ANCIENT EGYPT. 33 



is a pronounced Semitic strain in Rameses, which shows itself, 

 I think, in his caste of features, as well as in the introduction 

 of Asiatic customs into the country during his reign, such as 

 the employment of mercenaries in warfare, and the practice of 

 polygamy. Here is his portrait as a young man drawn from 

 the monuments by Mrs. Clephan, and here is his mummy, 

 which bears a distinct likeness to the numerous statues of his 

 prime. Possessed of great bodily strength, tall stature, and 

 physical beauty, he is said to have lived to be nearly a 

 centenarian. He must have had many wives and concubines 

 to account for the 119 children he acknowledged. 



The last group of inscriptions is on the southern end of the 

 same wall; they describe the campaigns of Shishac against 

 Palestine, and here is the list of 1 50 towns taken. He sacked 

 Jerusalem, bringing the treasures of Solomon's temple to 

 Kamak. 



Propylon F, forming the western end of the great hall ot 

 columns, was built by Rameses I., the father of Sethi, and it 

 then formed the temple faqade. 



The Bubastite Court, as it was named by Champolion, 

 beyond, measures 275 feet by 228 feet, and in the north-west 

 corner stands the small temple of Sethi II. (Meneptah), 

 marked H ; it is a heap of ruins. Cutting the southern wall is 

 the temple of Rameses III., lettered J, which king also erected 

 what may be described as the cloisters of this court. 



The colonnade in the centre, G, is the work of the Ethiopian 

 ruler Tirkakah or Tarharka, B.C. 700. Originally there were 

 twelve huge columns with lotus-flower or bell capitals, but 

 only one remains standing. This column, though symmetrical 

 in form, is of inferior and somewhat slipshod construction as 

 compared with those forming the nave of the great hall of 

 columns, of which this colonnade is a continuation. The 

 shaft consists of 36 courses of stone, the height is about 70 

 feet, and the greatest breadth of the capital 16 feet. The 

 conception is ambitious but the realization abortive, for, 

 when completed, it was found impossible to roof the colonnade 

 over, and so it remained a palpable monument of failure. 



c 



