e
of them, the Et-Tel of the present day, and built there a palace
for himself and a temple for his god. The temple, like that of Ea at
Heliopolis, was named _Hait-Banbonu_, the Mansion of the Obelisk. It
covered an immense area, of which the sanctuary, however, occupied an
inconsiderable part; it was flanked by brick storehouses, and the whole
was surrounded by a thick wall. The remains show that the temple was
built of white limestone, of fine quality, but that it was almost
devoid of ornament, for there was no time to cover it with the usual
decorations.*

* The opinion of Brugsch, that the arrangement of the
various parts differed from that of other temples, and was
the effect of foreign influence, has not been borne out by
the excavations of Prof. Petrie, the little which he has
brought to light being entirely of Egyptian character. The
temple is represented on the tomb of the high priest Mariri.

[Illustration: 084.jpg Map]

The palace was built of brick; it was approached by a colossal gateway,
and contained vast halls, interspersed with small apartments for the
accommodation of the household, and storehouses for the necessary
provisions, besides gardens which had been hastily planted with rare
shrubs and sycamores. Fragments of furniture and of the roughest of the
utensils contained in the different chambers are still unearthed from
among the heaps of rubbish, and the cellars especially are full of
potsherds and cracked jars, on which we can still see written an
indication of the reign and the year when the wine they once contained
was made. Altars of massive masonry rose in the midst of the courts,
on which the king or one of his ministers heaped offerings and burnt
incense morning, noon, and evening, in honour of the three decisive
moments in the life of Atonu.*

* Naville discovered at Deir el-Bahari a similar altar,
nearly intact. No other example was before known in any of
the ruined towns or temples, and no one had any idea of the
dimensions to which these altars, attained.

A few painted and gilded columns supported the roofs of the principal
apartments in which the Pharaoh held his audiences, but elsewhere the
walls and pillars were coated with cream-coloured stucco or whitewash,
on which scenes of private life were depicted in colours. The pavement,
like the walls, was also decorated. In one of the halls which seems to
have belonged to the harem,