Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/415

 The Temple under the Ancient Empire. 325 had been water in it, because it was sunk below the level of the Nile. At the bottom nine broken statues of Chephren were found ; they were not copies, one from the other, but represented the king at different periods of his life. Several stone cynocephali were also found. At each end of this hall there is a small chamber communicating with it by short corridors. One of these, that in the northern angle of the temple, seems to have communicated with the outward air by an irregular opening in the masonry. i »» 1 ^ _. Fig. 203. — Interior of the Temple of the Sphinx (from a sketch by M. Ernest Desjardins)- The materials employed in the interior of this building are rose granite and alabaster. The supporting piers are of granite, the lining slabs of the walls and the ceiling, alabaster. Both these materials are dressed and fixed with care and knowledge, but in no part of the temple is the slightest hint at a moulding or at any other sort of ornament to be found. The pillars are plain rectangular monoliths ; the walls are without either bas- reliefs or paintings, and there is not a trace of any inscription on any part of the building. The external walls are constructed of the largest limestone blocks which are to be found in Egypt.