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Umm El Qaʻāb (sometimes romanised Umm El Gaʻab, ) is an archaeological site located at
Abydos, Egypt Abydos ( or ; Sahidic ') is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the Ta-wer, eighth Nome (Egypt), nome in Upper Egypt. It is located about west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of El Araba ...
. Its modern name, meaning "Mother of Pots", refers to the mound made of millions of broken pieces of pots which defines the landscape. Umm el Qa'ab contains evidence that the site is the cemetery for Egypt's predynastic proto-kings along with rulers of the 1st and 2nd dynasties. In addition to early royal tombs, evidence also suggests a link between the site, the cult of
Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
, and Osiris' annual festival. The cemetery was likely founded during the Naqada I period (4,000 BCE) as evident from the tomb structures, pottery, and seal impressions excavated from the site. The location continued as a royal cemetery through the First Dynasty (2,950-2,775 BCE) and ended with the burial of only the last two kings of the Second Dynasty, Peribsen and Khasekhemy (2,650 BCE). The Pre and Early dynastic royal cemetery at Umm el-Qa'ab became a site of veneration and cultic practice beginning in the Middle Kingdom (1,938 BCE) and stayed in use for 1,500 years until the
Ptolemaic Dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. ...
(305-30 BCE). The tombs of this area were first excavated by
Émile Amélineau Émile Amélineau (1850 – 12 January 1915 at Châteaudun) was a French Coptologist, archaeologist and Egyptologist. His scholarly reputation was established as an editor of previously unpublished Coptic texts. His reputation was destroyed ...
in the 1890s and more systematically by
Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English people, English Egyptology, Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. ...
between 1899 and 1901.Shaw, Ian. ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt.'' p. 67. Oxford University Press. 2000. Since then the area has been excavated repeatedly by the
German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office, Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Status, tasks and ...
since the 1970s, which has allowed for a thorough reconstruction of the original layout and appearance of these tombs.


Pre-dynastic tombs


Cemetery U

Cemetery U is located at the northern edge of Umm el-Qa'ab and inscriptions found in the tombs has been interpreted by Günter Dreyer as evidence of it being the burial site of 17 Egyptian proto-kings of the
Naqada III Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Prehistoric Egypt, Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 to 3000 BC. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which began in Naqada II, became ...
period. Tomb U-j contains the bulk of evidence which supports the royal nature of the site.


Tomb U-j

Dated to Naqada IIIA2 (3,300 BCE), tomb U-j is the largest tomb found at Cemetery U and contains 12 separate chambers. In contrast to the earlier Predynastic pit tombs found at Cemetery U, tomb U-j's multichambered design was outlined by mud-brick walls and had a roof made from wooden beams. Although the tomb had been subject to plundering, about 2000 ceramic vessels were recovered with nearly one third having been imported from Palestine. These ceramic vessels contained traces of tree-resin-infused wine, providing the first evidence of wine in Ancient Egypt. In addition to ceramic vessels, tomb U-j also contained bowls carved out of obsidian and chests made from imported cedar. The presence of these items suggests the existence of an extensive trade network during the time the tombs were being constructed. Small ivory tags with hieroglyphics inscribed on them were also recovered from the tomb. These artifacts provide the earliest evidence of writing in Egypt.


Evidence for Social Stratification

Analysis of Tomb U-j has led some scholars to believe that the origins of
social stratification Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political ...
within Ancient Egypt can be found among the artifacts and burial practices found at the site. The British archaeologist, Alice Stevenson believes the ivory tags found in the tomb provide evidence for the existence of advanced administrative and bureaucratic organization. In addition to the evidence of writing found in the tomb, the burials themselves have been interpreted as providing evidence of a society which was becoming more stratified. Outside the cemeteries of Abydos, contemporary tombs found elsewhere in Egypt were becoming less complex when compared to burials excavated at Cemetery U. This has been interpreted as evidence of ritual specialization, an organized effort to restrict materials, and artisanship centered around the burials at Umm el-Qa'ab. * U-j: Unknown ruler, but possibly
Scorpion I Scorpion I () was a ruler of Upper Egypt during Naqada III. He was one of the first rulers of Ancient Egypt, and a graffito of him depicts a battle with an unidentified predynastic ruler. His tomb is known for the evidence of early examples of wi ...
found in tomb, also possible pre dynastic ruler
Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...
is attested in one of the ivory tablets. * B1/B2: Iry-Hor * B7/B9: Ka


