Serapeum

The Serapeum was a tomb located in Memphis, where the sacred Apis Bulls of Egypt were buried. The tomb was originally discovered by the geographer Strabo who lived during the 1st Century BC. The tomb was later rediscovered by Mariette, a noted archaeologist who played a key role in the later formation of the Service of Egyptian Antiquities.

The Serapeum is only one of two temples by the same name dedicated to the god Sarapis. The Apis Bulls were considered to be the incarnation of the god Ptah, and were ceremoniously buried throughout the Nile. It wasn't until 1400 BC/BCE with the rule of Ramses II, that a gallery was designed as the bulls cemetery, and catacomb. The bulls themselves in death, were said to become a part of the god Osiris, and in turn this created the aspect of Osiris known as Osiris-Apis. Similarly the Greeks living along the Nile adapted this aspect of Osiris to the god named, Osorapis. By the middle of the Ptolemic Dynasty, the name Sarapis was taken from Osiris-Apis, and, hence, the name of the tomb became the Serapeum.

Ptah Strabo wrote of the Serapeum, "One finds a temple to Serapis in such a sandy place that the wind heaps up the sand dunes beneath which we saw sphinxes, some half buried, some buried up to the head, from which one can suppose that the way to this temple could not be without danger if one were caught in a sudden wind storm."

In essence what Strabo was describing was a line of sphinx's on either side of a road in Memphis leading directly to the Serapeum. Mariette, who had originally been sent to Memphis to collect coptic scripts, found himself intrigued by Strabo's description of the Serapeum. As he explored Egypt, he abandoned his original work in Egypt and set out to find the tomb. In 1850, excavation began, and in 1851 his work yielded many subterranean chambers, and 64 Apis bulls with thousands of inscribed objects therein. Since the time of Mariette, excavations have continued on the Serapeum, as recent as 1980.

"Sarapeum" Britannica Online. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/526/90.html [Accessed 10 December 1998].

The Official Site of Tourism, Egypt The Egyptian Tourism Ministry http://touregypt.net/serapeum.htm

Jenny Taylor