Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris

In the field of archaeology, a great number of extraordinary finds make headlines either because of their actual significance or because of the sensational circumstances surrounding them. Some discoveries, however, come to us piecemeal; they are never breaking news because their significance comes only gradually, the result of years of sustained work, dedication and painstaking research. O’Connor’s work at Abydos is one of the latter. A professor at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, he has explored the area’s complex history and sacred landscape season after season for decades, and it is only now, when he has absorbed the comprehensive history of the site, including the work of successive generations of Egyptologists that came before him, that he has written a substantial book about the area.

Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris gives us new insights into the origins of kingship in Egypt and the organisation of early state. It reveals that writing has been found here that rivals in antiquity that of Mesopotamia. And it explores the significance of a fleet of boats, the earliest surviving in the world, unearthed at Abydos. “Each discovery raises new questions and issues, and indicates that further mysteries remain to be explored and resolved,” writes O’Connor, and adds: “Abydos will continue to intrigue archaeologists, Egyptologists and lay enthusiasts for many generations to come.”

Excerpted from an article by Jill Kamil for Al-Ahram

Tags: Abydos, osiris

This entry was posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 4:49 pm and is filed under Publications. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.