 as tall and slender, with handsome profiles, red-brown in colour, and with hair 

 indifferently straight or curled. The remains of the temple of the most famous 

 oracle of Jupiter Ammon are, it is believed, to be found in the ruins situated 

 about eight hours' journey to the north-east of Shendy, a little below the site 

 of Meroe. This temple of the oracle was known to exist within a few hours' 

 journey of Meroe, and the priestly traditions of Ethiopia and Egypt assert that 

 the worship of Ammon and Osiris was first settled at the Metropolis of Meroe. 



Meroe possessed tributary states to the north and east. The Empire of 

 Meroe was composed of many little states with settled constitutions and laws ; 

 and the whole was governed by a line of princes who followed matriarchal 

 succession, and were dominated by a priestly caste. 



Deeply buried in the sands of the Great Sahara, to the west of the Bahr- 

 el-Ghazal, there is said to be a wonderful city of temples. 



During the troubles in the Soudan the troops were subject to constant 

 annoyance from a mysterious enemy who appeared from nowhere and as 

 mysteriously disappeared, and in consequence were viewed by the native 

 troops as wizards or spirits. On their being pursued by some British officers, 

 it was found that they disappeared down holes. Examination showed that 

 the sand around was honeycombed with holes like a rabl^it-warren ; and it was 

 from these that the enemy issued forth to fight, and, re-entering, left no trace. 

 On being entered it was found that the holes led into passages, and these into 

 galleries and chambers until quite a city was revealed. 



M. Dubois, describing the tombs around the old mosque at Jenne, in the 

 Soudan, the commercial capital of the Songhai empire, which was noted for 

 its massive Egyptian form and pylonic decoration, noticed terra-cotta pipes 

 planted vertically in the soil like the chimneys of Troglodyte dwellings. The 

 pipes were filled with soil and connected with subterranean dwellings which 

 are the abode of the dead. " In some places," he continues, " the earth has 

 fallen through ; and I could distinguish piles of skeletons that were only 

 separated from one another by thin layers of earth. One seldom sees the 

 living in this spot, but there is life here : eagles and crows, dogs and rats, 

 legions of red and yellow lizards, but the kings of the place are the enormous 

 iguanas — green, and as large as crocodiles." The negroes hunt the iguana 



