The Persians left a magnificent record of their rule in the temple of Hibis, situated 4 kilometres north of Kharga village. Founded (or possibly only rebuilt) by Darius I. between 521 and 486 B.C., in honour of the god Ammon-Ra, it was enlarged by Nektanebos about 150 years later. In the hieroglyphics the King is mentioned as having built the temple of good white stone, and as having covered its portals, made of Libyan acacia-wood, with bronze from Asia. There are long lists and representations of the offerings made to Ammon-Ra the sun-god, commencing with the wine of the oasis. The building is situated in the midst of fields and palm-groves, and the accompanying illustrations give a good idea of its general aspect and architecture. The main portion has its long axis east and west, and measures 44 by 19 metres, the walls being about 6 metres high. To the east of the chief entrance there are three isolated pylons, one of them being at the present day almost hidden by palms. The entire building is constructed of Nubian Sandstone, believed to have been obtained locally, though the quarry has never been located. Hibis means ‘the town of the plough,’ and is referred to in the Ptolemaic inscriptions at Edfu as the capital of Kenem (Kharga). It is not certain whether the town, which probably existed into the Middle Ages, was in the immediate vicinity of the temple, or, as suggested by Rohlfs, near Nadûra, a smaller edifice on a marked eminence a little to the south-east. [Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF HIBIS.] Apart from the temple of Hibis most of the antiquities in the oasis belong to the Græco-Roman period, and probably the most interesting and important of these is the temple now known as Qasr el Ghuâta, situate 6 kilometres south-east of Gennâh, on a conspicuous eminence composed of sandstones and shales. Qasr el Ghuâta dates from the time of the Ptolemies, and, as the cartouche of Ptolemy III. (Euergetes I.) appears on the entrance walls, it may be presumed that it was erected during his reign, between 247 and 222 B.C. The actual temple is of sandstone, and measures approximately 10 by 20 metres, the main entrance being richly inscribed and having ornamental columns with beautifully designed capitals. The interior consists of three courts or rooms, the first plain, the second with four ornamental columns and walls decorated with exceptionally well-cut hieroglyphics, while the third is much smaller, and contains enclosed passages and cells. The building is hemmed in by numerous crude enclosures, with partitions of sun-dried brick, the whole of which, forming a large rectangular block, was originally surrounded by a high brick wall of considerable thickness. According to Schweinfurth, the outer crude erections formed the quarters of a garrison at a later date.