The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1886-11-05
PHARAOH'S HOUSE.
RUINS OF A PALACE REFERRED TO
BY THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. =.
Ruins Of q Castle in the Midst of the
Mud Swamps of the Ni1e-Discoyeries
in Pharaoh's ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


In Pharaoh'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
zar's Victory. --.a-.gsf Il. J
Another very curious and interesting dis
covery has been made in the loneliest and
dreariest corner of the delta plain Of lower
Egypt In the land where previous explorers
have found only the monuments of ON ex-
tinct faith and the graves Of a dead nation,
Mr. Flinders Petrie has ligbte1 upon rtE ID y
ruins OF a royal palace. The fortunate finder
of Norcratis has now been working upon
vast mound called Tell Defenneh, which his
torians have long identified with the Pelusiac
Daphne of the Greeks and the Tahpanhes of
the Bible. Here he has discovered the ruins
of that very palace to which, as recorded In
the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Johanan,
the son of Kercah, followed by all the captains
and the remnant of Judah, brought the fugi-
tive daughters of Zedekiah, then dethroned
captive in Babylon. This flight of the He
brew princesses took place about $50 b. T.,
during the reign of Ua-ab-Ra, whom the He
brews called Hophra and the Greeks Apries.
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 assigned this royal palace,
which the Bible calls "Pharaoh's House in
Tahpanhes."
Although this part of the delta is now
wilderness, half marsh, half desert, over
which no traveller ever passes, it was at the
time when these events took place a rich pas
toral district, fertilized by the annual over
flow 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 natives Mr.. Petrie a.
once perceived the interest which must attach
to the place, and the intelligent labor which
he has bestowed upon it has met with q suit
able reward. Not only the architectural
structure, but its history also has been
rescued from oblivion.
The building was at first a stronghold
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 stories it
was originally composed, but it is OF its fallen
stones that the mound is made This strong
hold 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 hbation
vessels specimens of Ores bricks, the bones of
the OK and bird sacrificed at the time and
series of tablets with Inscriptions The rooms
in the castle We're lined with slabs of fine
limestone, covered with hieroglyphics, figures
of captives and the like, delicately carved and
painted. These are now splintered and
ruined as the castle was burned as well as
battered down, and very few objects of value
were therefore to be recovered. But the
Easements remails In very perfect condition.
and in the basement were the kitchen, buffers
pantry and scullery, and these domestic
Offices become of great interest when they
form part of an Egyptian palace 1850 years
old. -==----s=s7g-if if- q
IN KING 1,uAR Aou's KITCHEN.
The kitchen of Pharaoh's houseAin Tahpan
hes is a big room, with recesses in the thick
ness of the wall which served for dressers
There were fourteen large jars and two large
fat dishes standing unharmed in their
places, amid the general destruction. A
stone corn crusher, a 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 jar lids and
plaster shoppers, some stamped with the
royal ovals of Psammeticus and some with
those of Necho, his successor. The empty
jars, with quantities of other pottery, mostly
broken, were piled in a sort of rubbish closet
outside and next was small room, sacred to
the scullery maid or dish washer. 1t con-
tanned recess with sink, a bench to stand
things upon, and recesses in the wall by way
of shelves. The sink was formed of large
clay jar with the bottom knocked out, and
filed with broken potsherds placed on edge
The water ran through this and then into
more broken pots below, placed one in an
other, all bottomless, going down to the clean
sand below. The potsherds were clogged
with fish bones.
In other chambers were found numbers o!
early Greek vases, ranging from $50 B. G. to
GOO b. c., some very finely painted with
harpies, sphinxes, dancers and the like; nearly
all, however, were broken, but some can be
mended. A sword handle, some scale armor,
bronze rings, amulets, beads, seals, and
especially two rings, engraved with the titles
of a priest of Amen, have been found and
many small tablets with Inscriptions.
Mr. Petrie has looked diligently for the
stones which jeremiah hid among the brick
work, and some unhewn stones have been dug
out from below the surface, but to identify
them positively would, of course, be impos-
sible unless the prophet had previously in
Scribed them, which is unlikely. Egyptian
inscriptions say that Nebuchadnezzar did
come to Tahpanhes, and spread out his
pavilion on that very spot, as foretold in
Jeremiah's prophecy, but they say that he
was defeated. Babylonian inscriptions state
that he conquered, and the truth is hard to
determine Philadelphia Times. .