Abydos - Necropolis

The most important part of ancient Abydos was its extensive Necropolis, situated in the desert. Four separate areas can be identified. In the most southerly part of the necropolis, near El-Araba, are the tombs of the New Kingdom, the temples of Sethos I and Ramesses II and the so-called Osireion. To the north of this is a hill containing burials of the Late Old Kingdom. Still farther north, between the Sanctuary of Osiris and the remains of walls at Shunet el-Zebib, are the tombs of the Middle Kingdom, many of them in the form of small brick pyramids; here, too, are burials of other periods, particularly the 18th-20th Dynasties (c. 1500- c. 1000 B.C.) and the Late Dynastic Period. Finally in the hill of Umm el-Gaab, to the west, are the royal tombs of the earliest dynasties and the sacred Tomb of Osiris.