Andi Reynolds

Archaeology Final Research Project

After a very long time of reading article upon article on archeology
discoveries, I finally found one that peaked my interest called Tomb Resembling
Mythical Tomb of Egyptian God Osiris Found (MacIsaac|2015|TheEpochTimes.com).
The more I read the more I wanted to know and I ended up looking at several
websites with articles about this discovery and finding it completely fascinating. Ive
always found ancient Egypt interesting, but never really knew about the stories and
beliefs they had. They all seemed so elegant and sophisticated; maybe thats why I
was so drawn. In this final research project I will write 4 main topics: (1) I will write a
brief summary on the Egyptian myth of Osiris, (2) I intend to clarify how this
archaeological site was found, (3) I will describe the excavation with the information
recorded, and (4) I will compare the information Ive learned in class and how I
would excavate to Dr. Zahi Hawasss excavation in the Osiris shaft. My goal for this
project is to further my knowledge of Ancient Egypt through an archaeology aspect.
Osiris Overview
As an illustration on Osiris (Figure 1), he is known as the King of the Dead
and is one of the oldest Egyptian myths. Osiris biography began as a king; he gave
people a code of laws to live by, teaching them agriculture among other things
(Egyptianmyths.com| Isis and Osiris). He was known as a kind and gentle king and

people gladly worshiped the ground he walked on. His jealous brother Set plotted
against him and wanted to be king. Set nailed him inside a box, pored lava on the
box, then threw the box in the Nile River. Osiris wife, Isis went out to find his body in
the Land of Byblos and took it back to Egypt. Set then found the box and ripped
Osiris body into fourteen pieces and scattered them all over Egypt. Isis once again

went out to find his body; this is thought to be the reason

Osiris has many tombs. Anubis, lord of the dead, sewed the
pieces back together, washed the entrails of Osiris, embalmed
him, wrapped him in linen, and cast the Ritual of Life. When
Osiris' mouth was opened his
spirit reentered him. But
nothing that has died, not
even a god, can be in the
Figure 1
(talesfromthebooth.com/Osiris)

was from then on

land of the living. Osiris

Figure 2 (ancientegyptonline.com/Osiris)

over the judgment of souls (Figure 2), and would decide whether you go to the
Blessed Land or condemned to Amit (Gods of Egypt| Osiris |Touregypt.com). In pictures
he is usually seen as a man with green skin and a beard associated with the
pharaoh, wearing a crown with two large ostrich feathers, and legs partially
wrapped like a mummy. In his hands he holds a flail and a symbolic crook. Osiris has
green skin to symbolize death and the power of resurrection, also alluding to
vegetation when he was king (AncientEgyptonline.com| Osiris).
Site Discovery
To begin with, in the 1880s an archaeologist named
Philippe

Virey found the site without finding Osiris Tomb. The two
chambers may have escaped Vireys attention and no one knew
the significance of the site (Griffiths|2015|dailymail.com). The
Osiris Shaft is located under the causeway of Khafre (Figure 3),

and it is

about 30 feet deep (Figure 4). In ancient times people used it for

swimming, and even to the present day many people, including archaeologists,

have been in the shaft without knowing. In 1933 a man named Selim Hassan wrote
about his excavations in Giza and talks about finding
the opening to the shaft. He states that the eastern
side had yet another shaft, about 10.00 m. deep, but it
was flooded. He tried to pump out the water, but says
Figure 3 (messagetoeagle.com|
Osiris tomb)

the spring must have

broken through the rock, for continual daily pumping

over a period of four years he was unable to reduce
the water level

Figure 4 (richardgabriel.info| Hawass:

Osiris)

(Hassan 1944: 193 |Giza pyramids).

