Abusir

Abusir is an ancient Egyptian necropolis on the desert plateau between Giza and Saqqara, within the greater Memphite funerary landscape. It is best known for a concentration of Fifth Dynasty pyramid complexes and their associated temples.

The site includes several royal pyramids from the Fifth Dynasty, smaller satellite pyramids and extensive cemeteries of officials and priests. Visitors and researchers can see pyramid cores, mortuary temple remains and many excavated tomb chapels and relief fragments.

Abusir’s main monuments were built during Egypt’s Old Kingdom (Fifth Dynasty, roughly the 25th century BCE) as part of the royal necropolis serving the Memphis area. Archaeological work has been continuous since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Czech archaeological teams have conducted sustained excavations and conservation work at the site from the mid-20th century to the present.

The necropolis sits on the desert edge of the Nile floodplain to the south of modern Giza and north of Saqqara, forming part of the greater Cairo necropolis belt on the west bank of the Nile.

• Abusir papyri: Important Old Kingdom administrative texts known as the Abusir papyri were recovered from temple contexts and provide rare documentary evidence for Fifth Dynasty temple administration.

What to See #

• Royal pyramids and mortuary temples: The complex of Fifth Dynasty pyramid complexes and associated mortuary temples, including visible masonry cores and causeways from Old Kingdom kings.
• Mastaba cemeteries: Extensive cemeteries of officials and lower-ranking tombs dating to the Old Kingdom, where decorated chapel fragments and offering tombs have been excavated.
• Abusir papyri and archives: Concentrations of administrative papyri and fragments found in temple storage areas that document Old Kingdom temple economy and administration.