 Abusir in 2006 | |
  Shown within Northern Egypt | |
| Location | Egypt |
|---|---|
| Region | Giza Governorate |
| Coordinates | 29°54′N31°12′E / 29.9°N 31.2°E /29.9; 31.2 |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i)(iii)(vi) |
| Designated | 1979(3rdsession) |
| Part of | Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur |
| Reference no. | 86-002 |
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| Busiri inhieroglyphs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abusir (Arabic:ابو صير Egyptian Arabic pronunciation:[æbuˈsˤiːɾ];Egyptianpr wsjr;Coptic:ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓbusiri, "the resting place ofOsiris";Ancient Greek:Βούσιρις) is the name given to anancient Egyptian archaeologicalpyramid complex comprising the ruins of 4 kings' pyramids dating to theOld Kingdom period, and is part of thePyramid Fields of theMemphis and its Necropolis UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.[1]
The pyramid complex is named after the neighbouring village of Abusir, in the markaz (county) ofBadrashin,Giza.[2] The Abusir pyramid complex is located on theWestern Desert plateau at the edge of the cultivated plain, with theGiza Pyramids to its north, andSaqqara to its south, and served as one of the main elite cemeteries for the ancient Egyptian capital city ofMemphis. Several other villages in northern and southern Egypt are named Abusir or Busiri.
The locality of Abusir took its turn as the focus of the prestigious western burial rites operating out of the then-capital of Memphis during theOld Kingdom5th Dynasty. As an elite cemetery, neighbouringGiza had by then "filled up" with the massivepyramids and other monuments of the4th Dynasty, leading the5th Dynastypharaohs to seek sites elsewhere for their own funerary monuments.
Abusir was the origin of the largest find ofOld Kingdompapyri to date — theAbusir Papyri. In the late nineteenth century, a number of Western museums acquired collections of fragmentary papyri from the administrative (temple) records of one Abusir funerary cult, that of kingNeferirkare Kakai. This discovery was supplemented in the late twentieth century when excavations by aCzech expedition to the site revealed papyri from two other cult complexes, that of the pharaohNeferefre (also read Raneferef) and for the king's motherKhentkaus II.
The Czech Institute of Egyptology of theFaculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague has been conducting excavations at Abusir since 1960, beginning with the mastaba ofPtahshepses, directed byZbyněk Žába. The concession was extended since 1976 with the southern part of the royal necropolis, directed byMiroslav Verner. Since 1991, the institute excavates also at the site of Abusir South. The excavations are presently directed by Miroslav Bárta.
There are considerablecatacombs near the ancient town of Busiris, as stated in (Pliny xxxvi. 12. s. 16). To the south of Busiris one great cemetery appears to have stretched over the plain. TheHeptanomite Busiris was in fact a hamlet standing at one extremity of the necropolis of Memphis.
Earliest tombs on the site are from the Early Dynastic Period, First Dynasty. Tombs, including stairway tombs, were uncovered north of pyramid field.[3]
There are a total of 4 kings' pyramids at this site, which served as the main royal necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty. The quality of construction of the Abusir pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth Dynasty; perhaps signalling a decrease in royal power or a less vibrant economy. They are smaller than their predecessors, and are built of low quality local stone. All of the major pyramids at Abusir were built asstep pyramids, although the largest of them—the Pyramid of Neferirkare—is believed to have originally been built as a step pyramid some seventy metres in height and then later transformed into a "true" pyramid by having its steps filled in with loose masonry.
A map and complete list of excavated structures until the year 2019 is available inBárta et al. (2020).[4] The map is also published online as a searchable application.[5]
The three major royal pyramids are
The two unfinished royal pyramids are
The tombs of several high officials and family members are located in the direct vicinity of their king's pyramid:
Four mastabas south-east of the pyramid complex ofRaneferef create a so-called "Nakthsare" cemetery, presumably tombs of the persons related to KingRaneferef:
Directly north of Saqqara is a cemetery of lower-ranking officials of the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom. The earliest First Dynasty tombs are on the so-called "Bonnet cemetery" named afterHans Bonnet, who published the site.[10] It was excavated in 1910 byGeorg Steindorff and Uvo Hölscher. Recently, copper artefacts in the collection of Leipzig University, from the site, were studied. One vessel, ÄMUL 2162, was made of a peculiar material, arsenical copper with nickel, which could be imported to Egypt.[11]
The Old Kingdom cemetery at Abusir South includes the following tombs:
On a small hill directly south of the pyramid of Neferefre is a cemetery of tombs from theSaite period:
Also found at Abusir were substantial remains of a Ramesside temple, perhaps built byRamses II. The temple lies about 500 meters south east of the pyramids, close to the cultivation in the desert. The main building of the temple was built of limestone. There were three cellars, a small hall with four columns and a courtyard (with mudbrick walls) with ten limestone columns. The limestone building was placed within a larger complex made of mud bricks with a pylon and magazines.[20] The temple seems to have been dedicated to the solar cult, in particular the gods Ra, Amun, and Nekhbet. Fragments of polychrome reliefs and numerous examples of the titles of Ramesses II have been recovered.[21] The temple was built above the mud brick tombs of Third and Fifth Dynasty.[22]
Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur suffered damage by looters during the2011 Egyptian protests. Part of thefalse door from the tomb of the priest Rahotep was stolen, and store rooms were broken into.[23][24] The looted structures are mapped out e.g. in this article.[25]
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate ashot desert (BWh),[26] as the rest ofEgypt.
| Climate data for Abusir | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.6 (67.3) | 21.2 (70.2) | 24.5 (76.1) | 29 (84) | 32.9 (91.2) | 35.3 (95.5) | 35.5 (95.9) | 35.2 (95.4) | 32.9 (91.2) | 30.7 (87.3) | 25.9 (78.6) | 21.4 (70.5) | 28.7 (83.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.5 (56.3) | 14.5 (58.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 21.1 (70.0) | 24.8 (76.6) | 27.5 (81.5) | 28.4 (83.1) | 28.3 (82.9) | 26.2 (79.2) | 24.1 (75.4) | 19.8 (67.6) | 15.4 (59.7) | 21.8 (71.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) | 7.9 (46.2) | 10.6 (51.1) | 13.3 (55.9) | 16.8 (62.2) | 19.8 (67.6) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.4 (70.5) | 19.5 (67.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 13.7 (56.7) | 9.4 (48.9) | 14.9 (58.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 4 (0.2) | 3 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.1) | 4 (0.2) | 16 (0.7) |
| Source:Climate-Data.org, altitude: 18m[26] | |||||||||||||
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