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Serapeum of Saqqara

Monument at Saqqara · also called Serapeum, Apis tombs, Tomb of the Apis bulls, Saqqara Serapeum

In the Serapeum the writing to find is on a few of its giant stone sarcophagi: columns of hieroglyphs and royal cartouches, among them the name of Amasis of the 26th Dynasty. The galleries were the burial place of the Apis bulls, living images of Ptah of Memphis.

Each Apis bull lived in Ptah's temple at Memphis and, when it died, was mummified and buried here. Burials go back at least to Amenhotep III. Under Ramesses II, his son Khaemwaset, a priest of Ptah, began a gallery for several bulls. The great galleries open today were cut from the 26th Dynasty on and used into Ptolemaic times.

Auguste Mariette found the site in 1850 by following a buried avenue of sphinxes. Priests and pilgrims had set hundreds of small stelae with dated prayers to the Apis in the walls; most are now in the Louvre. The galleries reopened in 2017 after restoration and may need their own ticket.

What to see and read

The great galleries

Side chambers on both sides hold some two dozen sarcophagi of granite and basalt, each weighing many tonnes.

Inscribed sarcophagi

Most boxes are plain. On the few with text, read the cartouche first, then the lines naming the Apis.

Names you can find here

Signs to look for

  1. Bull E1kꜣ The bull sign ends the name of the Apis in the texts on the sarcophagi.
  2. Twisted flax wick V28ḥ The twisted wick writes the h of Hapi, the Egyptian name of the Apis.
  3. Stool Q3p The stool writes p in Hapi and in Ptah, whose living image the Apis was.
  4. Cartouche V10 Cartouches on the inscribed boxes name the kings who paid for them.
  5. Ankh S34ꜥnḫ The ankh appears in wishes for life on the sarcophagi.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

  • The galleries are dim; brace your phone on a railing for sharp shots.
  • Dark polished granite reflects light, so shoot inscriptions at a slight angle.

Point your camera at a wall Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.

Questions

What was buried in the Serapeum?

The Apis bulls, sacred bulls of Memphis thought to be living images of the god Ptah. Each was mummified and laid in a stone sarcophagus.

Who discovered the Serapeum?

The French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, in 1850. He reached the entrance by digging along a line of buried sphinxes.

Also at Saqqara

Monument

Step Pyramid of Djoser

The writing at the Step Pyramid is sparse but early. Here the king's own name, the Horus Netjerikhet, is carved inside a serekh on reliefs of his jubilee race, around 2650 BC; the name Djoser comes from much later visitors.

Monument

Pyramid of Unas

The Pyramid of Unas holds the oldest Pyramid Texts, carved around 2350 BC: columns of hieroglyphs filled with blue paint that cover the king's burial rooms from floor to ceiling.

Monument

Pyramid of Teti

Inside the Pyramid of Teti, first king of the Sixth Dynasty (c. 2345 BC), the walls carry Pyramid Texts in columns of hieroglyphs under a gabled ceiling of stars. It is the second royal set of these spells, after Unas.

Monument

Mastaba of Ti

In the Mastaba of Ti every scene has its hieroglyph captions: you can read what the farmers, boat builders and herdsmen are doing, and sometimes what they say. The reliefs, from around 2400 BC, are some of the finest of the Old Kingdom.

Monument

Mastaba of Mereruka

The Mastaba of Mereruka is packed with captioned scenes and long titles carved in hieroglyphs, in more than thirty rooms. Mereruka was vizier of King Teti around 2340 BC, and this is the largest tomb of any Old Kingdom official at Saqqara.

Monument

Mastaba of Ptahhotep and Akhethotep

Ptahhotep's chapel keeps some of the best-preserved colour of any Old Kingdom relief, with crisp painted hieroglyphs and a long offering list you can read item by item. The tomb dates to the late Fifth Dynasty, around 2400 BC.

Monument

Tomb of Horemheb at Saqqara

The reliefs in Horemheb's Saqqara tomb show him as army commander under Tutankhamun, around 1320 BC, with captions spelling out his military titles. On some figures a royal cobra was added to his brow after he became king.

Museum

Imhotep Museum

The Imhotep Museum, at the entrance to Saqqara, is named after the man whose name is carved on a statue base of King Djoser, the one inscription from his lifetime known to name him. Its well-lit cases hold inscribed finds from the site, a good place to learn the signs before the worn tomb walls.

Where it is

Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.