Note 10 — Chapter VIII · THE EARLIEST SOLAR SHRINES IN EGYPT.

Amenenemāt I., the founder of the sanctuary of the sun, entreats, after he has begun the great work (which was not finished till the time of his son, Usertesen), "May it not perish by the vicissitudes of time, may that which is made endure!" This desire of a great king which has come down to us through the leathern roll now preserved at Berlin, has not been fulfilled; for of his magnificent structure, built for all eternity, nothing remains but the obelisk we have seen, and a few blocks of stone scarcely worth mentioning. The Persian Cambyses is unjustly accused of having destroyed the temple and city of the sun, for the city was minutely described in detail long after his time, and the temple was still flourishing; nay, many remains of the sanctuary, that have now long since vanished, were described even by Arab authors.—Ebers, "Egypt," p. 190.