Lithotome

On the walls of these stupendous structures is written and sculptured the history, as well as the religion, of Egypt, from Osirtasen I., who reigned four thousand five hundred years ago, down to the Roman Augustus: these are the earliest and the latest names inscribed on the lithotomes of Karnak.

The marble books of Egypt, the lithotomes and chiselled pictures of Assyria, are stamped with the minutest details of life—of busy, active, cultivated life, that was powerful in its day, and wrought mighty changes, and achieved mighty conquests in the almost forgotten ages of the long, long past.

You know I'm something of a lithologist and I find the character and the science of the stones most interesting. I have seen some wonderful lithotomes about, too.

High, polygonal rock columns present the appearance of giant, sculpted lithotomes, of being formed by man rather than by nature, but now in process of slow decay, with pillar, slope of talus and canyon giving refuge to fauna and rare flora in the interstices.