Abusir

Welcome to Abusir, a site of profound archaeological mystery and the primary burial ground for the kings of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty. Its name is derived from the ancient Egyptian 'Per-Usir,' meaning 'House of Osiris,' the god of…

We begin our tour at the Causeway of Sahure, the primary ceremonial route that connects the Valley Temple near the Nile to the pyramid complex on the plateau. Originally, this causeway was a fully enclosed corridor, lined with…

Scattered across the site of Abusir are artifacts that fascinate engineers and historians alike: the core drill holes. These are perfectly circular indentations made into some of the hardest stones known to man, including granite…

In the courtyard of the Sahure temple, we walk upon the remains of a massive basalt floor. Basalt is an extremely hard volcanic rock, yet here it has been flattened and finished into a level surface that once spanned the entire…

The Mastaba of Ptahshepses is one of the largest and most complex private tombs of the Old Kingdom. Ptahshepses was the vizier and son-in-law of King Niuserre, and his tomb reflects his immense power and proximity to the throne. …

Deep within the ruins of Abusir lie some of its most enigmatic artifacts: two massive, single-piece granite boxes. These were discovered during the Czech excavations in the mid-1970s in the lower chambers of a mastaba. …

A final, more controversial topic at Abusir is the evidence of an ancient cataclysm. Some researchers and geologists who have studied the site point to strange erosion patterns and physical damage that do not fit the standard…

As we conclude our tour of Abusir, we are left with a profound sense of the site's complexity. We have traveled from the ceremonial causeways of the Fifth Dynasty to the hidden chambers of the viziers, and we have confronted the…