The daily gazette., 1880-04-21
THIRD EDITION
Yaudals Among the ~, amids.
RUrHL Ess DESTRUCTION OF ANCIENT
MoNUME STs IN EGYPT.

RUrHLEss DESTRUCTION OF ANCIENT
MoNUME >Ts IN EGYPT.
Corrsspondenoe of the Egyptian
Gazette contains the following notes u
have lust returned from most INTEREST,"
ing series of excursions 10 the pyram'us.
rbey were made from daha6iah, and
Included visits TO the great pyramids at
Gheezeh, to Sakkarah, To Dashoor, and
to Maydoon. regret To say that ~
several places we observed .he hanu OF
the destroyer at work. Not only was
this Nthe case at a remote place like
Dashoor, but, so to speak, under M.
MaTielte 8 very nose. Some four OF nVe
large stones, immediately u der the
entrance, have been removed from tine
Great Pyramid, and, incredi bio rs IL may
seem, was Informed. ON what seemed
TO me trustworthy authority, that this
wanton act had been committed by
order of The Khedive, the stone being
REQUIRED for the building of the new
mo que of Sultan Ha~sau. Few people
would be sorry tO zee the hideous new
building pulled down, hut that the pyra-
mid should be further destroyed 10
build it ID one of ihe most singular ex-
anples OF the "revenLe Oftme" | ever
heard. 1t is yell known that, beautiful
as is the mosque of Sultan Hassan, we
have 1t at the sacrifice OF tue Great Py-
WulCu was Puii'h w" " oh.iN
1t. That the Great Pyramid should,
after the lapse of more than five ceuiu-
ries, be oi ce more Luz under conirihu-
ton, and that for the purpose of build
ingssa mosque, which already, when
half finished, hides aud dwarfs its older
neigbbor in a way almost destructive of
the pleasure of looking at IT, is, indeed,
a noteworthy ex ample of the yicissitudes
of fate and the irony of history.
kax st,..n "a
example of this kin0 We are not surprised
that IL is followed by meaner folk. At
= Dashoor, place seldom visited by the
tourists, aud where consequently the
marauder thought him,eiT safe, loaded
with the square white li'ueStonrs of the
casing of the larger pyrauie. Few Of
thes9 stones remain The upper part of
the pyramid has long been stripped. But
sn the threat, promptly carried out. of a
complaint to the Government by letter
these few relics were being ruthiesslS
pulled away, every removal ot a stone
insuring the destruction of Two or three
Of its nelgbbors. The adjoining pvra-
mid, which is 50 conspicuous from He
louan, and SO remaI kable from belnf
buit In two di ffcreut slopes, had nj
lately its casing nearly complete. Thi'
casing Is of the greatest Importance, foI
the alteration of the angle will almoSl
disappear when it has been removed
and i regret to say, though l did not ac.
tually see the Work in progress, there
can be no doubt that here also the de
stroyer has been recently ousy. Stones,
lOoSened from tie top of the building,
have been rolled dow u the side, tearing
and smashing the smuUi b surface. Thre,
or four large STONES have also been re-
moved from below the entrance, which
IL now inaCcesslbie without adder. 1t
is in little kno u places, like DSshOoi
that such destruc ion as | describe is
most easy to perpeErdte and most diff
cult to prevent. But there cannot b.
much d tficulty in watching the Great
Pyramid of G hetzeh.