Abydos temple pillars
Abydos, one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, is about 11 km (6 miles) west of the Nile. It was the capital of the eighth Nome of Upper Egypt.
The temple of Seti I. This is the building best known as the Great Temple of Abydos, being nearly complete and an impressive sight. A principal purpose of it was the adoration of the early kings, whose cemetery, to which it forms a great funerary chapel, lies behind it. The long list of the kings of the principal dynasties carved on a wall is known as the "Abydos King List" (showing the cartouche name of many dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from the first, Narmer/Menes, until the pharaohs of the last dynasty).
So rare as an almost complete list of pharaoh names, the Table of Abydos, re-discovered by William John Bankes, has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of Egyptian archaeology, analogous to the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian writing, beyond the Narmer Palette. There were also seven chapels for the worship of the king and principal gods. At the back of the temple is an enigmatic structure known as The Osirion thought to be connected with the worship of Osiris (Caulfield, Temple of the Kings); and probably from those chambers led out the great Hypogeum for the celebration of the Osiris mysteries, built by Merenptah (Murray, The Osireion at Abydos). The temple was originally 550 ft. long, but the forecourts are scarcely recognizable, and the part in good state is about 250 ft. long and 350 ft. wide, including the wing at the side.
