CHAP. I.—SAN BBPOSE THE EMPIEE. 
11 
ment. The cause of this is not hard to see ; ] 
they were a race who only held the Delta, and 
occasionally more or less of middle Egypt. They 
had no command of the red granite quarries of 
Assuan, which were retained by the crippled 
power of the native rulers; and hence the black 
granite was the only hard material accessible to 
them. Whether it came from Sinai, or from 
the Hammamat district is not certain. Signor 
Lanzone assured me that he had seen the quarries 
of black granite in the Wady Hammamat; but it 
seems more probable that the Hyksos would 
obtain their stone from a district over which they 
had more control in Sinai. 
The most peculiar monument of this people is 
the group of two men, with bushy jilaited hair and 
long beards ; they stand with a tray of offerings in 
front of them, on which lie fishes, with papyrus 
plants hanging around. The details are beauti¬ 
fully w’orked, the flowers and buds being most 
dehcately wrought. Pisebkhanu afterwards ap¬ 
propriated this monument, which came from the 
southern side of the axis of the temple, and is 
now in Bulak. A similar group existed on the 
northern side, and fragments of it remain 
there. The other Hyksos remains of Tanis are 
the black granite sphinxes. These have been 
often described, and further details are hardly 
needed. They have the flat, massive, muscular, 
lowering face, with short whiskers and beard 
around it, the lips being shaven; and the hair 
is in a mat of thick short locks descending over 
the whole chest, a style copied from the great 
sphinxes of the twelth dynasty. There are at 
Bulak parts of two sphinxes, one nearly complete, 
and of the other only the fore-part. These have 
erased Hyksos inscriptions on the right shoulders, 
inscriptions of Merenptah also on the shoulders; 
an inscription of Eamessu on the front of the base, 
and of Merenptah on the side of the base; and 
an inscription of Pisebkhanu on the chests of both. 
At San, in a group (PL xiii. 5) on the north side of 
the axis of the temple, there remains the fore-part 
of a sphinx, with erased Hyksos inscription on the 
shoulder (Plan, 72); inscription of Eamessu II. 
on the front of the base (28 b), and on the left 
side (28 e) ; names of Merenptah on the right 
shoulder (28 n) and on the left (28 e) ; while on 
the chest Pisebkhanu out his name and titles in 
very good style (28 c). The fore-part of a second 
(Plan, 71) has inscriptions on the shoulders and 
chest almost the same as on the last (29 a and 
29 b), and on the left side of the base the inscrip¬ 
tion 29 0 . Part of a base of the fore-quarters 
of a third (Plan, 74) has on the front the same 
inscription as 28 b, but reversed, and on the left 
side 80 b, while the chest is the same as 28 c. 
The hind-quarters of a fourth sphinx, or of the 
third previous (Plan, 73), has the inscription 31 a. 
On the south side of the axis is another group of 
sphinxes ; a front and back, apparently belonging 
together (Plan. 60), have the inscription 26 a on 
the side and back, and 26 b on the chest; show¬ 
ing that it was first inscribed by Eamessu II., 
next by his son Merenptah (who with filial dis¬ 
respect has partly erased his father’s name, and 
left the work unfinished), and finally by Piseb¬ 
khanu. Of the other sphinx here there are several 
pieces (Plan, 61), which seem to belong together ; 
the inscriptions are, on the hind-quarters, 27 c on 
the side, and 27 B on the back; and on the fore¬ 
quarters, 27 A on the base, 27 n on the right 
shoulder, 27 b on the left, 27 e on the chest, and 
27 a on the remainder of the right shoulder. 
There are but few Hyksos monuments found 
elsewhere than at San. At Ismailiyeh are some 
sphinxes found at Tell Maskhuta, during the 
canal workings; these are of Hyksos work, in 
the same dark grey granite, and of the same style, 
as at San. One of these is perfect; but it has 
not only been appropriated by Eamessu II., but 
the head has been re-cut, and a Eamesside head 
of very good style, but too small for the body, 
has been carved out of the old massive Hyksos 
head: also the bushy wig and matted hair on the 
chest, so typical of the hated race, has been care¬ 
fully removed, leaving only a slightly rougher 
surface. The sphinxes found with this have been 
0 2 
