Sety at Abydos (Part 3).
The Osireion is an intriguing monument, one that attracts a huge amount of debate, discussion, and speculation. Its discovery was unexpected, its excavation was an enormous undertaking, and there are many uncertainties about its purpose, history, and overall significance. Still, with an extensive photographic record, some meticulous archaeological work, and a great deal of discussion, we can attempt to understand the Osireion. Who built the Osireion (and how old is it)? Why is it here, behind Sety’s great temple? What purpose does it serve? In this episode, we explore these questions, and try to understand the monument overall.
NOTE: Due to the complex nature of the Osireion’s history (ancient and modern), archaeology, and the difficulty of describing it, I will do a video lecture on YouTube in future. Check this post, or the website, for links when published.
Further Information: The Osireion is surprisingly well documented, both in archival photography and modern analysis and discussion.
Modern photos exploring the Osireion:
- Flickr: Soloegipto.
- Flickr: Archaeology Archive Project.
Archaeology / Excavation Reports for The Osireion (free open access):
- Caulfeild, Temple of the Kings at Abydos, 1902: Internet Archive and Heidelberg University. Primarily focusses on main temple but brief discussion of work in western precinct that led to Murray’s excavations.
- Murray, The Osireion, 1904: Internet Archive, ETANA.org, and Academia.edu.
- Edouard Naville’s excavation reports (various journals) describing work at Abydos including the Osireion: JSTOR.org (requires free account).
- Frankfort, The Cenotaph of Sety I at Abydos, volume 1 and volume 2, 1933: Internet Archive. Includes complete summary of earlier excavations and fuller description of the monument (compared to Naville).
- James Westerman website (with database of articles and photos): JamesWesterman.org.
- Keith Hamilton, “Osiris: A Layman’s Guide,” on Academia.edu.
- Charles Herzer, “Study of the Osireion at Abydos,” at Isida Project.
Photo Collections of early excavations at Abydos/Osireion:
- Dumbarton Oaks: Photo Exhibition Abydos 1910s—1920s.
- Egypt Exploration Society Photo Archives (Flickr): Excavations 1911. Entrance passages and central hall.
- Excavations 1913. Central hall.
- Excavations 1925 (Part 1). Central hall and side chambers.
- Excavations 1925 (Part 2). Central hall clearance and work.
In this episode, I don’t discuss the mechanics of ancient stone working. That will come in future. But for now, you may be interested in archaeologists’ experiments to test ancient tools and the feasibility of carving hard stones (e.g., granite). Some good starter information can be found here:
- Denys Stocks, Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology: Stoneworking Technology in Ancient Egypt (2022 updated edition). Taylor and Francis Publications.
- YouTube: Ancient Egyptian Stoneworking with Denys Stocks (Sacred Geometry Decoded) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoOCcrgWkIA.
- YouTube: Reconstruction of Ancient Technologies (Scientists Against Myths) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJXCRTftQoU_AXz0_uxwMQZCt2O9ULxLE.
Additional details and sources:
- Date: c.1300 BCE—1292 BCE.
- Music intro: Ihab Mahna.
- Music interludes and outro: Luke Chaos.
- Sistrum interludes: Tahya / Hathor Systrum.
Peter Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh, out now from Lockwood Press.
Listen on 
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The Osireion as it appears today, substantially different from its ancient form (Photo Dominic Perry 2022).
Ground plan of the Osireion (Porter & Moss VI, updated/adapted by Dominic Perry 2023).
Stone types used in the Osireion (Frankfort 1933).
Cross-Section of the Osireion in the 1920s (Frankfort 1933). See modern works by Hamilton and Herzer for more recent versions.
Tentative reconstruction of the Osireion’s original superstructure (O’Connor, 2009).
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Bibliography
- A. M. Abudeif et al., ‘Geoarchaeological Investigation of Abydos Area Using Land Magnetic and GPR Techniques, El-Balyana, Sohag, Egypt’, Applied Sciences 12 (2022), 9640.
- P. Brand, ‘Secondary Restorations in the Post-Amarna Period’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 36 (1999), 113–34.
