Item 04: G. O. Hawkins letters to his family, 2 January 1915-November 1917 - Page 1
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[Page 1]
Heliopolis
2nd January 1915
Dear Mother,
In the ruined mosque mentioned elsewhere in letter to Beatrice I found as I have said that the columns were a heterogeneous collection stolen no doubt from more ancient places. In many cases neither the capital or base were original parts of the shaft – nor do they match or fit together harmoniously as now standing. To make up for deficient length of shaft – two or three inches of lead has been put in between shaft and base in many instances, also wood has been used to wedge up between shaft and capital. Diameters of the three main sections of columns are dissimilar in all these cases. The effect to an architect, is, as though sections of three different [indecipherable] were thrown together. In this mosque the tradesman-ship has been most indifferent and careless as I find to a large degree it has been in all [nationalition?] work. The very ancient work of Egyptian character is much superior in finish to the comparatively