Osiris and Abydos Temple (and Omm Sety!)

Notes inspired by another virtual tour today...

Abydos

Considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt, the sacred city of Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including Umm el-Qa'ab, a royal necropolis where early pharaohs were entombed. These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in later times it became desirable to be buried in the area, leading to the growth of the town's importance as a cult site.

Today, Abydos is notable for the memorial temple of Seti I, which contains an inscription from the Nineteenth Dynasty known to the modern world as the Abydos King List. This is a chronological list showing cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Seti I's father, Ramesses I. It is also notable for the Abydos graffiti, ancient Phoenician and Aramaic graffiti found on the walls of the Temple of Seti I.

The Great Temple and most of the ancient town are buried under the modern buildings to the north of the Seti temple. Many of the original structures and the artifacts within them are considered irretrievable and lost; many may have been destroyed by the new construction.

From earliest times, Abydos was a cult centre, first of the local deity, Khentiamentiu, and from the end of the Old Kingdom, the rising cult of Osiris. A tradition developed that the Early Dynastic cemetery was the burial place of Osiris and the tomb of Djer was reinterpreted as that of Osiris.

Great Osiris Temple

From the First Dynasty to the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, nine or ten temples were successively built on one site at Abydos. The temple was entirely rebuilt on a larger scale by Pepi I in the Sixth Dynasty. In the Twelfth Dynasty, Senusret I laid massive foundations of stone over the pavement of his predecessor. A great temenos was laid out enclosing a much larger area and the new temple itself was about three times the earlier size.

Temple of Seti I (Abydos)

The temple of Seti I also known as the Great Temple of Abydos is one of the main historical sites in Abydos. The temple was built by pharaoh Seti I. A principal purpose of the temple was to serve as a memorial to king Seti I, as well as to show reverence for the early pharaohs, which is incorporated within as part of the "Rite of the Ancestors". The temple of Seti I was built on entirely new ground half a mile to the south of the long series of the earlier temples. This surviving building is best known as the Great Temple of Abydos, being nearly complete and an impressive sight. It includes the Abydos King List.

The Abydos King List (aka the "Rosetta Stone" of Egyptian archaeology)

The long list of the pharaohs of the principal dynasties—recognized by Seti—are carved on a wall and known as the "Abydos King List" (showing the cartouche name of many dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from the first, Narmer or Menes, until Seti's time). There were significant names deliberately left off of the list. So rare, as an almost complete list of pharaoh names, the Table of Abydos, rediscovered by William John Bankes, has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of Egyptian archaeology, analogous to the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian writing, beyond the Narmer Palette.

The helicopter hieroglyphs 

The helicopter hieroglyphs is a name given to part of an Egyptian hieroglyph carving from the Temple of Seti I at Abydos. In paleocontact hypothesis circles, the hieroglyphs have been interpreted as an out-of-place artifact depicting a helicopter (above the nine short vertical bars) as well as other examples of modern technology.

The Osirion

The Osireion is a weird and wonderful structure, unique in Egypt and still baffling for Egyptologists. thearchaeologist.org

The Osirion or Osireion is an ancient megalithic structure located at Abydos, to the rear of the Mortuary Temple of Seti I. Its original purpose is unknown.

It is an integral part of Seti I's funeral complex and is possibly built to resemble an 18th Dynasty Valley of the Kings tomb. The site contains a stone-paved island in the centre, chambers in both wings and, around the island, a water basin of yet undetermined but no less than 10.4m depth which was probably used as a well. Access was via a 69m stone lined passage. In the whole of Egypt, there is no architectural equivalent to the Osireion with its massive blocks, numerous trilithons, extraordinarily narrow and regular joints as well as a lack of round pillars except for the Valley Temple in Giza.

Other learnings and tidbits:

Dorothy Louise Eady (1904-1981), also known as Omm Sety or Om Seti, was born in London and is known for her belief that in a previous life she had been a priestess in ancient Egypt. After falling down a flight of stairs at age 3 and briefly appearing to be dead, she began exhibiting strange behaviours, asking that she be "brought home". She had also developed foreign accent syndrome. 

After being taken by her parents to visit the British Museum, and on observing a photograph (of Seti I) in the New Kingdom temple exhibits room, the young Eady called out "There is my home!" but "where are the trees? Where are the gardens?" She ran about the halls of the Egyptian rooms, "amongst her peoples", kissing the statues' feet. After this trip she took every opportunity to visit the British Museum rooms. There, she eventually met E. A. Wallis Budge, who was taken by her youthful enthusiasm and encouraged her in the study of hieroglyphs. To make a very long story short, in 1931, she moved to Egypt, kissed the ground and announced she had come home to stay. In 1956, she moved to Abydos, which had special significance for her, because it is where she believed Bentreshyt had lived and served in the Temple of Seti. I want to learn more about this very interesting woman!

On 14 February 2021, Egyptian and American archaeologists discovered what could be the oldest brewery in the world dating from around 3100 BCE at the reign of King Narmer. Dr. Matthew Adams, one of the leaders of the mission, stated that it was used to make beer for royal rituals.