The Great Hall
The Great Hall, the floor of which was more than forty
feet below the surface of the desert, was fifteen feet wide, thirty-four feet
long, and seventeen feet high . There were three doorways, one to the south,
leading to the South Chamber ; one to the east, to the sloping passage ; one to
the north, to the north passage .
The North and South Walls were covered with
inscriptions . The West Wall is divided into three parts vertically ; the
portion to the left hand is filled with a colossal scene of the Vivification of
Osiris ; the middle portion contains part of the Chapter of knowing the Names
of Osiris ; the right hand portion is occupied with the figure of King
Merenptah standing before a heaped-up table of offerings, and making an
offering of incense . The wall had originally had a frieze of the kheker ornament painted in yellow, blue, green, and black .
The East Wall of the hall had had the facing of stone quarried away
in Roman times, so that any decoration, either sculpture or painting, which
might have been there, had perished . The floor, as in the South Chamber and
the passages, was paved with blocks of sandstone . The roofing stones must have
stretched from wall to wall, the entire width of the hall, as there are no
pillars or other means of support . It is easy to see how stones of such a size
would impress the minds of visitors, and Strabo's surprise is not to be
wondered at .
Above the scene of Osiris and Horus are two
rectangular holes for driving in the wedges by which the stones were split out
of the walls by the Romans . From the weather stains and marks of bird
droppings, it seems that the place must have stood open and roofless for many
years, though it was filled up again in Roman times . Sufficient traces of
colour remained on all the sculptures to show that the background was white,
the hieroglyphs red and blue, and the figures of various colours . Many of the
details were added in the painting and do not appear in the sculptures, as, for
instance, the bracelets on the arms of Merenptah and the striped garments of
the figures of gods in the lists on the West Wall .
The South Wall :- At the south end of the hall the
walls on either side of the doorway are engraved with chapters from the "
Book of the Dead " . The upper part of the wall is so broken that the
inscription is too fragmentary to translate . One line only, on the left is
intact . " Speech of the King, Lord of the Two Lands, Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru,
son of the Sun, Lord of crowns, Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah, giving life " .
East side of the door : This inscription
is part of chapter 43, the Chapter of the Identification of Members . It is
noticeable that the name of Seti I occurs in the first part of the inscription .
" [ Chapter ] of driving away the slaughterings
which are made in Henenseten ( now known locally as Ehnasya, a little south of Faiyum
Governorate ) by the King Men-Maat-Ra, true of voice . Strong One of the White
crown . Image of the gods . I am the Child, ( four times ) . O [ Abu-ur, thou sayest this ] day, ' The
Slaughter-block is prepared with what thou knowest, coming unto decay (?) . I
am Ra, establishing praises ; I am the great god within the tamarisk-tree, the
twice beautiful One, more splendid than yesterday (?) ( four times ) . I am Ra, establishing praises . I am ........
going forth [ when ] this Ra goes forth .
" The hair of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, [true]
of voice, is as Nu .
" The face of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah,
[true] of voice, is as Ra .
" The two eyes of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru,
[true] of voice, are as Hathor .
" The two ears of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat
Merenptah, [true] of voice, are as Upuaut .
" The nose of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, [true]
of voice, is as Kenti-khas .
" The two lips of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat
Merenptah, [true] of voice, are as Anubis .
" The teeth of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, [true]
of voice, are as Serkt .
" The neck of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah,
[true] of voice, is as Isis .
" [The two hands] of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru,
[true] of voice, are as the Soul, the Lord of Deddu .
" The elbow of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, [true]
of voice, is as the Lady of Sais .
" The backbone of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat
Merenptah, [true] of voice, is as Set .
" The phallus of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, [true]
of voice, is as Osiris .
" The flesh of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah, [true]
of voice, is as the Lords of Kher-aha .
" The trunk of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, [true]
of voice, is as the Great One of Terror .
" The body and back of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat
Merenptah, [true] of voice, are as Sekhet .
" The hinder parts of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru,
[true] of voice, are as the Eye of Horus .
" The legs of Osiris Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah, [true]
of voice, are as Nut .
" The feet of Osiris Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, [true]
of voice, are as Ptah " .
West side of the door : This inscription
is part of chapter 180 of the " Book of the Dead ", one of the many
chapters of Coming forth by Day .
