120 DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
and that of Damietta. As the ancient subdivision 
of Egypt into nomes or cantons is involved in 
great obscurity, perhaps the opinion of St Cyril, 
that every Egyptian town, with its environs and 
dependencies, originally composed a nome, may be 
adopted as the most probable. The names of the 
cities of Egypt, of its lakes, and of the branches 
of the Nile, have been so frequently altered and 
corrupted by the different nations who have con- 
quered the country, that it is impossible to re- 
cognise any certain traces of their ancient deno- 
minations. The cities which flourished during 
the different periods of Egyptian glory, during 
the Persian, Grecian, Roman, Christian, and Sara- 
cen dynasties, have not only been erected on the 
ruins of more ancient edifices, but in the Turkish 
and Mameluk periods, their sites have been par- 
tially changed, cities celebrated in history are 
buried in their own ruins, and the traveller searches 
for them in vain within the circuit of their ancient 
walls. The proper sea-coast of Egypt, reaching 
along the Mediterranean from the Plinthine bay to 
the lake Sii bonis, in the vicinity of Mount Casius, 
comprehends an extent of 201 G. miles. # In the vi- 
cinity of the Plinthine bay is the position of Taposi- 
ris, the tower of the Arabs, or Abusir ; the Nicias 
* Renn ell's Geograph. System of Herodotus, p. 522. 
