South of Cairo, Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, along the road of Saqqara, lies the village of Abusir. For the study of Egyptology, the most prominent feature of Abusir is the cemetery. Dating back to the Old Kingdom, Abusir is home to the royal pyramid complexes of Kings Sahure, Neferirkare, Niuserre, Neferefre(Raneferef), and another possibly belonging to Shepseskare. Also, there are a number of tombs belonging to officials connected to this royal line, including Queen Khentkawes(mother of Sahure, and Neferirkare), and a mastaba of the vizier Ptahshepses, a relative of Niuserre. The best preserved of all these temples as that of the second king of the fifth dynasty, and first pharaoh to build his pyramid complex at Abusir. Sahure's pyramid complex included a valley temple, a mortuary temple, and a procession way. The mortuary temple retains elements of basalt flooring, sixteen red granite columns, and many pieces of limestone walls which contain painted reliefs. Sahure's pyramid is no longer able to withstand excavation due to blockage by debris. Neferirkare's pyramid complex contained a large number of Old Kingdom papyri. The "Abusir papyri," were found to contain records of cult administration, inventories, accounts and records of building work, priestly duties, and daily offerings to the two solar temples located north of Abusir at Abu Ghurab. The first temple was built by the founder of the fifth dynasty, Userkaf; while the other was built by Niuserre. Abusir's fifth dynasty cemetery has been excavated since the 1970s, and is still a major archeological site today. excavations in Abusir have been lead by the Institute of Egyptology, Waseda University (1996-), the Czechoslovakian Institute (2000-2001), and the Japanese Institute of Egyptology (2002). In the more recent excavation done by the Waseda University Institute of Egyptology, two methods were introduced into the general survey. The archeological method used for observation of the ground surface, and their underground exploration was by the electromagnetic wave exploration system.
Thus far, Egyptologists have studied the site of Abusir
and although they have found the pyramids to be in poor standing because of the
large use of limestone and mortar, rather than a more solid structure, they are
still optimistic that there are more things to learn from what seems to be a
good governmental structure within a small community of pharaohs.
References:
www.egyptsites.co/uk/lower/pyramids/abusir/menu/abusir_menu.html
www.touregypt.net/abusir.html
www.waseda.ac.jp/projects/egyptsites/Abusir-E.html
ancientneareast.tripod.com/Abusir.html
www.let.leidenuniv.nl/saqqara/Egyptology/Glossary/Abusir.html
Written by Kristin Edwards, 2004