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Seti I Temple at Abydos - 26130 Bytes

On Friday, our day off, we all piled in two minibuses and traveled to Abydos, the mythical home of the god Osiris, lord of the underworld. The first part of our visit included a tour of the Osiris Temple built by Seti I (ca. 1290-1279 B.C.), father of Ramesses II. The Seti I temple is often considered the most beautiful in Egypt, due to its elegant raised relief that still carries much of its original paint. In this photo Violaine Chauvet photographs the exterior courtyard of the temple, decorated by Ramesses II as a memorial for his father.

Inside Seti I Temple - 21299 Bytes

Inside the Seti I temple, Betsy Bryan explains some of the relief decoration's iconography to Amy Rechenmacher, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, and Hardy Bryan.

Inside the Seti I Temple - 19980 Bytes

Bill Peck of the Detroit Institute of Art gazes at his favorite wall in the temple.

American Expedition at Abydos - 20539 Bytes

Following our visit to the Seti Temple, we joined the American Expedition at Abydos for lunch in their newly expanded and refurbished house. Janet Richards of the University of Michigan kindly invited us to view their home and sample their tasty food.

Old Kingdom Cemetery - 24189 Bytes

After lunch, Janet Richards (center wearing a white scarf) walked us out to the area of her excavation - an Old Kingdom cemetery where one of the most famous ancient Egyptians was buried. Weni, who lived in the 6th Dynasty, left a very well known autobiography telling us how he accompanied and provisioned the king's troops on a military campaign and was then rewarded with tomb monuments by the king. Janet Richards may well have now found those exact monuments.

Shaft for Tomb of Weni - 20218 Bytes

The UM expedition's Old Kingdom shaft for the tomb of Weni in the foreground. In the background is the "shunet", or the fortress in mudbrick built by king Khasekhemwy at the end of Dynasty 2 (ca. 2800 B.C.). Dr. David O'Connor of the Institute of Fine Art, New York University excavates this area. His concession for the site of Abydos includes that of the University of Michigan, and the whole is sponsored by University of Pennsylvania-Yale University-New York University.

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