e
at least of the buildings that still remain, the charming rectangular
kiosk, the pillars of which, with their Hathor capitals, rise above
the southern extremity of the island and mark the spot at which the
Ethiopian pilgrims first set foot on the sacred territory of the
bountiful Isis. Nectanebo I. restored the sanctuaries of Nekhabit at
El-Kab, and of Horus at Edfu, in which latter place he has left an
admirable naos which delights the modern traveller by its severe
proportions and simplicity of ornament, while Nectanebo II. repaired the
ancient temple of Minu at Coptos; in short, without giving a detailed
list of what was accomplished by each of these later Pharaohs, it may be
said that there are few important sites in the valley of the Nile where
some striking evidence of their activity may not still be discovered
even after the lapse of so many centuries.

[Illustration: 314.jpg NAOS OF NECTANEBO IN THE TEMPLE AT EDFU]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Beato.

It will be sufficient to mention Thebes, Memphis, Sebennytos, Bubastis,
Pahabit, Patumu, and Tanis. Nor did the Theban oases, including that of
Amon himself, escape their zeal, for the few Europeans who have visited
them in modern times have observed their cartouches there.

[Illustration: 315.jpg GREAT GATE OF NECTANEBO AT KARNAK]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Beato.

Moreover, in spite of the brief space of time within which they were
carried out, the majority of these works betray no signs of haste
or slipshod execution; the craftsmen employed on them seem to have
preserved in their full integrity all the artistic traditions of earlier
times, and were capable of producing masterpieces which will bear
comparison with those of the golden age. The Eastern gate, erected at
Karnak in the time of Nectanebo II., is in no way inferior either in
purity of proportion or in the beauty of its carvings to what remains of
the gates of Amenothes III.

[Illustration: 316.jpg fragment of a Naos of THE time of nectanebo II.
in the Bologna Museum]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Flinders Petrie.

The sarcophagus of Nectanebo I. is carved and decorated with a
perfection of skill which had never been surpassed in any age, and
elsewhere, on all the monuments which bear the name of this monarch the
hieroglyphics have been designed and carved with as much care as though
each one of them had been a precious cameo.*

* The sa