cataract to the mouths of the Nile, there is scarcely an edifice on whose ruins we do not find his name.  In Nubia, where the desert approaches close to the Nile, he confined himself to cutting in the solid rock the monuments which, for want of space, he could not build in the open.  The idea of the cave-temple must have occurred very early to the Egyptians; they were accustomed to house their dead in the mountain-side, why then should they not house their gods in the same manner?  The oldest forms of speos, those near to Beni-Hasan, at Deir el-Bahari, at Bl-Kab, and at Gebel Silsileh, however, do not date further back than the time of the XVIIIth dynasty.  All the forms of architectural plan observed in isolated temples were utilised by Ramses and applied to rock-cut buildings with more or less modification, according to the nature of the stratum in which he had to work.  Where space permitted, a part only of the temple was cut in the rock, and the approaches to it were built in the open air with blocks brought to the spot, so that the completed speos became only in part a grotto—­a hemi-speos of varied construction.  It was in this manner that the architects of Ramses arranged the court and pylon at Beit-Wally, the hypostyle hall, rectangular court and pylon at Gerf-Hossein, and the avenue of sphinxes at Wady es-Sebuah, where the entrance to the avenue was guarded by two statues overlooking the river.  The pylon at Gerf-Hossein has been demolished, and merely a few traces of the foundations appear here and there above the soil, but a portion of the portico which surrounded the court is still standing, together with its massive architraves and statues, which stand with their backs against the pillars.

[Illustration:  221.jpg THE PROJECTING COLUMNS OF THE SPEOS OF GERF-HOSSEIN]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Insinger.

The sanctuary itself comprised an antechamber, supported by two columns and flanked by two oblong recesses; this led into the Holy of Holies, which was a narrow niche with a low ceiling, placed between two lateral chapels.  A hall, nearly square in shape, connected these mysterious chambers with the propylaea, which were open to the sky and faced with Osiride caryatides.

[Illustration:  221.jpg THE CARYATIDES OF GERF-HOSSEIN]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Insinger and
     Daniel Heron.

These appear to keep rigid and solemn watch over the approaches to the tabernacle, and their faces, half hidden in the shadow, still present such a stern appearance that the semi-barbaric Nubians of the neighbouring villages believe them to be possessed by implacable genii.  They are supposed to move from their places during the hours of night, and the fire which flashes from their eyes destroys or fascinates whoever is rash enough to watch them.