Travellers differ in their
estimate of the width of the base, some, perhaps, taking the actual
measure on the surface of the soil while others may make allowance
for that part that is buried; for that the soil is much elevated will
appear from what follows: "Between these obelisks and the propylon are
two colossal statutes, also of red granite; from the difference of
the dresses it is judged that one was a male, the other a female,
figure;--they are nearly of equal sizes. Though buried in the ground
to the chest, they still measure 21 and 22 feet from thence to the top
of the mitre." Another cause of discrepancy in the measurements
may be, that the adjacent sides of the obelisks are of different
dimensions; which is generally the case.
It is this gateway that is filled with those remarkable sculptures,
which represent the triumph of some ancient monarch of Egypt over an
Asiatic enemy, and which we find repeated, both on other monuments of
Thebes, and partly also on some of the monuments of Nubia, as, for
example, at Ipsambul. This event appears to have formed an epoch
in Egyptian history, and to have furnished materials both for the
historian and the sculptor, like the war of Troy to the Grecian poet.
The whole length of this temple is about 800 feet.
But the remains of Carnak, about one mile and a quarter lower down the
river, are still more wonderful than Luxor: one of the buildings is
probably the temple of Ammon, which we know from Diodoius was on this
side of the river.
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