First Dynasty tombs


Cemetery B

Cemetery B is located south of Cemetery U and contains the tombs of Egypt's First Dynasty king along with the last two kings of the Second Dynasty. Furthermore, inscriptional evidence found at isolated tombs also suggests the Dynasty 0 rulers, Qa'a, Iry-Hor, and Narmer, were buried at this site. The royal tombs located at Cemetery B were significantly larger and more architecturally complex when compared to their predynastic predecessors at Cemetery U. For instance, the First Dynasty ruler, King Djer, had a burial chamber of nearly 96 sq. m, while the burial chamber at Tomb U-j was only 20 sq. m. * B17/B18:
Narmer Narmer (, may mean "painful catfish", "stinging catfish", "harsh catfish", or "fierce catfish"; ) was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period, whose reign began at the end of the 4th millennium BC. He was the successor to the Prot ...
* B10/B15/B19: Aha * O:
Djer Djer (or Zer or Sekhty; ) is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid 31st century BC and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by ...
* Z: Djet * Y: Merneith * T: Den * X:
Anedjib Anedjib, more correctly Adjib and also known as Hor-Anedjib, Hor-Adjib and Enezib, is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 1st Dynasty. The Egyptian historian Manetho named him "Miebîdós" and credited him with a reign ...
* U:
Semerkhet Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the First Dynasty. This ruler became known through a tragic legend handed down by the historian Manetho, who reported that a calamity of some sort occurred during Semerkhe ...
* Q:
Qa'a Qa'a (also Qáa or Ka'a) (literal meaning: "his arm is raised") was the last king of the First Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned for 33 years at the end of the 30th century BC. Identity Manetho calls Qa'a Biénechês and gives him a reign of 26 y ...
File:Ummal-qaab.png, Tombs of the Egyptian 1st dynasty File:Pottery shred, from stump base of a jug. 1st Dynasty. From the Royal Tomb of Semerkhet at Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg, Pottery sherd, from stump base of a jug. 1st Dynasty. From the Royal Tomb of Semerkhet at Umm el-Qa'ab,
Abydos, Egypt Abydos ( or ; Sahidic ') is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the Ta-wer, eighth Nome (Egypt), nome in Upper Egypt. It is located about west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of El Araba ...
.
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology The Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology in London is part of University College London Museums and Collections. The museum contains over 80,000 objects, making it one of the world's largest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese ma ...
, London


Second Dynasty tombs

At the beginning of the Second Dynasty (2,775 BCE), Egyptian kings were buried at Saqqara rather than Umm el-Qa'ab. However, this changed with the tombs of the dynasties last two kings being located at Umm el-Qa'ab in Cemetery B. * P:
Peribsen Seth-Peribsen (also known as Ash-Peribsen, Peribsen and Perabsen) is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch (pharaoh), who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC). His chronological position within this dyna ...
. A seal found in this tomb contains the first full sentence written in
hieroglyphs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters.I ...
. * V:
Khasekhemwy Khasekhemwy (ca. 2690 BC; ', also rendered ''Kha-sekhemui'') was the last Pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. Little is known about him, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built the mudbrick fort known as S ...
. This tomb was on a massive scale, with several interconnecting mud-brick chambers, and the actual burial chamber being constructed of dressed limestone blocks. Its measurements were: 68.97 m long and 10.04-17.06 wide. When excavated by Petrie in 1901 it contained a scepter made from
sard Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used int ...
and banded with gold, limestone vases with golden covers, and a ewer and basin of bronze.


