Abydos is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the eighth nome in Upper Egypt, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10′ N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-‘Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana. The city was called Abdju in the ancient Egyptian language (ꜣbdw or AbDw as technically transcribed from hieroglyphs) meaning “the hill of the symbol or reliquary”, a reference to a reliquary in which the sacred head of Osiris was preserved.
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.[1] 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. It is a chronological list showing cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Ramesses I, Seti’s father.[2] The Great Temple and most of the ancient town are buried under the modern buildings to the north of the Seti temple.[3] Many of the original structures and the artifacts within them are considered irretrievable and lost; many may have been destroyed by the new construction.
The English name comes from the Greek Ἄβυδος, a name borrowed by Greek geographers from the unrelated city of Abydos on the Hellespont.
Façade of the Temple of Seti I in Abydos
Part of the Abydos King List
Panel from the Osiris temple: Horus presents royal regalia to a worshipping pharaoh.
Tombs
The Royal necropolis of the earliest dynasties were placed about a mile into the great desert plain, in a place now known as Umm el-Qa’ab, The Mother of Pots, because of the shards remaining from all of the devotional objects left by religious pilgrims. The earliest burial is about 10 ft × 20 ft (3.0 m × 6.1 m) inside, a pit lined with brick walls, and originally roofed with timber and matting. Others also built before Menes are 15 ft × 25 ft (4.6 m × 7.6 m).
The probable tomb of Menes is of the latter size. Afterward the tombs increase in size and complexity. The tomb-pit is surrounded by chambers to hold offerings, the sepulchre being a great wooden chamber in the midst of the brick-lined pit. Rows of small pits, tombs for the servants of the pharaoh surround the royal chamber, many dozens of such burials being usual. Some of the offerings included sacrificed animals, such as the asses found in the tomb of Merneith. Evidence of human sacrifices exists in the early tombs, but this practice was changed into symbolic offerings later.
Sad Facts
The contents of the tombs have been nearly destroyed by successive plunderers; but enough remained to show that rich jewelry was placed on the mummies, a profusion of vases of hard and valuable stones from the royal table service stood about the body, the store-rooms were filled with great jars of wine, perfumed ointments, and other supplies, and tablets of ivory and of ebony were engraved with a record of the yearly annals of the reigns. The seals of various officials, of which over 200 varieties have been found, give an insight into the public arrangements.
Source content taken from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abydos,_Egypt
Abydos Facts 