DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
165 
statue, one of the feet of which is entire, and al- 
most eleven feet long. A colossal statue of gra- 
nite, of smaller proportions, placed at one of the 
gates, exhibits an admirable specimen of Egyptian 
sculpture. The body is black, but the head is 
formed of rose-coloured granite. The peristyle of 
the palace of Medinet-Abu is sixty-five feet paces 
in length, and fifty-five in breadth. It is formed by 
four ranges of columns, forty-five feet in height, and 
seven in diameter. The execution of the sculpture 
is superior to that of the Memnonium. The small- 
er hieroglyphics are hollowed in the stone, from the 
depth of one to that of six inches, while the larger 
figures have two inches of relief. The two colos- 
sal statues, generally denominated Shaama and Ta- 
ama, are placed between Memnonium and Medi- 
net-Abu. They are about fifty-eight feet in height, 
and in a sitting attitude. Their bases are about 
eleven feet high, but immersed nearly six feet in 
the earth. The southern colossus is entire, but 
the northern is mutilated. Its base, and legs are 
covered with Greek and Latin inscriptions, which 
commemorate the emission of sound from the vo- 
cal statue of Memnon. The interval between Mem- 
nonium and Medinet-Abu is occupied by the con- 
tinuous ruins of magnificent edifices and colossal 
statues, the sculptures of which, representing bat- 
tles and sieges, seem to indicate the remains of the 
tomb of Osymandyas, probably the same personage 
