This may have been a solar temple, as its amplitude is nearly equal to that of the sun at the winter solstice. Remarks 2 Hills high. at least 2° Remarks 3 Hills very low. It is quite clear that we must not look for Sirian temples before 3200 B.C., because the heliacal rising of Sirius at Thebes before that time did not take place near the solstice. The above table shows that the earliest Sirian temple really dates from about 3000 B.C.[85] But what star did Sirius replace? An inspection of a precessional globe shows at once that the star which rose heliacally at the solstice before Sirius was α Columbæ (Phact). Its declination has varied from 57° S. at 5000 B.C. to 37° S. at 0. We have the following temples which might have been oriented to this star; and here I must repeat that once a star has been symbolised as a god or a goddess on account of its astronomical utility, the cult would be continued after the utility had ceased--that is, in this case, after Sirius had replaced Phact astronomically. PHACT. ──────────────────┬──────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬───── │ │ Sea │ Hills 1° │ Hills 2° │ │ Amp. │ Horizon. │ High. │ High. │ Place and Temple. ├──────┼─────┬──────┼─────┬──────┼─────┬──────┤ Re- │ S. │Dec. │Years.│ Dec.│Years.│ Dec.│Years.│marks. │ of E.│ S. │ │ S.│ │ S. │ │ ──────────────────┼──────┼─────┼──────┼─────┼──────┼─────┼──────┼────── =Memnonia= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Western Temple) │ 58½° │ 50½°│ 3750 │ 49¾°│=3700=│ 49° │ 3550 │ 1. =Barkal= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Temple B) │ 53½° │ 50° │ 3250 │ 49¼ │=3600=│ 48¾°│ 3500 │ =Karnak V= │ 56½° │ 49° │ 3550 │ 48¼ │=3400=│ 47½°│ 3250 │ =Abu Simbel= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Hathor Temple) │ 54° │ 48¾°│ 3500 │ 48° │ 3350 │ 47½°│=3250=│ 2. =Dêr el-Medinet= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Gr.) │ 54½° │ 47½°│ 3250 │ 46¾°│=3050=│ 46° │ 2900 │ =Saboa= │ 51¼ │ 46° │ 2900 │ 45½°│=2750=│ 45° │ 2650 │ =Karnak= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Temple J) │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Gr.) │ 51½° │ 45¼ │ 2700 │ 44½°│ 2525 │ 43¾°│ 2300 │ =Medînet Habû= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Small J J) │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Gr.) │ 51½ │ 45¼ │ 2700 │ 44½°│=2525=│ 43¾°│ 2300 │ =Barkal= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Temples J and H) │ 47½° │ 44½°│ 2525 │ 44° │=2400=│ 43½°│ 2250 │ =Surarieh= │ 51° │ 43½°│ 2250 │ 42¾°│=2050=│ 42° │ 1850 │ =Medînet Habû= │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │ (Palace K K) │ │ | │ │ │ │ │ │