" [ The Chapter ] of Coming forth by Day, of
praising Ra in the West of Heaven, of making praises to those who are in the
Duat, of opening a road for the Soul which is in the Underworld, of causing
that it may walk with wide strides in the Underworld, of making transformations
as a living soul by the king Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, son of the Sun,
Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah, true of voice . Hail, Ra, setting as Osiris with all
his diadems . The glorious ones, the gods, the people of the West [ i.e. the
Dead ], they praise him, the Image not ( sic ) unique of the secret places, the
Holy Soul of Khenti-Amentiu (?), Unnefer, he exists unto eternity and
everlasting . Beautiful is thy face in the Duat . Thy son Horus is satisfied
concerning thee . He speaks [ lit. commands ] for thee the commanding words .
Thou grantest that he may appear as thy pillar of the Duat . Those who are in
the Duat and of the steps of heaven are bidden before thee (?) I am the
guardian of the gate who walks behind Ra . I have offered offerings in the Fields
of Aaru, I have made libations on earth and in the Fields of Aaru, weighing
words like Thoth . Hail, O gods, O ancestors, O Ra, lead ye my soul as ye lead
the begetter of mankind with you at the side of the soul of Khenti-Amentiu "
.
The West Wall ( Left ) :- On the left-hand
side is a scene of the Vivification of Osiris by Horus . Osiris is enthroned
within a shrine . The throne has the usual decoration of horizontal lines, and
in one corner is a panel of water-plants tied to the symbol of union,
emblematic of the union of Upper and Lower Egypt . The base of the shrine is
decorated with a border of ankh and uas alternately . Osiris holds the crook, the scourge, and the uas, his usual emblems . The face appears to have been worked in stucco or
plaster, which has fallen out . The stone was probably faulty just in that
place, and the stucco was used to cover up the bad part . We found stucco used
in this way in several places ; and when the sculptures were in good repair and
freshly painted the join would not be noticed . In front of Osiris are four
little mummified figures standing on a lotus flower with two leaves ; these are
the four children of Horus, who are generally represented before the enthroned
Osiris . Above them in the corner of the shrine is the sun's disk encircled by
a serpent from whose neck hangs an ankh . The inscription over the head of
Osiris reads : " Osiris Khenti-Amentiu, Lord of Deddu, Ruler of Abydos "
. In front of Osiris stands Horus wearing the double crown and holding in both
hands a long staff surmounted by an ankh, the sign of life . He holds the ankh to the nostrils of Osiris in order that the dead god may inhale life,
and may live again . The name of Horus is inscribed beside him ; " Horus,
avenger of his father, son of Osiris " .
On the undecorated portion of the wall, immediately
below Horus, is the graffito of a foot with a Karian ( the ancient inhabitants
of Caria [ Karia ] in southwest Anatolia ) inscription beside it . It is just
the height at which a man seated on the ground, could rest his foot on the wall
while marking out the shape . This graffito shows that the building was used as
a place of pilgrimage in Greek times, pilgrims always leaving incised footmarks
at the shrines which they visited . The roof of the Temple of Seti at Abydos is
covered with graffiti of footmarks, sometimes with names as in this case,
sometimes uninscribed . Above the head of Horus, and also behind him, are three
registers of inscriptions, portions of chapter 173 of the " Book of the
Dead ", the speeches of Horus to his father Osiris . The first register on
the top consists of fourteen vertical lines, the second on the middle are of
four, and the last one on the bottom are of also four . Each line begins with
the words " Speech . Hail O, Osiris, I am thy son Horus ", which
omitted in below translation .
The first line :-
I. " I come and I bring to thee life, stability,
and strength for thy beautiful face .
2. " I come, giving homage to thee with vessels
of water .
3. " I come and I overthrow thine enemies upon
earth .
4. " I come and I make thy sacrifices in the
Nomes of the South and North .
5. " I come and I make provision for thy altar
upon earth .
6. " I come and I make sacrifice of offerings
upon it .
7. " I come and I lead captive for thee thy
enemies as bulls .
8. " I come and I overthrow thy enemies in all
the gates (?) .
9. " I come and I smite down all evil that
belongs to thee .
10. " I come and I slay what thou hast done when
thou hast transgressed .
11. " I come and I destroy those who are hostile
to thee .
12. " I come and I bring to thee the South,
seizing all boundaries .
13. " I come and I bring to thee the companions
of Set, chains (?) upon them .
14. " I come and I establish for thee divine
offerings from the South and North .
The second line :-
1. " I come and I plough for thee the fields .
2. " I come and I fill for thee the canals .
3. " I come and I build water channels for thee .
