ABYDOS · UPPER EGYPT
The Osirion at Abydos.
Egypt’s strangest temple.
A sunken stone structure behind the Temple of Seti I, built from huge blocks with no carvings, sitting in groundwater. It’s normally closed. I got inside with the UnchartedX Egypt tour.
UNCHARTEDX EGYPT TOUR · TEMPLE OF SETI I
OCTOBER 20, 2021 · ABOUT AN HOUR INSIDE
THE SHORT VERSION
What is the Osirion?
The Osirion (also spelled Osireion) is a sunken stone structure directly behind the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, in Upper Egypt. It’s built from enormous blocks, almost none of them carved, and its floor sits down at the water table, so much of it is flooded.
Egyptologists date it to Seti I, around 1290 BC, and see it as a symbolic tomb for the god Osiris. But it looks nothing like the temple next to it, and that’s why people like Ben van Kerkwyk of UnchartedX think it might be much older.
Is the Osirion older than the Temple of Seti I?
Officially, no. Standing in it, it sure looks like it. The Seti I temple is all fine carved art. The Osirion is plain megalithic blocks, set much lower in the ground. My take: the Egyptians may have found it while building Seti’s temple and then built the long decorated hallway to reach it. Nobody can prove that either way yet.
It looked exactly like the work of the same builders as the Khafre Valley Temple at Giza. That was my first thought when I walked in.
Osirion quick facts
LOCATION
Behind the Temple of Seti I, Abydos, Upper Egypt
ALSO SPELLED
Osireion
OFFICIAL DATE
Reign of Seti I, about 1290 BC (19th Dynasty)
BUILT FROM
Huge sandstone and limestone blocks, with 10 granite pillars in the central hall
ENTRANCE
A 69 m (226 ft) sloping passage carved with Book of Gates scenes
WATER
Groundwater fills the channels; the deepest part is over 10 m (34 ft)
ACCESS
Usually closed. Most visitors only see it from above
Measurements from published excavation records. Everything else is what I saw on my visit in October 2021.
Getting in
A long way
down.
You don’t just walk into the Osirion. It sits far below the desert behind the Seti I temple, and you reach it through a very long, dusty hallway.
We went down a set of sandy stone steps to the opening of the entrance passage. It’s a strange feeling, walking down into the ground to reach a temple.
Then a very long hallway. With a whole tour group moving through, the dust just hung in the air under the lights.
This passage is Seti-style work: carved scenes and hieroglyphs the whole way, including baboons raising their arms to the sun.
TWO BUILDING STYLES
ONE SITE
Why it looks
so much older.
The difference is obvious the moment you step through the door.
THE HALLWAY
Art on every wall.
The entrance passage is about 69 meters long and decorated like the rest of Seti’s work, with scenes from the Book of Gates, the journey of the sun through the underworld. Priests even left graffiti in it centuries later calling the place the ‘secret place of the underworld’ of Seti I.
THE DOOR
Then everything changes.
At the doorway the art stops. You walk under a huge stone lintel and from there it’s just giant blocks, set much lower in the ground, with no art on the walls. It feels like two different projects from two different eras, joined by that hallway.
THE HALLWAY LOOKS LIKE SETI. THE OSIRION DOESN’T.
THE BLOCKS
Same builders as Giza?
The walls are made of massive blocks fitted tight, with small filler stones tucked into the joints. My first thought was that it looks exactly like the Khafre Valley Temple at Giza: the same plain, giant-block style, with granite pillars and no inscriptions.
THE CENTRAL HALL
Ten giant pillars on an island.
The middle of the Osirion is a raised platform surrounded by water, lined with ten huge granite pillars. Seven are single pieces and three are made of two stacked pieces. The granite roof beams that once sat on top are mostly gone or lying broken in the water.
THE BIG QUESTION
Who built
the Osirion?
Here’s the official story, the case for something older, and what I think after standing in it.
