Did You Say Serapeum?
When we first arrived at the ticket booth of Saqqara Necropolis, we had the option to purchase add-on admission to additional sights inside the archaeological zone. Aside from the Pyramids of Unas, our tour guide Adel recommended visiting where the "bulls were buried.” Brian and I had no idea what they meant. We decided to follow his recommendation even though we had just met him a few hours before. Sensing our slight hesitation, he assured us that it would be a wonderful experience and this would be on of the most unique sights in Egypt. That was a bold claim that I was eager to find out.
Pyramid of Userkaf and the Pyramid of Djoser in the background.
Saqarra was only the first half of a long day trip. We were already mentally exhausted when we wrapped up our visit to the Pyramid of Djoser and the Pyramid of Unas. I almost forgot about the “bull cemetery” when we returned to the parking lot next to the stepped pyramid. On our way to the Pyramid of Djoser earlier, Adel pointed out an active excavation area: the catacombs of mummied cats. The idea of a bull’s cemetery was not unusual suddenly. However, I still could not comprehend what could be unique about an animal cemetery.
The barren landscape with the Pyramid for Neferirkare, Neferefre, and Sahure on the horizon.
From the stepped pyramid, it was a five-minute drive to the cemetery. It was indeed a rough and forbidden landscape. On the horizon were three other pyramids. They are the Pyramid for Neferirkare, Neferefre, and Sahure, all from the Old Kingdoms. While Saqqara received tens of thousands of visitors yearly, few visited these lesser-known pyramids. They demonstrate just how much tourism potential Egypt has. With the government hoping to double the number of international visitors, lesser-known archaeological sites may receive more financial resources and promotions.
The entrance to Searpeum of Saqqara is surprisingly low-key.
Every tour guide awaits the opening of the express road to Dahshur.
The entrance to Serapeum of Saqqara.
As we drove through the arid landscape, I was in awe by the vastness of the desert landscape. It had to be a massive undertaking to mobilize thousands of workers to build all these monuments. The need to feed and house such large workforces was an achievement of its own. Along the way, Adel pointed out a recently completed expressway connecting Saqqara to the nearby Dahshur archaeological site. This road took the Egyptian government almost ten years to complete, long enough for the ancient people to build a decent-sized pyramid.
Eventually, we parked the car at a large parking lot in the middle of nowhere. There were hardly any distinguishable features besides a couple of new public toilets. I had to ask Adel exactly where we were going. It was a few minutes walk down a dirt trail from the parking lot to a small pavilion. Passed the guard was a staircase descending into the ground. To the side of the staircase was a plaque for this place: Serapeum of Saqqara.
This staircase was the more “modern” entrance from the 8th century B.C.E.
What is Serapeum, you might ask? It is a temple dedicated to Serapis, a Greco-Egyptian deity. Serapis was a syncretic creation, combining the Greek god Zeus and the Egyptian deity of Osiris and Apis. Osiris was one of the most essential deities in ancient Egypt and is regarded as the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and, most importantly, the afterlife. On the other hand, Apis was an ancient deity that manifests as a sacred bull. Apis was regarded as an intermediary between humans and the divine. In ancient Egypt, Apis was a divine concept and a living and breathing bull. The cult of Apis involved elaborate ceremonies and daily rituals around the live bull. A large contingent of high priests and devotees served the sacred cattle like a divine being.
The colossal head of Serapius at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Tunnel to the Ptolemaic section of the Greater Vault.
The Apis bull was said to bear distinctive markings and characteristics identifiable by the priests. When the bull eventually died, there were elaborate ceremonies and public mourning. According to contemporary accounts, the bull was mummified and paraded from Memphis to Saqqara. Initially, the bulls were buried inside individual tombs with an above-ground temple in wooden coffins. At around 1,250 B.C.E., Prince Khaemweset commissioned a catacomb nearby to bury the future Apis bulls. Known as the “Lesser Vault” today, this oldest section was closed to visitors due to unsafe conditions.
Eight centuries later, Pharaoh Psamtik I renovated the temple and a much larger vault, commonly called the “Greater Vault” today. This newer gallery is on such a grand scale that it looks almost modern. It did not take long for us to encounter our first Apis bull sarcophagus. They were massive compared to Pharaoh Una’s sarcophagus we saw earlier. They were awe-inspiring. Made from precious stones like granite, basalt, or diorite, they weight between 40-60 tons without the lid. The walls of these sarcophaguses seemed unnecessarily thick. If the contemporary reenactment was believed, they were in place before the bull's death.
The archaeological reconstruction of the temple complex of Serapeum of Saqqara.
Many vaults had to be reinforced after the 1992 Cairo Earthquake.
Sarcophagus for Apis bull that died in the 23rd year of Amasis II.
The one obvious question was how these giant sarcophagi were moved into place. While it would be easy to claim they were placed here by ''aliens,” the reality was far more interesting. Archaeologists discovered ancient winches, rails, and rollers in the vault. The tunnels are just wide enough to fit the sarcophaguses. They discovered holes in the ground where the wooden rails would be inserted as part of the pully mechanism. Archaeologists estimate that it only took sixteen men to move one sarcophagus into place.
