Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

644 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
and the sandy desert which have proved so beneficial for
the preservation of antiquities in Upper Egypt are missing.
The rain and moisture have had a destructive effect, and
besides these the salts which exist in the ground have
played havoc with the work of human hands. Topographical
changes have also been partly responsible ; for the ruins
of many ancient towns which stood in the midst of fruitbearing
countries are now wholly or partly covered with
water, and places which were once quite dry have now been
turned into swamps. Moreover, that which had escaped
destruction through the agency of nature has been demolished
by human hands. Lower Egypt is poor in stones,
and the ruins of the ancient towns and temples lent themselves
to the inhabitants for excellent stone quarries, from
which they could with little trouble get material for millstones
or buildings, and which could even be burnt to produce
lime. The result has been that for centuries these
ruins have been plundered for this purpose, and from the
sanctuaries of Tanis and Bubastis all the limestone blocks
have been carted off, onlv the heavv useless granite and
sandstone being allowed to remain. Under these circumstances
we cannot wonder that most of the large towns of
ancient times like Buto, Sebennytus, Sais, etc., have vanished
from the face of the earth, while others exist only in
Tanis, the Biblical Zoan, in
part.
the eastern part of the Delta,
is the only one which can show anything like the remains
of a city, and has therefore from the first
attracted the especial
attention of the explorers. As far back as i860, Marietta
had begun excavations at this site, and discovered those
curious statues and sphinxes in granite which he himself,
and afterwards many others, attributed to the Hvksos kings,
but which by recent discoveries have shown themselves to
be more probably kings of the Twelfth Dynasty (Amenemhat
III.). Later, in 1866, Lepsius examined the temple
ruins and discovered a trilingual inscription, a decree of the