Abydos, Osiris temple of Seti I
Beside the modern village of el-’Araba el-Madfuna (26°11′ N, 31°55′ E) are the impressive remains of a unique Egyptian temple constructed by Seti I (19th Dynasty). The temple contains seven sanctuaries set in a row, each dedicated to a different deity, the southernmost one honoring Seti I himself. This dedication underscores the building’s role as a funerary shrine for Seti I. This is confirmed by the name of the temple: "The house of millions of years of the King Men-Ma’at-Re [Seti I], who is contented at Abydos." Actually buried in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, Seti I was following a longstanding Egyptian royal tradition in building a secondary funerary complex at Abydos, the cult center of the Egyptian god Osiris. The temple’s raised relief decoration carved under Seti I on fine white limestone evokes a traditional, classical style. Many of the delicate reliefs also retain their original painted details, forming some of the finest bas-reliefs preserved from ancient Egypt.
The aftermath of the Amarna period, with Seti I restoring the worship of the traditional Egyptian gods, may explain the combined dedication of the temple to (from south to north) Ptah, Re-Horakhty, Amen-Re, Osiris, Isis and Horus. The unusual L-shaped plan of the temple is caused by a southeast wing appended to the main rectilinear temple. This wing contains rooms dedicated to Memphite funerary deities, such as Sokar and Nefertum, further emphasizing the national and funerary focus of the temple. In addition, a selective list of legitimate pharaohs is provided in the "kings’ gallery" to the south of the sanctuaries in the passageway leading to a butchering room. The names of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen are omitted from the list, as if to erase their reigns from recorded history.
The temple is set within a large enclosure wall (circa 220x350m) with a large mudbrick pylon facing the desert, from which a processional way probably led to the royal tombs at Umm el-Qa’ab. Access to the temple was from the east, up ramps that led into two large courtyards, one after the other. The temple was left unfinished at the death of Seti I and most of the front section of the temple was finished in sunk relief during the reign of Seti I’s son Ramesses II. The southeast interior wall of the first court contains a representation of Ramesses II fighting the Hittites at Qadesh. The names of Merenptah, Ramesses III and Ramesses IV are also preserved on these front courts. To the east of these courts lies a large storehouse or set of magazines, such as were also found at the Ramesseum. In the center of these is a podium with pillars which would have served as a reception center for incoming or outgoing goods.
With seven sanctuaries, the temple’s plan is exceptionally broad. Access to the sanctuaries was through two transverse hypostyle halls, the first with two rows of columns and the second with three. In the first hypostyle hall the names of Seti I have been overwritten by Ramesses II. The seven sanctuaries are mostly decorated with scenes from the daily cult ritual showing the king entering the shrine, offering and anointing the god’s statue and bark and then departing while sweeping away his footprints as he goes. Six of these shrines have a false door depicted on their western wall through which the deity was thought to enter the temple. The exception is the shrine to Osiris; here an actual door leads to a unique suite of rooms at the back of the temple in which the Mysteries of Osiris were celebrated. The highlight of these ceremonies was the erection of the djed pillar, symbolizing the resurrection of Osiris.
Immediately behind the chambers dedicated to the Osiris cult is another unique feature, a subterranean structure known as the "Osireion." The Osireion is built in the shape of an 18th Dynasty tomb in the Valley of the Kings. It is entered from the north through a long passage decorated with scenes from the Book of Gates and offering scenes. Taking a 90° turn, the passage leads into the structure from the west, along the main axis of the temple, through two transverse halls decorated with mythological scenes, including some from the Book of the Dead. The center of the structure is a large (30.5x20m) hall built of red granite with ten piers set in two rows. In imitation of the primeval hill of creation, two platforms (for sarcophagus and canopic chest?) were surrounded by a water-filled moat. The final transverse hall contains reliefs of Shu, god of the atmosphere, supporting the sky goddess Nut. Deliberately built to recall earlier structures, the Osireion is nevertheless an integral part of the Seti temple complex. Merenptah, Seti I’s grandson, added reliefs to the Osireion.