To lower them into the vault, the floor was packed with sand. The sand was dug out from beneath, lowering the sarcophagus gradually until setting onto the stone floor. Despite the “relative ease” of maneuvering these stone sarcophagi, one never reached its intended vault. It was just left in the tunnels for unknown reasons. It honestly made the whole space all the more intriguing. One could not help wondering whether it was due to some mechanical defects or it was abandoned for some more nefarious reasons.
The abandoned sarcophagus was left in the tunnel. We could only speculate the reason why.
The Serapeum was ordered to be closed during the reign of Augustus Cesar, the first emperor of Rome. Legend had it that Augustus was invited to participate in the rite of the worship of the Osiris-Apis bulls. According to a common legend, August derided the practice by claiming he would only worship actual gods, not living livestock! As mentioned previously, Serapis is a creation of cultural fusion in itself. Augustus’s edict demonstrates confidence in his political position as he did not feel the need to appease the traditionalists in Egypt since Augustus reigned over a realm big enough for him to believe in the supremacy of Rome over the more established civilizations like Egypt.
“After this, [Augustus] viewed the body of Alexander and touched it; after that, it is said that a piece of the nose was broken off. But he declined to view the remains of the Ptolemies, though the Alexandrians were extremely eager to show them, remarking, “I wished to see a king, not corpses.” For this same reason, he would not enter the presence of Apis, either, declaring that he was accustomed to worshiping gods, not cattle.”
If you asked ancient Egyptians, I imagine they couldn’t fathom why modern man wouldn’t worship the Apis bulls. I can’t help wondering whether the dominant religions today, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Abrahamic faiths, would eventually go through the same fate in the future. Perhaps people, several thousands of years from now, will walk through the abandoned Vatican crypts and wonder why people of our era regard an elected clergy as a living spokesperson of god. Is it that much more rational than the worship of Apis bull?
The inscription on the Apis-sarcophagus of Khabash.
Since its closure, the Serapeum has suffered many acts of theft and vandalism. Evidence suggests the catacomb was looted in the ancient time. The seals to the individual vaults were broken into; all the treasures and the bull’s remains were taken. In their bid to root out paganism, Christians deliberately vandalized the vault by scraping off the inscriptions of the bull’s sarcophagus and smashing the commemorative stelae. They even placed stacks of stone on top of the lids to prevent the resurrection of the Serapis cult.
Inscribed Apis-sarcophagus in the Ptolemaic section of the Greater Vaults.
The newest sarcophagus in the seraphim is located at the end of the Great Vault. Dated to Cleopatra's or her father's reign, Ptolemy XII Auletes, this sarcophagus is unique as it was the only one with original inscriptions intact. Because this is the most fabulously decorated sarcophagus in the Serapium, they constructed an accessible staircase to allow visitors to get up close to see the inscription. The sides of the sarcophagus were incredibly smooth, which is a testament to the enormous skills of ancient craftsmen. Curiously, this sarcophagus was not considered finished. Notably, the cartouches were not filled in, so it is hard to confirm whether this bull was from Cleopatra's reign.
Inscribed Apis-sarcophagus in the Ptolemaic section of the Greater Vaults.
A few commemorative stela appeared to survive.
Niches in the "service tunnel" that once held stelae.
While the Serapeum was looted in antiquity, plenty of artifacts of lesser monetary value were left inside. When French archaeologist Auguste Mariette rediscovered the place in 1850, the most significant artifacts that could be easily removed were cataloged and sent to France. Mariette was in Ergypyt to collect manuscripts in the Middle East on behalf of the Louvre. When unsuccessful in the mission, he made a side trip to Egypt and “accidentally” discovered the Serapeum and other tombs. He became a successful Egyptologist inadvertently. Among the items he collected were thousands of statues and commemorative stelae. After this visit, I want to visit the Louvre to admire the artifacts from the Serapeum.
Niches in the "service tunnel" that once held stelae.
The lid for the Apis-sarcophagus of Amasis II was relocated to the main entrance.
It should go without saying that the “foreign exploitation” of Egypt’s antiquities is a controversial subject. Much of the early archaeological expeditions in Egypt were funded and led by Western governments or institutions. Egypt had neither the financial resources nor the expertise to undertake complex excavations. King Tut’s tomb aside, many of the most famous Egyptian artifacts are now in Paris, Berlin, New York, and London. While there aren’t many requests for restitution from the Egyptian government, it is still a sore issue among many Egyptians. Fortunately, there is no shortage of expertise nowadays among Egyptians.
I recently watched the documentary Unknown: The Lost Pyramid and Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb on Netflix. It was clear that Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s leading archaeologist and the first Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, took pride that Egyptians were in charge of their heritage from then on. While this was fundamentally a good development, many foreign archaeologists have accused Hawass of stonewalling or sabotaging non-Egyptian-led projects. Fair or not, these allegations unfortunately became a legacy of colonialism.
Serapeum is undoubtedly the most fascinating sight in Saqqara.
At the end of this long day, I told Adel that he was right. Even though the Serapeum of Saqqara is one of the smallest archaeological sites we visited on this trip, it is genuinely one of the most intriguing places I have ever visited. The quirkiness of the Apis cult is not only thought-provoking, but it also reminds us of the enormous powers of organized religion. This visit made me understand the draw of Egyptology. The intersection of the ancient belief system and their engineering triumph makes Egypt the most popular travel destination in Africa.