The official story
Flinders Petrie and Margaret Murray uncovered the Osirion in 1902–03. Later excavations by the Egypt Exploration Society found Seti I’s name carved in it many times, including an inscription that reads ‘Menmaatre is beneficial to Osiris’. Menmaatre is Seti I’s throne name. So the mainstream view is that Seti built it as a cenotaph, a symbolic tomb, for Osiris.
The case for older
It doesn’t look like anything else Seti built. It sits far lower than the temple’s foundations, the stonework is plain and megalithic, and kings often carved their names onto older monuments. Even in ancient times people weren’t sure: the Greek geographer Strabo visited around 2,000 years ago and guessed it was built by a much earlier king.
What I think
It definitely looks much older. Completely different construction, set lower into the ground, no artwork on the walls. Then there’s the hallway, which is Seti-style work with art everywhere. That fits the idea that it was already there, they found it while building the Seti I temple, and they built the hallway to get to it. Take a look and decide for yourself.
69 m
sloping entrance passage
10
granite pillars in the central hall
17
small side chambers
10 m+
depth of the water in the deepest part
THINGS I NOTICED
Doors, holes and water.
Side chambers with hinge holes
Along the walls are small side chambers, each with a doorway. Above the doorways are hinge holes cut into the stone, and they’re big. If they held doors, those were thick, heavy doors.
But that doesn’t work so well, because there’s only a narrow strip of stone to stand on in front of the chambers, with the water right there. Where would you stand to swing a door that heavy?
THE HINGE HOLES ARE BIG. THE LEDGE IN FRONT IS NOT.
A drilled hole
In one of the cut-outs in the floor there’s a small round hole drilled sideways straight through the stone. What could that have been for?
So much dirty water
There’s a lot of murky green water, sometimes with an oily film on top. No smell, surprisingly. Maybe the water level is higher now than it was back then. Maybe there was no water at all when it was built.
Fallen roof
Huge pieces of the roof lie broken in the central hall. One chamber still has its pitched stone roof, with plain walls and no decoration.
VISITING
Can you go inside the Osirion?
Usually not. There’s literally a sign at the edge that says ‘The Osirion Closed’. Most people visiting the Temple of Seti I only look down into it from above, which is still worth doing.
Our group got in because it was part of the UnchartedX Egypt tour with Ben van Kerkwyk, which arranged special access. We spent about an hour inside. If you go on your own, plan on seeing it from the top, and spend your time in the Temple of Seti I, which has the famous Abydos King List.
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET IN, GO WITH A TOUR THAT ARRANGES ACCESS.
Watch
Ben van Kerkwyk
inside the Osirion.
Ben of UnchartedX has filmed the Osirion and the Seti I temple in detail. This video starts at the Osirion part.
Frequently asked QUESTIONS
Osirion FAQ.
What is the Osirion?
The Osirion, also spelled Osireion, is a sunken megalithic structure behind the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, Egypt. It’s built from huge plain stone blocks around a central hall with ten granite pillars, and much of it is flooded with groundwater.
Where is the Osirion?
Directly behind the Temple of Seti I at Abydos in Upper Egypt, north of Luxor. You see it from the back of the temple, looking down.
Who built the Osirion?
Egyptologists credit Seti I, around 1290 BC, because his name is carved in it many times. Others think it’s much older, because its plain megalithic style and depth are so different from the Seti I temple, and kings often added their names to older buildings.
How old is the Osirion?
Officially about 3,300 years old, from the reign of Seti I. Some researchers argue it could be far older, but there’s no confirmed evidence for an earlier date.
Why is the Osirion called Osireion?
Both spellings are used. Osireion is common in academic writing, and Osirion is used by UnchartedX and many travelers. The name comes from Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife.
Why is there water in the Osirion?
Its floor sits down at the water table, so groundwater fills the channels. The deepest part is more than 10 meters deep. The water level may be higher today than when it was built.
Can you go inside the Osirion?
Usually not. It’s closed to the public, and most visitors view it from above. Some specialist tours, like the UnchartedX Egypt tour, arrange access to go inside.
Is the Osirion like the Khafre Valley Temple?
They share the same plain, massive-block style with no inscriptions, which is why many visitors compare them. That’s the first thing I thought when I walked in.