Graffiti indicate that the Osireion was visited by pilgrims from the 21st Dynasty until the Roman period. During the later periods of ancient Egyptian history, foreign visitors also left graffiti in the Seti temple in languages such as Aramaic, Phoenician, Carian, Greek and Cypriot. In the Ptolemaic period, Serapis was worshipped in the temple, but was replaced by Bes in the Roman period. Strabo (17.I.42) calls the Osireion the "Memnonium," perhaps from the name Men-Ma’at-Re (Seti I), and indicates that Abydos was only a small settlement in the first century AD. The Bes oracle was suppressed by the emperor Constantine II in AD 359 and again by the Copts under St Moses in the fifth century AD. A Christian convent established in the back of the Seti I temple did not last long and the temple site was soon abandoned. The site was not rediscovered until 1718, when it was visited by the Jesuit Pere Claude Sicard. The temple was cleared in the mid-nineteenth century under the direction of the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette.
Abydos, Predynastic sites
The region encompassed by this discussion stretches approximately 20km north and south of Abydos (26°11′ N, 31°55′ E), about two-thirds of the Dynastic Thinite nome. A number of early excavations focused on Predynastic sites, particularly cemeteries, dating to the fourth millennium BC. In 1900, David Randall MacIver and Arthur Mace excavated the important Predynastic cemetery at el-Amra, with hundreds of shallow graves from all Predynastic phases. Other important early excavations were conducted at the cemeteries of Naga ed-Deir, el-Mahasna, Mesheikh, Beit Allam and the numerous cemeteries at Abydos itself (Cemeteries B, C, D, E, G, U, X and More recently, excavations of the cemeteries at Deir el-Nawahid and es-Salmani have increased our knowledge of Predynastic burial practices and social organization.
Several settlement sites within the region have also been investigated. In the early 1900s, while excavating Predynastic and Dynastic tombs at Abydos, T.Eric Peet discovered and excavated the remains of a late Predynastic settlement. At the same time, John Garstang identified an important settlement at el-Mahasna, which was continuously occupied throughout all Predynastic phases. In 1982-3 Diana Craig Patch conducted a large-scale regional survey of the low desert plain in the Abydos region in order to locate all preserved Predynastic sites, both settlements and cemeteries. Patch was then able to reconstruct the regional spatial arrangement of Predynastic villages and towns. Settlements were evenly spaced, approximately 1-2km apart along the low desert margin. However, there appears to be a somewhat greater spacing between the Abydos core area and sites immediately north and south, which may suggest that an artificial "spacing" was maintained between the larger zones of settlement and the smaller ones.
Figure 6 Predynastic sites in the Abydos region
The majority of the settlements appeared to be uniform in size, 1.5-2.0ha (Nag el-Alawana, en-Nawahid and el-Baraghit). Most of these sites represent small farming villages, especially in the earlier phases of the Predynastic period. Over time some nucleation and abandonment of settlements occurred, and later in the fourth millennium BC populations were concentrated at Abydos, el-Mahasna and Thinis. Except for el-Mahasna, the increase in settlement size is only evident in the increased size of the cemeteries at Abydos and Naga ed-Deir. The abandonment of the other settlements may not have been entirely the result of populations nucleating in the larger settlements, but rather a result of settlement patterns shifting from low desert locations to locations within the floodplain itself, where, because of overlying flood deposits, these settlements have not been located. Unfortunately, the actual settlement of Thinis, later an important nome capital, has never been located.
By late Predynastic times the larger settlements had specialized areas of activities. El-Mahasna, which may have covered up to 15ha, had beer-brewing facilities, which Garstang identified as pottery kilns. From 1909 to 1912, while working in the cemeteries in the Abydos core, T.Eric Peet excavated the remains of a large Predynastic settlement just outside the wall of the New Kingdom temple of Seti I. The settlement consisted of a layer of dark debris, possibly the remains of Predynastic houses, within which were thousands of flint tools and flakes, as well as potsherds dating the site to the late Predynastic. In the center of the site was a large concentration of small stone drills and borers associated with unworked pieces of semiprecious stones and the debris from working these materials. Stone beads were manufactured here, providing evidence of craft specialization. Also in this settlement was a kiln structure consisting of large ceramic vats supported by baked brick structures, now thought to be a large-scale brewing facility.
Abydos, South
To the south of the main center of the ancient town of Abydos (26°11′ N, 31°55′ E) is an extensive area of low desert, generally referred to as South Abydos. This part of Abydos was developed primarily as a zone for the construction of a series of royal cult foundations during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Two relatively well preserved cult complexes have been identified at South Abydos. These are the complex of Senusret III of the 12th Dynasty, and that of Ahmose of the 18th Dynasty. There is an additional unfinished complex, apparently of the 12th Dynasty, and evidence of other royal cult establishments in the area. Besides the cult structures themselves, extensive areas of settlement, responsible for maintenance and operation of the cults, lie along the desert edge.
