CHAP. II,—SAN UNDEE THE EMPIEE. 
15 
the same reason that the greater part of the temple 
itself was removed, being made of that unhappily 
convertible material, limestone. Beyond this part 
there seems to have been a blank space for about 
a hundred and fifty feet, in which no monuments 
have been found, although partly cleared by 
Mariette, and trenched through, down to the 
sand, by myself. 
20. The next objects that were placed across 
the temple were the two colossal sphinxes, origin¬ 
ally of the twelfth dynasty (§ 11), and appro¬ 
priated by the Hyksos (southern one. Plan, 51). 
Eamessu did not deface them further, but placed 
them as guardians at the entrance of the tem¬ 
ple proper, facing each other, with their sides 
toward the hall and pylon. Then Merenptah 
cut his cartouches on the sides (inscripts. 14 e, 
15 b), facing the pylon; thus placing the name 
on the right shoulder of one, and on the left 
shoulder of the other. Siamen added his name 
by the side of Merenptah’s on the southern 
sphinx (incript. 15 b), and finally Sheshonk I. 
appropriated the bases of both the sphinxes 
(inscripts. 14 a, 14 b, 15 c). Where the other two 
sphinxes of less colossal si^e were placed (§ 15) 
is not apparent, as both have been removed from 
San ; most likely they were near the larger pair. 
These sphinxes flanked the way to an avenue of 
obelisks, four pairs of which stood within a length 
of a hundred and fifty feet. Of the first pair only 
one remains, on the northern side (Plan 49, 
base 60); and between this and the second pair 
stood two sandstone colossi of Eamessu II., of 
which inscribed fragments only remain of the 
southern (54), while but a block or two of sand¬ 
stone suggest that a northern companion to it 
existed here. The second pair of obelisks have 
fared badly, the northern (67)—which was oblong 
in plan—is much broken, and the southern (58) 
lies in two parts, the larger portion having had 
one face entirely cut away, and a row of holes 
made in the side for some later structural purpose. 
Between the second and third pair of obelisks 
stood another pair of sandstone colossi twenty- 
seven and a half feet high (68, 69), including a 
base of two feet; while near these, on either side, 
lay the black Hyksos sphinxes, now heaped to¬ 
gether by some later destroyer, without any 
semblance of their original order (60, 61, 
71—74). Some other small monuments stood 
in this neighbourhood; a large hand protecting 
a king, probably Eamessu II., carved in red 
granite (67); a sphinx in red granite (64); a 
half-kneeling figure (of Eamessu II. ?) (75); and 
perhaps also here the gray granite statue of 
Merenptah (70), and a grey granite kneeling 
statue of Eamessu III., which lies near that. 
Between the third pair of obelisks (59, 76) and 
the fourth pair (62, 77) stood, on either side, a 
shrine out in a single block of quartzite Ba,ndstone 
nine feet long.* Of the southern shrine only the 
upper part of the back remains (63), but the 
northern one (80) is nearly perfect. For some 
distance, about the middle of the avenue, are many 
blocks of a pavement of basalt; these perhaps 
belonged to the old temple ; they came from Abu 
Zabel apparently, like the Great Pyramid basalt. 
21. Beyond this avenue of obelisks and monu¬ 
ments the great historical series of royal statues 
stood in a line across the temple. That they 
were not arranged in chronological order is 
certain, since Sebakhotep III. comes between 
Amenemhat I. and Usertesen I.; and all that we 
can do is to give their roll of names :— ■Tioelftli 
Dynasty. —Amenemhatl. (Plan, 103); Usertesen I. 
(101); Amenemhat II. (97); Usertesen II. (84) ; 
Nofert, his wife, (Bulak); two princesses, his 
daughters (?) (85, 99) ; Usertesen III. (?) (87). 
Thirteenth Dynasty. —Sebakhotep III., two colossi 
(102 and Louvre); Mentuhotep, son of Sebakhotep 
III.; Sebakhotep VI.; an unknown king (Bulak); 
and Murmashau, two colossi (86 and 98). Fif¬ 
teen statues in all were thus placed by ^Eamessu 
II., of which he appropriated one for himself and 
one for his mother, and to which he added four of 
* This seems to be the “ chapel resembling a sarcophagus ’* 
of a “granulous kind of alabaster,” mentioned in the rather 
. confused account in BiBdecker’s Egypt (p. 444). 
