The area now known as Kom El Sultan is located near Abydos in Egypt. It is a prominent mudbrick structure whose purpose is unclear and thought to have been in the original settlement area, dating to the Early Dynastic Period. The building includes the early temple of Osiris, which was probably built on the temple’s location to the earlier local deity Khenti-Amentiu. Much of the original settlement is now lost under modern construction and cultivation. Still, excavations have revealed hundreds of stelae which have yielded a good deal of information about the cult of Osiris. A beaten path still leads from Kom El Sultan to Umm El Qa’ab, showing the way pilgrims took in the past.
The only known statue of Khufu was found here, and recently a portal temple to Ramesses II has been excavated here.
Location of Kom El Sultan
Overview
Much of the original settlement is now lost under modern construction and cultivation. Still, excavations have revealed hundreds of stelae which have yielded a good deal of information about the cult of Osiris. A beaten path still leads from Kom El Sultan to Umm El Qa’ab, showing the way pilgrims took in the past.
At Kom el Sultan, a peculiar configuration of late-period enclosure walls is preserved as part of a large segment of the mound.
Notable Artefacts
Khufu’s Statue
Also known as the Khufu Statuette or the Ivory figurine of Khufu is an ancient Egyptian statue. Historically and archaeologically significant, it was found in 1903 by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie during the excavation of Kom el-Sultan in Abydos, Egypt. It depicts Khufu, a Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty (Old Kingdom) and the builder of the Great Pyramid. This small seated figure is the only known three-dimensional depiction of Khufu, which survives largely intact, though there are also several statue fragments.
Temples at Kom el Sultan
Temple of Seti I
The temple of Seti I, also known as the Great Temple of Abydos, is one of the main historical sites in Abydos. The temple was built by pharaoh Seti I. At the rear of the temple, there is the Osireion.
The temple is also notable for the Abydos graffiti and ancient Phoenician and Aramaic graffiti found on the temple walls.
Temple of Ramses II
The adjacent temple of Ramesses II was much smaller and more straightforward in the plan. Still, it had an excellent historical series of scenes around the outside that lauded his achievements, of which the lower parts remain. The temple’s exterior was decorated with scenes of the Battle of Kadesh. His list of pharaohs, similar to that of Seti I, formerly stood here; the fragments were removed by the French consul and sold to the British Museum.