Mortuary complex of Senusret III
Archaeological work at the Senusret III complex was first conducted by the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) between 1899 and 1902. In 1899 the Senusret III mortuary temple was located by David Randall MacIver, who excavated most of the temple and mapped the standing architecture. His fieldwork was followed in 1901 by that of Arthur Weigall, who excavated and mapped the great enclosure around the subterranean tomb, as well as the associated superstructures (mastabas) and other subsidiary buildings.
Weigall also initiated excavations which led to the discovery of the tomb entrance. The tomb’s interior was cleared and a plan was made by Charles Currelly in 1902.
Subsequent to the EES work, no work was conducted at the site until the excavations by the Pennsylvania-Yale expedition to Abydos in 1994. This work concentrated firstly on a reexamination of the mortuary temple and its surroundings, and secondly on excavation of the Middle Kingdom town site to the south of the temple.
The Senusret III complex is focused on a large subterranean tomb built at the base of the desert cliffs. The stone-lined tomb, approximately 170m in length, contains a burial chamber with a concealed sarcophagus and canopic chest, in which the deceased’s viscera were placed. Built within a large T-shaped mudbrick enclosure, the burial chamber lies behind an elaborate blocking system. Associated with the tomb enclosure are a series of structures, including a complex of storerooms and a raised mudbrick platform, which may be connected with cultic activities. Four mastabas are associated with the tomb enclosure, including two dummy ones on the south side which were filled with limestone chippings from the construction of the subterranean tomb. On the north side of the enclosure are two mastabas with elaborate interiors. These tombs probably date to the 13th Dynasty. As with the Senusret III tomb itself, these mastabas are fronted by mudbrick platforms, possibly for structures for offering cults.
Approximately 750m from the tomb enclosure of Senusret III, located on the edge of the low desert, is a large mortuary temple. In form this temple consists of a large rectangular mudbrick structure, fronted by a pylon gateway and surrounded by a mudbrick-paved street and enclosure wall. The central third of this temple consisted of a limestone court where the actual cult building was located. It stood on a raised platform and was fronted by a columned forecourt. The temple interior was decorated with reliefs very similar to those of earlier Old and Middle Kingdom royal mortuary temples. Additional reliefs, however, suggest scenes specifically connected with Abydos and the cult of Osiris. Life-size alabaster statues stood within the cult building, while red quartzite ones decorated the forecourt. Flanking this court were two wings, one with three houses for temple personnel and the other with storerooms and areas for preparing offerings. Outside the temple, but directly adjacent to it to the south, are areas of extensive industrial debris. These appear to have been used primarily for baking and brewing associated with the temple.
Approximately 300m to the south of the Senusret III mortuary temple are the remains of a large planned settlement founded during the late 12th Dynasty. This town may have been established in connection with the Senusret III complex or another 12th Dynasty royal cult. The town was continuously occupied until the end of the 13th Dynasty, when it appears to have been abandoned. At least partial reuse of this town occurred during the 18th Dynasty.
In function and organization the mortuary complex of Senusret III at Abydos closely parallels other Middle Kingdom establishments for the maintenance of royal cults. Its greatest similarities are with the royal pyramid complexes in the Memphis and Fayum regions. The combination of burial place with attached cult area, separate valley temple and associated settlements is also seen in other Middle Kingdom royal cult complexes, such as at Lahun, el-Lisht and Dahshur.
The Senusret III complex has been interpreted as a royal cenotaph, a symbolic tomb built at Abydos to connect the deceased king with the god Osiris. Expression of the relationship between the dead king and Osiris appears to have been a fundamental element of this complex. However, there are no indications that it was constructed as a cenotaph. The complex was a fully functional royal mortuary establishment, which maintained an offering cult like those associated with pyramid complexes. Senusret III may have been buried either in this tomb or in his pyramid at Dahshur.
Early 18th Dynasty monuments
About 1km south of Senusret III’s complex at Abydos, a series of monuments was constructed in the early 18th Dynasty by King Ahmose for the veneration of the king as an aspect of the god Osiris, and in honor of female members of his family. Mudbricks impressed with the phrase "Nebpehtyre [Ahmose], beloved of Osiris" are found in all cult structures of the complex, which was probably begun after Ahmose’s Hyksos campaigns. The king’s Abydos monuments are the most significant ones known from his reign, and are thus important for the development of New Kingdom architectural traditions.