- P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000).
- A. S. G. T. Caulfeild, The Temple of the Kings at Abydos (Sety I) (1989).
- J. Conman, ‘It’s About Time: Ancient Egyptian Cosmology’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 31 (2003), 33–71.
- R. David, Temple Ritual at Abydos (2018).
- H. Frankfort, The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos (1933).
- B. Gunn, ‘The Graffiti and Ostraka’, in H. Frankfort, The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos, Egypt Exploration Society Excavation Memoirs 39 (1933), 87–96.
- K. Hamilton, ‘The Osireion: A Layman’s Guide’ (2018).
- C. H. Herzer Jr, ‘Study of the Osireion at Abydos: Code Book and Source Document for the Birth House of Isis’ (2022).
- Y. M. Hossein, ‘A New Archaic Period Cemetery at Abydos’, in R. Friedman and P. N. Fiske (eds), Egypt At Its Origins 3: Proceedings of the Third International Conference ‘Origins of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt,’ London, 27th July–1st August 2008 (2011), 269–280.
- K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments, I (1993).
- K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations Volume I: Ramesses I, Sethos I and Contemporaries (2017).
- A. Leahy, ‘The Osiris “Bed” Reconsidered’, Orientalia 46 (1977), 424–34.
- M. A. Murray, The Osireion at Abydos (1904).
- M. A. Murray, Egyptian Temples (2005).
- E. Naville, ‘Abydos’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 1 (1914), 2–8.
- E. Naville, ‘Excavations at Abydos: The Great Pool and the Tomb of Osiris’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 1 (1914), 159–67.
- E. Naville, ‘Le grand réservoir d’Abydos’, Revue Archéologique 24 (1914), 111–3.
- E. Naville and T. E. Peet, ‘Excavations at Abydos (1911–1912)’, Archaeological Report (Egypt Exploration Fund) (1911), 1–9.
- O. Neugebauer and R. A. Parker, Egyptian Astronomical Texts I: The Early Decans (1960).
- D. O’Connor, Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris (London, 2009).
- J. Roberson, ‘An Enigmatic Wall from the Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 43 (2007), 93–112.
- O. Sety and H. el Zeini, Abydos: Holy City of Ancient Egypt (1981).
- M. Smith, Following Osiris: Perspectives on the Osirian Afterlife from Four Millenia (2017).
- S. Snape, ‘Seti / Osireion Project: Report on Season January 1992’.
- S. Snape, Egyptian Temples (1996).
- S. L. Symons, ‘Sun and Stars: Astronomical Timekeeping in Ancient Egypt’, in K. J. Miller and S. L. Symons (eds), Down to the Hour: Short Time in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East (2019), 14–51.
- J. Trampier, ‘Reconstructing the Desert and Sown Landscape of Abydos’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 42 (2005), 73–80.
- M. Verner, Temple of the World: Sanctuaries, Cults, and Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (2013).
- J. H. Wayne, ‘Osireion: One Night’s Thoughts, Four Years Work’ (2019).
- R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt (2000).
All very good.
However, as one of the few researchers on / into the Oz.
And with a paper on Academia, albeit – half finished.
I would maybe politely ask that you could, please, include my name and link – on your excellent list !?!
“Osireion – One night’s thoughts, four years work” – Wayne James Howson.
https://www.academia.edu/38260074/Osireion_One_nights_thoughts_four_years_work_pdf
Many thanks.
All the very best.
Wayne
Truly great episode! Thank you for your fabulous work putting all of this together.
You are not incorporating any new findings about the physical reality of the Osireion. I suggest you look at the jameswesterman.org website especially under Expeditions 2023.
There are 2 recesses in the central island not 1. The depth of the central island is 15 meters. The depth of the canal around the central island has been physically probed to 10 meters without reaching any bedrock. All physical findings to date indicate the entire structure is resting on water impregnated sand not bedrock. Why the ancients went to the trouble of building the Osireion deeply in water is one of the seven fundamental questions about this intriguing unique one off structure.
Do you have plans to publish these findings in peer reviewed formats?