Abydos

   Greek name for the sacred city of Abdju in Upper Egypt and burial place of Osiris, god of the dead, located south of modern Sohag. The kings of Dynasty 0, Dynasty 1, and Dynasty 2 were buried there at the site now known as Umm el-Qaab. The local god, Kentiamentiu, became identified with Osiris, who was believed to be buried there. In the Middle Kingdom, with the growth in worship of Osiris, the site became a place of pilgrimage and a desirable location for burial. In the New Kingdom, templeswere erected by Sety I and Ramesses II, as well as a cenotaph for Osiris, the Osireion. The area was excavated by French archaeologists Auguste Mariettein the 1850s and Emile Amelineau in 1894–1998. The Egypt Exploration Fund worked here under Flinders Petrie and later other archaeologists in 1899–1904, 1909–1914, and 1925–1930, and also sponsored the copying of the temple of Sety I since 1928. Another British archaeologist, John Garstang, was active in 1907. Excavations have been carried out by an American expedition from Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania since 1967, German archaeologists in the archaic cemetery since 1977, and an American team from the University of Michigan in the Old Kingdomcemetery since 1995.

   See also Aha; Anedjib; Den; Djer; Djet; Narmer; Qaa; Semerkhet.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier