Is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt Abydos, Egyptian Abdju, Coptic Ebot, modern Al-Araba al-Madfunah. It is located about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) west of the Nile. In the ancient Egyptian language, the city was called Abdju. Considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt.The sacred city of Abydos was the site of many ancient temples.
Excavations underway since the late-1970s, however, revealed a group of earlier tombs belonging to a series of kings that predate the 1st dynasty and the official unification of Egypt. These tombs have yielded a rich harvest of intact pottery, royal emblems, ivory labels, and the names of several predynastic kings.
The inscribed labels also indicate that Egyptian writing had reached an advanced stage earlier than was generally recognized. In addition, several large-scale mud-brick enclosures located near the desert’s edge were identified as funerary sites for the kings of the 1st (c. 2925–c. 2775 BCE) and 2nd (c. 2775–c. 2650 BCE) dynasties. A series of wooden boats covered by whitewashed mud-brick casings—probably prototypes for the boats buried in pits next to the pyramids of the Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 BCE)—were discovered alongside one of the enclosures.
Over the centuries (the temple of Osiris Abydos) was successively rebuilt or enlarged by Pepi I, Ahmose I, Thutmose III, Ramses III, and Ahmose II.
Some pharaohs of the Middle and New kingdoms had a cenotaph or a mortuary temple at Abydos. The temple of Seti I was built on entirely new ground half a mile to the south of the long series of temples just described. There were also seven chapels built for the worship of the pharaoh and principal deities. These included three chapels for the “state” deities Ptah, Re-Horakhty, and (centrally positioned) Amun and the challenge for the Abydos triad of Osiris, Isis and Horus.
Helicopter hieroglyphs
Some of the hieroglyphs carved over an arch on the site have been interpreted in esoteric and “ufological” circles as depicting modern technology.
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 Osireion or Osireon is an ancient Egyptian temple. It is located to the rear of the temple of Seti I. It is an integral part of Seti I’s funeral complex and is built to resemble an 18th Dynasty Valley of the Kings tombs.
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