Abydos

Abydos is a city of sacred archaeological cemeteries in Egypt, which is considered one of the most important Egyptian historical cities in the south. Some archaeologists believe that it was the first capital of Egypt in the pre-dynastic period and the era of the first four dynasties. It is called “The Buried Godmother” because many of its antiquities were found buried under the sand.

Abydos is located in the far south of Upper Egypt, on the edge of the desert, 11 kilometers west of the Nile River, near Balyana in Sohag Governorate. In ancient times, it was one of the countries of the eighth region of Upper Egypt, the capital of which was the city of Thini.

The city of Abydos has its roots in the ancient history of Egypt. The city was the first capital of a country in the world, which is the ancient Egyptian state. Egypt witnessed the inauguration of the country’s first capital and first army. It is one of the most important religious centers, as the seat of the worship of Osiris, the god of resurrection, and head of the court of the dead in ancient Egyptian civilization, and the hero of the famous myth associated with good and evil that is still in circulation till our present day known as “Isis and Osiris.”

Abydos includes many monuments, the most important of which is the Temple of Seti I, which is one of the most beautiful ancient Egyptian temples. King Seti began its construction, which was completed by his son Ramses II, whose reign was full of constructions. His period of rule was considered one of the strongest in the history of Egypt.

Abydos history

“Abydos” occupied the position of the first capital at the end of the pre-dynastic era and during the era of the first four dynasties. Its history dates back five thousand years. It gained the status of the “Holy City,” as the Greeks called it “Tennis,” and it was also called “The Buried Godmother.”

A group of double burials were found in Abydos, mostly dating back to the kings of the Egyptian First Dynasty and some kings of the Second Dynasty. The god Khenti-Amentiu is considered the chief of the people of the West, the guardian lord of the burial city of Abydos in the Old Kingdom. He was depicted as a jackal, and his worship gradually moved from the time of The Fifth Dynasty to the god Osiris, whose worship held the greatest status in ancient Egyptian religion.

What is known from the legend of Osiris is that he was killed, and his body was cut into pieces that were scattered in various places in Egypt, many areas of which claimed the honor of containing parts of that body. As for Abydos, it had the honor of containing the head of Osiris, and the belief was firmly established that the tomb of the pharaoh Dajr, one of the kings of the First Dynasty, was the one in which that head was buried.

Since the early Sixth Dynasty, Abydos has become a pilgrimage site for the pious ancient Egyptians, and each one of them seeks to be buried in Abydos, adjacent to the shrine of Osiris, Lord of the Second Life. As for those who could not bear this, he would ask to have his name engraved on a slab or a stone obelisk (stele), along with his title and some supplications, or he would recommend placing memorial vessels on top of or around one of the royal tombs to guarantee himself a place among the victors in the next life.

The Pharaoh kings encouraged these rituals and held ceremonies for the deification of kings in Abydos. They paid special attention to decorating and expanding the Temple of Osiris, which was erected by Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty (2400-2200 BC) in Abydos.

The treasures of Abydos!

The city of Abydos was the main center of worship of the god Osiris and a destination for pilgrimage for the ancient Egyptians. There, the oldest boats in history were discovered inside the ancient tombs to the west of the temple of Seti I, the father of Ramses II, the founder of the 19th Egyptian dynasty.

The Temple of Seti I is one of the most important temples in Egypt due to the preservation of many of its inscriptions, which are considered creative paintings, especially around the ceiling. There are seven structures in the temple, and in addition to their unique inscriptions, there is what is called the “List of the Kings of Abydos,” which is a list that includes the names of 76 kings of ancient Egypt, and is an important source for archaeologists to learn about the history and succession of the kings of ancient Egypt. This list is considered one of the most important sources of history, which begins with King Menes (Narmer), the unifier of the two countries, and ends with the name of King Seti I himself.

Behind the “Temple of Seti” is located the “Osirion” building, 18 meters below the floor of the temple. It is considered a unique building of its kind, as it is believed to be a symbolic tomb for King Seti I. It includes inscriptions and scenes depicting the conditions of the “other world.”

The second temple in the area is the Temple of Ramses II, which is located approximately 500 meters north of the Temple of Seti I. Ramses II built it at the beginning of his rule to worship the god Osiris as well. Due to time, the temple lost many of its architectural elements, but before that loss, the temple’s walls were built of limestone, and its columns were made of sandstone.

Despite this, the remaining sectors of the Temple of Ramses II are rich in very precise and beautiful carvings and retain a large amount of their bright colors. Among the most important inscriptions are those that adorn its outer walls and depict the events of the Battle of Kadesh between King Ramses II and the Hittites. As for the surviving inscriptions in the interior sectors of the Temple of Ramses II, they depict scenes of sacrifices and other images of a religious nature.

To the northwest of the Temple of “Ramses II,” the “Shunet El Zebib” area is located, with an area of 10,000 square meters. It was built by King Khasekhemwy, one of the kings of the Second Dynasty. It is considered one of the most important buildings left by the Second Dynasty and pioneered using mud bricks.

On the southern side of “Shunet El Zebib,” there are a number of pottery vessels, which are believed to be sacrifices made to the gods. On the eastern side, there are about 14 figures of the sacred sunboats, which date back to the eras between 2714 and 2687 BC. Nearby is the archaeological area of Kom El Sultan, which was opened as a tourist attraction in 2017 and was likened at the time to the Karnak temples in Luxor.

The treasures of “Abydos” do not end here, as it also includes the “Umm El Qa’ab” area, located east of the Tombs of the Kings, in which 650 tombs of ancient Egyptians dating back to the pre-dynastic era were found, in addition to the “Falcon Cemetery,” which the ancient Egyptians considered sacred birds.