The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-10-07
PHARAOH'S HOUSE.
Discovery of the Very Place Where Jcre-
miah stood and Prophesied.


Another very curious and interesting
discovery has been made in the lone
Hest and dreariest corner of the Delta
plain of Lower Egypt. In the land
where previous explorers have found
only the monuments of an extinct faith
and the graves of dead nation, Mr..
Flinders Petrie has lighted upon the
ruins of a royal palace. The fortunate
finder of Norcratis has now been work
ing upon vast mound called Tell De-
fenneh, which historians have long
identified with the Pelusiac Daphne OF
the reeks and the Tahpanhes of the
Bible. Here he has discovered the
ruins of that very palace to which, as
reco ded in the Book of the Prophet
jeremiah, Johanan, the son of Kercah,
followed by all the captains and the
remnant of Judah, brought the fugitive
daughters of Zedekiah, then a de-
throned captive in Babylon. This
flight of the Hebrew princesses took
place about 5S5 Ii. c., during the reign
of Ua-ab-Ra, whom the Hebrews called
Hophra and the Greeks Apries. The
Pharaoh received the fugitives kindly.
To the mass of the Jewish immigrants
he gave tracts of land; to the daughters
of Zedekiah, his former ally, he as
signed this royal palace, which the
Bible calls "Pharaoh's house IN Tab
panhes.
Although this part of the Delta is
now q wilderness, half marsh, half des-
ert. over which no traveller ever passes,
it was at the time when these events
took place rich pastoral district, fer
tilted by the annual overflow of the
Nile. In the midst of mud swamps
have long been observed some groups
of ruins, to one of which was attached
the name of the Castle of the Jews
Daughter. Hearing this from his ma
tives Mr.. Petrie at once perceived the
interest which must attach to the place,
and the intelligent labor which he has
bestowed upon 1t has met with suta-
BILE reward. Not only the architectural
structure. but its history also has been
rescued from oblivion.
The building was at first q strong
hold, quadrangular, lofty, massive, like
castle keep. 1t contained sixteen
square rooms on each floor, both the
outer and partition walls being of
enormous strength. 1t is, of course,
impossible to guess of how many sto
ries 1T was originally composed, but it
is of its fallen stones that the mound is
made. This stronghold was built by
Psammeticus l., as is proved by the
deposits marked with the royal name
and titles, placed under the foundation
walls. There were found also the liba-
tion vessels, specimens of ores, bricks,
the bones of the OK and the bird sacri-
feed at the time, and series of tablets
with inscriptions. The rooms in the
castle were lined with slabs of fine
limestone, covered with hieroglyphics,
figures of captives, and the like, deli
cately carved and painted. These are
now splntered and ruined as the castle
was burned as we'll as battered down,
and very few objects of value were
therefore to be recovered. But the
easements remain in very perfect con-
dltion, and In the Easements were the
kitchen, buffers pantry, and scullery,
and these domestic Offices become of
great interest when they form part of
an Egyptian palace 2,o50 years old.
The kitchen of Pharaoh's house in
Tahpanhes is big room, with recesses
in the thickness of the wall, which
served for dressers. There were four
teen large jars and two large fiat
dishes, standing unframed in their
places, amid the general destruction
A stone corn-crusher, large iron
knife. weights, and three small iron
spits were found in this room. In the
buffers pantry, adjoining, were no wine
Jars, but hundreds of jarlids and plas
ter stop ers, some stamped with the
royal ovals OF | sammeticus, and some
with those of Necho, his successor.
The empty jars, with quantities of 9th
eli pottery, mostly broken, were piled
i'll sort of rubbish closet outside, and
next was small room, sacred to the
scullery maid, or dish washer. 1t con-
tanned recess with a sink, bench tC
stand things upon, and recesses In tho
walls by way of shelves. The sink WAS
formed of large clay jar with the bot
tom knocked out and filled with brok-
en- potsEerds placed on edge. The
water ran through this, and then into
more broken pots below, placed one in
another, all bottomless, going down to
the clean sand below. The potsherds
were clogged with fish bones.
In other cham bers were found num-
bers of early Greek vases, ranging
from $50 i. G. to 90 b. c., some very
finely painted with barpies, sphinxes,
dancers, and the like; nearly all. how
ever. were broken, Lut some can be
mende!. A sword handle, some scale
armor, bronze rings, amu.ets, beads,
seals, and especially two rings, en-
graved with the titles of priest of
Amen, have been found, and many
small tablets with inscriptions.
Mr. Petre has looked diligently for
the stones which jeremiah hid among
the brick-work, and some unhewn
stones have been dug ont from below
the surface, but to identify them posi-
lively would, of course, be impossible
unless the prophet had previously in
scribed them. which is unlikely. Egyp-
tan inscriptions say that Ne buchad-
nezzar did come to Tahpanhes and
spread ont his pavilion on that very
spot, as foretold in Jeremiahs prophe-
cy, but they say that he was defeated.
Babylonian inscriptions state that he
conquered, and the truth is hard to
determine.
aYe ~.