The Osireion at Abydos is a partly underground cenotaph, generally attributed to Seti I, with a central island enclosed by a water-filled channel. The channel is about 1.5m deep; the roughly 15m figure is the complex's depth below today's ground level, not the moat's depth, and the monument is not documented as five stories deep. Research links the refilling water to deep groundwater through the surrounding geology, not to a reservoir inside the structure. Isotope testing shows a mix of Nile-derived water and older deep groundwater, not 100% paleowater. The video argues that the arrangement acts as a “thermal battery”; that is the presenter's theory, not an established function. Preliminary hydrologic testing reports the water as drinkable.
Underground Osireion has a 1.5m-deep channel fed by deep groundwater
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📍 Osirion at Abydos
Key facts
- The Osireion is a partly underground cenotaph at Abydos, generally attributed to Seti I. The cited sources do not describe it as five stories deep.
- The water-filled channel around the central island is about 1.5m deep. The roughly 15m figure describes the complex's depth below modern ground level, not the depth of the water.
- Geophysical and isotope research links the refilling channel to deep groundwater and an aquifer system around 900m below the site. Pumping has not kept the channel dry, but saying modern pumps cannot remove the water is too absolute.
- The video argues that the water-and-island arrangement acts as a thermal battery; this is the presenter's theory, not an established finding.
- Isotope results show a mixture of Nile-derived water and older deep groundwater, not 100% paleowater.
- The ISIDA Project's preliminary hydrologic assessment describes the water as very drinkable and without a predominant taste.
Sources
Osireion - Wikipediaen.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 Osirion at Abydos: The Ancient Egyptian Temple Still Defying ...marahouseluxor.com
The Water Problem We Do Not Yet Understand. One of the Osirion's most striking features is the water that permanently fills it, and refuses to ...
Secrets of the Osirion | Who Built Egypt's Biggest Megalithic Temple?thearchaeologist.org
The remarkable Osirion at Abydos in Egypt is officially dated to the reign of Seti I, during the New Kingdom period, ruling c.1294 or 1290 BC to 1279 BC.
The unexplained Osireion: Ancient Egypt's most mysterious structurehistoryskills.com
At the centre of the Osireion, a stone platform stood isolated within a trench of dark water, while twelve enormous granite pillars surrounded the space.
Archaeologist Probes Hidden Depths in Egypt's Osireion - In-Situin-situ.com
“Somehow water is emerging from inside this structure,” says Westerman. “That's unique. There shouldn't be water coming out of the desert, ...
Osireionegypt-museum.com
The Osireion's mysterious water channel and its depth, which connects to an underground water source, have been subjects of interest. Recent ...
An Integrated Geophysics and Isotope Geochemistry to ...mdpi.com
by AM Abudeif · 2022 · Cited by 3 — The study area surrounding the Osirion at Abydos is represented between latitudes 26°10′54.17″ N and 26o11′9.92″ N and longitudes 31°55′3.48″ E ...
Abydos. Osirion. - ISIDA Projectisida-project.org
Hydrologic studies show that the water in the Osireion is very drinkable and does not have any predominant taste. Preliminary results show that the water is ...
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