Rest in peace, Seti

Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)

Thanks to Rhio Barnhart for the early alert to this article.

On the western side of the Nile, on the edge of the low desert, the ancient Upper Egyptian town of Abydos spreads on a site of over eight square kilometres. The atmosphere is agreeable, embracing magnificent monuments within a great natural environment.

As the city sacred to god Osiris where, according to legend, his head is buried, and coupled with the ancient Egyptian belief that the horizon west of Abydos was the gateway to the afterlife, Abydos was a favoured burial place for ancient Egyptians who wished to be buried near their legendary ancestor. Hence many cult structures were dedicated to Osiris and vast cemetery fields were developed there, incorporating not only the regional population but non-local people who also chose to build tombs and commemorative monuments in Abydos.

During the prehistoric and early dynastic periods, Abydos was a satellite funerary centre for the nome capital of Thinis, which is now located in the vicinity of the modern town of Gerga of Balliana on the edge of the Nile. The significance of the city then exceeded a provincial burial centre to become the burial place of the first kings of the first and second dynasties. Later on, during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, Abydos evolved into a religious centre of great importance.

The most outstanding monuments at Abydos are the Second-Dynasty funerary enclosure of King Khasekhemwi, the Kom Al-Sultan enclosure wall which was the location of the early town and the main temple dedicated to the god Osiris, and the two New Kingdom temples of Pharaoh Seti I, founder of the 19th Dynasty, and his son Ramses II. The greater part of the site remains concealed beneath the sand, a fact recognised in the Arabic name of the modern town, Al-Araba Al-Madfuna, or "the buried Araba".

The most famous of all the monuments is the well- preserved temple of Seti I, which has some of the finest reliefs of any period to be found in the Nile Valley. It has seven separate sanctuaries, dedicated to Seti I himself and to Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Their entrances are delicately carved in bas-relief, and they still retain their original colour.

This is the temple which contains a Kings' List, a roll of gods and kings engraved in royal cartouches. More than 70 Pharaohs preceded Seti I, starting with Mena, founder of the First Dynasty. For political reasons the names of the monotheist Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Hatshepsut were not included in the list.

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