Abydos North Cemetery Excavations • Covers a 50-hectare (50,000 sq. m.) area of the primary necropolis of ancient Abydos • Originally defined as sacred royal space by the funerary temples and subsidiary tombs of the kings of Dynasties 1 and 2 •
       
     
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Abydos North Cemetery Excavations • Covers a 50-hectare (50,000 sq. m.) area of the primary necropolis of ancient Abydos • Originally defined as sacred royal space by the funerary temples and subsidiary tombs of the kings of Dynasties 1 and 2 •
       
     
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Abydos North Cemetery Excavations

• Covers a 50-hectare (50,000 sq. m.) area of the primary necropolis of ancient Abydos

• Originally defined as sacred royal space by the funerary temples and subsidiary tombs of the kings of Dynasties 1 and 2

• Designated the “Terrace of the Great God,” beginning in the Middle Kingdom—a sacred cemetery associated with the cult of Osiris

• In continuous use as a private cemetery from the early Middle Kingdom to the end of the Ptolemaic Period, when it was transformed into a sacred landscape of early Christianity

• Long history of archaeological investigation, 1859 to present—major recent discoveries include a buried fleet of First Dynasty boat graves in 1991, and the funerary complex of King Aha in 2001

Photo (1) Excavation of First Dynasty boat graves by Robert Fletcher for Abydos Archaeology © 2003, (2) Second Dynasty seal impression of King Khasekhemwy, Abydos Archaeology © 2019

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