Although Emile Amelineau appears to have sampled the area in 1896, the pyramid and pyramid temple of Ahmose were first systematically identified and investigated by Arthur Mace for the EES in 1899-1900. Looking for interior chambers, Mace also attempted unsuccessfully to tunnel inside the pyramid. Working for the EES in 1902, Charles Currelly discovered the terraced temple of Ahmose, a small cemetery next to the pyramid, the shrine of the king’s grandmother, Tetisheri, a subterranean tomb, and the "Ahmose town." The settlement area was further excavated in 1966 by the Egyptian Antiquities Organization (EAO). In 1993, the University of Pennsylvania-Yale University-Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Expedition to Abydos (Stephen Harvey, field director) undertook an intensive program of mapping, surface collection and excavation of the Ahmose monuments, resulting in the discovery of thousands of additional fragments of limestone relief from the pyramid temple, as well as the location of an additional structure constructed for Queen Ahmose-Nefertary.
Ahmose’s complex consists of a series of structures 1.4km long aligned on a northeast-southwest axis across the low desert. Close to the edge of the modern cultivation is a sandy mound about 80x80m and 10m high, known locally as Kom Sheikh Mohammed. The mound conceals the remains of a large pyramid, with a loose core of sand and stone debris. According to Mace’s account, the pyramid was originally cased with limestone blocks, with an angle of inclination of about 63°. Associated with the pyramid is a mudbrick and limestone temple, 48x57m, dominated by a central pillared court and fronted by a wide mudbrick pylon. Subsidiary annexes on either side of the court were perhaps intended for storage and priests’ houses. A smaller chapel, 19m wide, was partially excavated in 1993 and may be associated with Queen Ahmose-Nefertary.
Since the pyramid and temple were both thoroughly razed in antiquity, their reconstruction can only be incomplete. Reliefs appear to have consisted of scenes relating to (1) the royal mortuary cult, especially scenes of the offering table ritual, and (2) an extensive battle narrative, which, on the basis of fragments, may be identified as Ahmose’s triumph over an Asiatic enemy (probably the Hyksos). Fragments of the battle narrative include the earliest detailed representations of horses and chariots in Egyptian art, as well as depictions of elaborate royal ships. Substantial remains of a 6m high mudbrick ramp behind the rear wall of the pyramid temple most likely derive from the dismantling of the pyramid’s limestone casing for reuse elsewhere.
On either side of the pyramid were domestic and industrial zones for personnel of the royal cult. To the west of the pyramid, a series of orthogonally planned houses in mudbrick probably served as a residence for officials and workers. Burials found by Currelly immediately east of the pyramid may be part of this community’s cemetery. Also to the east of the pyramid was an industrial area, where large volumes of construction debris and evidence of bakeries have been recently excavated.
Ahmose and Ahmose-Nefertary constructed a mudbrick memorial shrine in honor of Queen Tetisheri, as described in the text of a monumental stela now in Cairo (CG 34002). The stela was found in the shrine, about 450m to the southwest of Ahmose’s pyramid temple. Most likely built in pyramidal form, the shrine is approximately 21x23m in area. About 500m to the south of the Tetisheri shrine is a subterranean rock-cut tomb consisting of a mudbrick-lined shaft at the level of the desert surface leading to a winding passage and a central hall supported by eighteen pillars. However, it is uncertain whether this tomb was intended for use as an actual or symbolic burial.
At the base of the high cliffs, 1.15km to the southwest of the pyramid, Ahmose constructed terraced foundations for another cult structure, which may have remained unfinished. A lower terrace wall, 104m long, was built of mudbrick, while the upper terrace had a retaining wall of rough limestone. Deposits of miniature ceramic and stone model vessels, as well as a series of model wooden boats and oars were discovered along the upper terrace. At the southeastern end of the terraces a series of rooms and passages of unknown function were constructed in mudbrick; no traces of structures have been located atop the terraces.
Both textual and archaeological evidence attest to the 250-year history of the Ahmose cult at Abydos. Titles of priests of Ahmose are known throughout the later 18th Dynasty and up to the time of Ramesses II, which accords well with the latest inscription found at the site, a cartouche of Merenptah (19th Dynasty). A stela from Abydos provides evidence of an oracle of Ahmose in the Ramesside era. The cult came to an end with the destruction of the temple complex in Ramesside times.