Activity during the Second and Third Dynasty

There is evidence that the tombs at Umm el-Qa'ab were looted and burned in the late Second Dynasty during the time period between
Nynetjer Nynetjer (also known as Ninetjer and Banetjer) is the Horus name of the third pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period. Archaeologically, Nynetjer is the best attested king of the entire dynasty. Direct evidence ...
and Khasekhemwy, when the country was split and ruled by two successors due to the overly complex state administration of the whole of Egypt. On the east side of the
Pyramid of Djoser The pyramid of Djoser, sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser or Step Pyramid of Horus Netjerikhet, is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis.Bard, Kathryn A., and Jean-Philipee Lauer, ed ...
at Saqqara, eleven shafts 32 m deep were constructed and annexed to horizontal tunnels for royal family members. These were incorporated into the pre-existing substructure as it expanded eastward. In the storerooms along here over 40,000 stone vessels were found, many of which predate Djoser. Kathryn A. Bard, ''An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt'' (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008), 128–133. Shafts I–V were used for the burials of royal family members, but shafts VI–XI were used as symbolic tombs for the grave goods of royal ancestors from dynasties I–II. More than 40,000 vessels, bowls and vases made of various kinds of stone were found in these galleries. Royal names such as of kings Den,
Semerkhet Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the First Dynasty. This ruler became known through a tragic legend handed down by the historian Manetho, who reported that a calamity of some sort occurred during Semerkhe ...
,
Nynetjer Nynetjer (also known as Ninetjer and Banetjer) is the Horus name of the third pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period. Archaeologically, Nynetjer is the best attested king of the entire dynasty. Direct evidence ...
and
Sekhemib Sekhemib-Perenma'at (or simply Sekhemib), is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 2nd Dynasty. Similar to his predecessor, successor or co-ruler Seth-Peribsen, Sekhemib is contemporarily well attested in archaeological r ...
were incised on the pots, showing they came from both the tombs in Umm el-Qa'ab and in Saqqara. It is now thought that Djoser once restored the original tombs of the ancestors after Egypt's reunification, and then sealed the grave goods in the galleries in an attempt to save them from further destruction.


Osiris Cult and Annual Festival

Cult activity likely began at Umm el-Qa'ab during the 12th Dynasty reign of Senwosret I during the Middle Kingdom (1,919 BCE) and continued through until the Graeco-Roman Period, ending with the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305-30 BCE). Evidence of Osiris' affiliation with the site was highlighted after E. Amélineau discovered a basalt statue of Osiris in the refurbished tomb of king Djer. It was during Senwosret I's rule that a temple was built and dedicated to Osiris to the north of Umm el-Qa'ab with a processional valley linking the two sites. An annual festival dedicated to Osiris began during the Middle Kingdom and his temple became a site of pilgrimage. King Djer's tomb, now rechristened as Osiris' tomb, became inextricably linked to the temple as a result of the festival. The festival was held between July and September, coinciding with the annual inundation of the
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
. Priests associated with Osiris' cult would carry an image of the god out from his temple, travel along the processional valley, and bury the image at Umm el-Qa'ab. After burying the image, it would be ritualistically regenerated and returned to the temple along the same processional route. The processional route between Umm el-Qa'ab and the Osiris temple played an integral role during the festival as his myth was ceremonially reenacted along the route. The ritual significance of the causeway between Umm el-Qa'ab and Osiris' temple is further highlighted by Edouard Naville's discovery of six Osiris figures made of mud only 40 meters away from Djer's tomb. The annual festival along with various cultic activities continued at Umm el-Qa'ab for around 1,500 years after being formally established. Chapter 169 of the Book of the Dead, a text found among New Kingdom and later period burials, directly references the annual festival. Aside from king Djer's tomb, tombs of other First Dynasty rulers such as Den and Qa'a were likely centers of cult practice. 18th Dynasty votive offerings were found near these early royal tombs in pits located 8 meters away from the burials.


Human sacrifice and 1st Dynasty tombs

Human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...
was practiced as part of the funerary rituals associated with the First Dynasty.Shaw, Ian. ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt.'' p. 68. Oxford University Press. 2000. . The tomb of Djer is associated with the burials of 338 individuals thought to have been sacrificed. The people and animals sacrificed, such as asses, were expected to assist the pharaoh in the
afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
. It appears that Djer's
courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
s were strangled and their tombs all closed at the same time.Payne, Keith "Exclusive Interview: Dr David O'Connor on the Abydos Expedition" ''Heritage Key'' 29 September 200

/ref> For unknown reasons, this practice ended with the conclusion of the dynasty, with shabtis taking the place of actual people to aid the pharaohs with the work expected of them in the afterlife.


Bibliography

Kemp, Barry J. “Abydos and the Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty.” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 52 (1966): 13–22. https://doi.org/10.2307/3855814. Naville, Edouard. The Cemeteries of Abydos Part I.: ''The Mixed Cemetery and Umm el-Ga'ab''. London: The Egypt Exploration Fund, 1914. O’Connor, David B. Abydos: Egypt’s first pharaohs and the cult of Osiris. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011. Stevenson, Alice. “The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation.” Journal of Archaeological Research 24, no. 4 (2016): 421–68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44983878.


References


Further reading

* Dreyer, Günter et al. (1998–). ''Umm El-Qaab.'' Volumes I–VIII. Mainz/Wiesbaden: Zabern/Harrassowitz.


External links

* {{Authority control Abydos, Egypt sites Tombs of ancient Egypt Cemeteries in Egypt