4. " I come and I bring thee cool-water from
Elephantine .
The third line :-
1. " I come and I cause that thou art strong upon
earth .
2. " I come and I cause that thou art glorious .
3. " I come and I cause that thou art terrible .
4. " I come and I grant to thee that Isis and
Nephthys shall stablish thee " .
The West Wall ( Middle ) :- There is a scene
occupies the most of the west wall, this is lies on the middle . It consists of
three horizontal long registers, each register contains of fifty-one vertical
short lines .
The West Wall ( Right ) :- On the right of
the west wall ( north end ) is a figure of Merenptah standing before a table of
offerings . In front of him is a small altar inscribed with his name and titles
. The table of offerings is in three registers corresponding to the three
registers which contain the divine names . Among the offerings are the
different joints into which the sacrificed ox is divided, the head, leg, ribs,
heart, and even the whole carcase, are represented .
The king holds a hawk-headed incense-burner ; the
small pottery saucer, which held the burning incense, is clearly shown . These
saucers were used in order to save the bronze burner from contact with the
fire, by which it would soon have been destroyed . Saucers of this kind,
blackened inside, with charcoal and incense, were found by Prof. Flinders
Petrie at Tel el Amarna . The bracelets on the king's arms are merely painted,
not sculptured ; an omission which would not have been noticed when the whole
figure was coloured . The necklace is of a somewhat unusual form .
Above the head of the king is a hawk with outstretched
drooping wings, on one side of it is the name, " Behdeti, lord of heaven
" ; on the other side, " He gives all life like Ra " . Over the
king are his name and titles, " The good god, son of Osiris, Lord of the
Two Lands, Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, lord of crowns, Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah,
giving life like Ra " .
In front of Merenptah is an inscription, "
Offering incense to all the fathers, the gods " . Behind the king is,
" Protection, life, stability, length of days, all health, all gladness of
heart behind him, like Ra for ever " .
The North Wall :- These inscriptions are portions of
chapter 146 of the " Book of the Dead ", the Chapter of the Hidden
Pylons .
Right Side of the doorway :- " [ Call
aloud ] O Osiris King Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, true of voice, on arriving at the
first pylon, the Lord of Tremblings, [ Lofty ] of Walls, Lady of Overthrowings,
arranging Words, repulsing storms, preventing injuries [ to him who ] goes
along the road . Its doorkeeper, Nery is his name . Says the Osiris, the King
Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, true of voice : [ Behold ] me, I come . Says this guardian
of the gate, saying : What says the Osiris the King .......... Verily, he being
pure I am pure . How ? [ By ] these waters in which Ra purified himself when he
was clothed [ on ] the east of heaven . Thou art anointed . How ? [ With ] merhet, hati and ash ointments, and the clothing which is upon thee ......... and the staff
which is in thy hand is ......... Pass thou on " .
Below the inscription is a representation of shrine in
which is the vulture-headed deity Nery, wearing two feathers on the head, and holding
the ankh ( the sign of life ) . On the top of the shrine is a
decoration of alternate feathers and snakes .
Left Side of the doorway :- " [ Call
aloud ] O Osiris King Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru, true of voice, at the second pylon,
the Lady of Heaven, Mistress of the Two Lands, Neby, Mistress of the Sacred
Land . The name of its guardian is Mes-ptah-peh . He says, I made a road .
Behold me, I come, saying : What says the Osiris, the King Ba-en-Ra mer-Neteru,
lord of crowns, Hotep her-Maat Merenptah, true of voice ? verily, thou being
purified I am purified . How ? [ By ] these waters in which Osiris purified
himself when he was placed in the Sektet boat and the Atet boat . He went forth
at Ta-ur, he descended upon him who is in Ta-ur . Thou art anointed . How ? [ With
] ointment and with perfumes of the festivals, and the clothing which is upon
thee, and may there be bandages to thee . The staff in thy hand is thy benben staff . It is proclaimed for thee because thou knowest it, viz. the
name of Osiris the King Ba-en- Ra mer-Neteru, son of the Sun, of his body, his
beloved, lord of crowns, Hotep-her-Maat Merenptah, true of voice before the
Lords of Eternity " .
Below the inscription is a representation of shrine containing
a crocodile-headed figure wearing two feathers on the head and holding the ankh ( the sign of life ) . The name is Neby, determined with the sign of
fire . Along the top of the shrine is a looped snake .
Part ( 9 ) .. Coming SoOoOon .....
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