At the Osireion, hieroglyphs on the rear wall climb higher than where a barrel-vaulted ceiling would have met that wall. A tour Egyptologist attributed the rear wall glyphs to Seti I. Visitors noticed the rear panel runs on beneath a vaulted block and then simply stops, pointing to repair work. Two scenarios: the vault had already collapsed before carving, or that bay was always open to the sky. Another reading has a later renovation extending the wall one bay further 🧱
Osireion hieroglyphs rise above the vaulted ceiling line, hinting at a later repair campaign
EgyptArchitecture
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Key facts
- Hieroglyphs carved on the rear wall of the Osireion extend above the height at which the barrel-vaulted ceiling would have met the wall
- A tour Egyptologist attributed the rear wall glyphs to Seti I
- Participants observed that the rear panel continues beneath a vaulted block and then cuts off, indicating repair work on the ancient structure
- Two possible sequences were raised: the vaulted ceiling had already collapsed before the glyphs were carved, or that bay was designed open to the sky
- Alternative reading offered: a later renovation extended the paneled wall one bay further because the ceiling section was gone
Sources
Detailed description and hieroglyphic texts of the first ...the-ancient-pharaohs.blogspot.com
We now return to the north, or Birth Colonnade, the reliefs on the rear wall of which represent the state fiction by which Hatshepsut was ...
Osireionen.wikipedia.org
The Osireion (or Osirion) is believed to be the cenotaph of Seti I, located to the rear of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, Egypt. The temple was built in the ...
The Osireion – links & further reading - Dr Chris Nauntonchrisnaunton.com
The Osireion at Abydos (1904), includes her description of the discovery of the monument and the first excavations, and is available for free via archive.org.
The Osireion Investigation: Egypt's Most Misunderstood ...anyextee.com
Contrary to common claims, the Osireion is decorated with hieroglyphs. In the transverse hall and the entrance corridor, hieroglyphic inscriptions completed by ...
The Osireion excavations at Abydos in 1914archaeologicalresource.com
The wall on the east side of the chamber is built of enormous stones very well joined. It reminds one of the masonry of the time of the pyramids, of the so- ...
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