Ameny-seneb who was represented on the squared pillar, also set up in
the cave an altar in the name of his king. This altar measured 40 by
26 inches, and probably stood at the back of the cave in a recess of
corresponding dimensions. It was found in another part of the cave.
This altar had the ordinary appearance of an Egyptian altar and was
worked in the red sandstone of the place. It apparently took the place
of an earlier stone or altar of different appearance, fragments of
which were also found inside the cave. The smashing of this altar also
points to an intentional desecration of the place.
The smaller cave which was appropriated to Sopd, was probably
re-arranged at the same time. There was here no sign of inscription or
tablet. It was simply a rounded apse with three steps leading up to it.
The other work which was done during the reign of Amen-em-hat III
included mining in the Wadi Nasb, where an inscription at the head of
the valley recorded his 20th year.[58]
The head of the valley floor of the Wadi Nasb is covered with an
enormous mass of slag, which points to extensive copper smelting. The
mass of slag is 6 to 8 feet deep, 300 feet wide, and extends about 500
feet down the valley. It “may amount to 100,000 tons.” The provenance
of the copper that was smelted here is insufficiently known. It can
hardly have been brought up from the mines in the Wadi Khalig. But even
at Serabit, now entirely denuded of trees, a crucible was found.
After the long reign of Amen-em-hat III came the short reign of
Amen-em-hat IV (XII 7), the last king of his dynasty. An inscription
in the Wadi Maghara recorded work done there in his sixth year, and,
at Serabit, the small rock tablet mentioned above, was set up on the
western side of the plateau. A portico-court about 10 feet square was
also built by him outside the larger cave. This court was roofed over
with slabs of stone, the roof being supported by two fluted columns
which, like the rest of the building, were worked in the red sandstone
of the place. The walls of this portico were inscribed, the subject
being Hathor seated with the Pharaoh offering to her, and a long row of
officials behind him. The same scene reversed was represented on the
other side of the entrance. But the surface of the wall has crumbled so
that the general character only of the scenes is visible and the names
of the officials have gone.
CHAPTER V
EARLY PEOPLE AND PLACE NAMES
THE ancient peoples and place names of Sinai claim separate attention.
The earliest Egyptian rock inscription at Maghara represents the
Pharaoh as a smiter, and describes him as such with the signs of a
hand, an eagle, and the determinative of hills. The term is held
to apply to no people in particular, and is therefore rendered as
“barbarians.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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