22 THE HARVEIAN ORATION, 1904
From the colonnade a door marked e on
the plan (Plate IV) leads into a square courtyard,
the north side of which, marked ad in the plan,
is formed by the façade of the temple proper.
Here some of the hieroglyphs refer to I-em-hotep
and his work (Plate VI). In the centre of this
façade a door marked f leads into the larger
anterior chamber of the temple. From this the
doorg communicates with the inner sanctuary.
The eastern wall of the courtyard has a curious
elongated recess, many yards in length but only
a foot-and-a-half in depth, marked ac in the plan,
a narrow door, b, gives access to it.
Between
a and b a small aperture in the wall marked x
communicates with this curious recess, and the
remains of a second aperture exist further to the
left. It is difficult to understand the purpose of
this structure.' Plate VII represents the wall ac
with the doorway and apertures referred to. A
door marked h leads into a larger courtyard which
again communicates by three doors on its western
side with the colonnade.
Whether this further courtyard was a portion of the purlieus of the temple is uncertain, no doubt a considerable space would be required for the medical work of the priest physicians.
Plate V represents the west wall of the temple (shewing a mediaeval Coptic doorway broken through into the sanctuary), also a part of the 1. Is it possible this was a drug store or dispensary; the prescription being passed in at the one aperture and the medicine given out from the other?
