One would hardly imagine that the vast rock-hewn galleries of the Apis tombs at Saqqara would ever suffer from environmental damage but, as Nevine El-Aref learns, their plight is serious and calls for a large-scale rescue operation From Coptic texts to sacred bulls
The Serapeum was discovered by the renowned French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette in 1852. He originally came to Egypt on behalf of the Louvre to purchase ancient manuscripts from Coptic monasteries, and during visits to Saqqara, Dahshur and Mit- Rahina he became interested in Ancient Egypt. In Saqqara, Mariette discovered the famous statue of the seated scribe, considered as one of the greatest sculptures ever created, another of the god Bes, as well as several hundred statuettes and amulets. But the discovery that changed his career was the Serapeum at Saqqara.
On the plateau he observed an avenue of sphinxes that closely resembled legendary accounts of a temple of the Serapeum. Following the lead he managed to trace an entrance, not to a temple, which had disappeared, but to huge tombs. At the entrance were many small votive stelae, some in their positions on the walls, others were scattered across the ground. Into the tomb he went, going southward into the principal gallery, which is over 200 metres long. On either side vast chambers opened out at right-angles to the corridor, each containing huge granite sarcophagi, 24 in all. Four of them bore Pharaonic inscriptions that dated them to between the 52nd year of the reign of Psamtik, founder of the 26th dynasty in the sixth century BC, to the end of the Ptolemaic period. All the later sarcophagi had been plundered, their lids pried loose and the contents taken.
Near the centre of the gallery and beneath a huge rock that he had to use explosives in order to remove, Mariette stumbled upon a wooden sarcophagus and the mummy of Ramses II's son prince Kha-Em-Wase. According to a large granite stela in this man's name that Mariette found near the entrance of the Serapeum, Kha-Em-Wase was an official in charge of the restoration of the Pyramid of Unas and he also bore the title of governor of Memphis, the high priest of Ptah, and the man responsible for building some of the vaults in the Serapeum. He had apparently requested that he be buried with the sacred bulls rather than a tomb of his own.
Mariette was set on his career. He forgot about Coptic manuscripts, continued his excavations of the Apis tombs, and late in 1852 came across an older gallery, known as "Lesser Vaults". They had similar rock-hewn chambers that had contained bulls in wooden coffins. They dated from year 30 of Ramses II reign down to the 22nd Dynasty. Most of these tombs were plundered except the one dated to the 44th year of Ramses II reign which survived intact and full of artefacts. Across the layer of dust Mariette could discern the footprints of the priests who had laid the divine bull to rest in its coffin 3000 years before. Two great rectangular black painted wooden sarcophagi, was found along with the fold-leaf that had covered their lids and sides. A stela relating the death of these two Apis was unearthed as well as four large alabaster canopic jars with lids in the form of human heads and a life- size standing gilded wooden statue of the god Osiris.
Niches in the chamber walls held two sandstone painted statues of Prince Kha-Em-Wase and two pylon-like altars each topped by a figure of Anubis, the jackal god and containing four glazed earthenware figurines.
On the surfaces one could distinguished two pictures showing Ramses II with his son Kha-Em-Wase before two Apis represented in human form as Osiris. Inside one of the later sarcophagi and mingled with bones, Mariette found 15 bull-headed funerary statuettes inscribed with the name of the dead Apis.
Inside the second sarcophagus he was able to picked up from the bones a beautiful naos-shaped pectoral in gold inlayed with coloured glass with a cartouche bearing the prename of Ramses II and six bull-headed funerary statuettes.
Throughout 1952, the excavation continued in the Serapeum resulting the discovery of a third series of smaller bull burials. They ranged from the 18th dynasty King Amenhotep III right through the 19th dynasty. Two coffins of Apis were also found intact, along with Ushabtis, canopic jars and amulets. A mummy of an Apis bull is found in Cairo Agricultural Museum.
A Saqqara inspector, Mohamed Youssef, said that the Apis bull was worshipped after its death during the Ancient Egyptian time but during the Ptolomaic time the Apis bull gradually lost its sacred status.
Only one bull was recorded as being buried after the reign of Queen Cleopatra. Octavian refused to visit the Serapeum and while the bull continued to be an emblem sacred to the god Montu through Diocletian reign, its cult faded and soon disappeared afterwards.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 678 (Issue No. 26 February - 3 March)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/679/hr2.htm