Abydos in the First Millennium AD

Throughout their long histories, Egypt’s monuments have been adapted,

reused and reimagined. At Abydos, the tombs of the first kings became a

locus of the national cult of Osiris, which continued with permutations

into the Roman period. In Late Antiquity, the oracle of Bes drew an

international audience before it was probably closed under the emperor

Constantius II c. AD 359. By the end of the 6th century, Bes was

remembered as a demon, who was vanquished by the famous monk Apa Moses

of Abydos. Until now, the region’s history has been told largely from

the literary sources. Recent fieldwork at Abydos offers deeper and more

nuanced understanding of the region. This volume brings together the

evidence from six major fieldwork projects and the British Museum

collection in order to present the archaeology of Abydos in the First

Millennium AD, when traditional ritual practices were largely replaced

by Christianity and, later, Islam was introduced. Each paper details the

adaptation of earlier architecture, artefacts, or both, including wall

paintings, pottery, inscriptions, papyri and ostraca, and other objects

of daily life.