Excavation
Henceforth, Dr. Zahi Hawass Director of the Giza
Pyramids and Saqqara went to the shaft in 1999
with a team to see if the water had gone down
and to explore the shaft. To determine the date
of the shaft they decided to send divers down
into the water of the shaft before draining it, to
collect any extant artifacts. Many artifacts were
found leading Hawass to believe the shaft led to Osiris. The team decided to run
pipes down the shaft to pump the water from the lowest level up to the plateau, this
took months. Hawass was then able to search all of the shafts and chambers that
had been below Khafre the whole time. In the side chambers he was able to find
many pottery sherds, ceramic beads, and small servant figurines. Analysis of the
pottery and bones dated this level to 500 BC or the 26 th dynasty. The lab analysis
they used was carbon dating. Badly decomposed skeletal remains were found in the

sarcophagi in Chambers C and G (Figure 5). Based on the style of the artifacts, along
with the sarcophagis shape they were dated to Dynasty 26. Two schist amulets in
the form of Osiris were also found in the tomb. Scarabs and amulets in the shape of
djed pillars date the tomb to the Late Period. In Level 3 was red pottery with traces
of white paint, which can be dated by the style to Dynasty 6, from the end of the
Old Kingdom (Osiris shaft: Giza pyramids|Hawass|1999: 390). This pottery represents
Figure 5 (ancientnearest.org|
Osiris shaft)

the oldest possible datable material in the entire

complex. Zahi Hawass was on a FOX Television Special called "Opening the Lost
Tombs: Live From Egypt" and in that television special he stated, We have found a
burial chamber with four pillars. In the middle is a large granite sarcophagus which I
expect to be the grave of Osiris.., the god (Figure 6). Support for Hawass theory
can be found in New Kingdom texts, which suggest that underground shafts and
chambers were linked with the realm of the god Osiris (Hornung|1990: 115-134).
Furthermore, the tomb was described by having a statue of Osiris standing in a
chapel with a vaulted ceiling and in front it descends about 30 feet into another
room. In this room is another shaft that leads down another 20 feet to the deepest
part of the tomb. A burial chamber lies below the statue, linking the dead with
Osiris. Archaeologists of the Ministries of Antiquities led an excavation in 2015 and
said that the symbolism of Osiris is throughout the building, including a staircase
leading to the underworld, the statue on its island and an empty corridor
symbolizing a river (Griffiths|2015|dailymail.com). They dated this by other tombs that
matched with the time period, along with carbon dating. They say it is to date to the
25th dynasty 760656 B.C. or 26th dynasty 672525 B.C.

Figure 6 (Giza Pyramids: Hawass, Osiris'

sarcophagi)

Excavation comparison
Figure 7 (Ministries of Antiquities, Osiris' tomb)

To start off, I have to say I think Dr.

Hawass and his team did a great job excavating this site, especially under the
conditions they had to work under. And in comparison to what Ive learned in class
and Hawass excavation, there are a couple things I would do differently. However,
in all honestly they are more like nit picking.
First, Hawass and his team sent divers down to collect artifacts without telling
them where or what they thought the divers should look for (Osiris shaft: Giza
pyramids|Hawass|1999:381). For example, if I was the director of the excavation I

would have done a plethora of research on the culture and would know what was
found in previous tombs. I would ask the divers to go down and tell me what the
layout looked like beforehand, then I could give them a sense of direction of where
to look or what to look for. There could have quite possibly been artifacts that were
never found or ruined when they had to pump the water out of the shaft. In
addition, the divers were also not instructed to measure where the artifacts were
found (Osiris shaft: Giza pyramids|Hawass|1999:381). I know that measuring where the
artifacts were located would be a hard task to do under water, but from what Ive
learned in class, measuring and recording where the artifact was found is an
important part of excavating.

Second, Hawass stated; It is my contention that this shaft complex is a

dummy tomb for the god Osiris. He then continues on by saying that the shaft
could have been built by an Osiris cult and the Egyptians of this era were
descending into the realm of Osiris (Osiris shaft: Giza pyramids|Hawass|1999:390). So,
if Hawass thought the tomb was a dummy why would he say on FOX Television (as
shown in paragraph 4) that he thought the shaft contained Osiris grave? Along with, if

this wasnt Osiris skeletal remains then who was in the sarcophagi in the chambers
C and G? If I was excavating this shaft I wouldnt have told a worldwide network one
statement, then put to record something different. Even though Osiris was said to
be He who is permanently benign and youthful, he was also said to have died
around the 6th dynasty (AncientEgyptonline.com| Osiris). With that being said, I still
dont understand how Hawass claimed it was Osiris grave on FOX Television when
he even stated sarcophagi was dated to the 26 th dynasty (Osiris shaft: Giza pyramids|
Hawass|1999:390). In short, there were a couple things I found confusing in this

excavation and would have done differently if I were directing.

In conclusion, I enjoyed researching this excavation and learning facts about
Ancient Egypt I wouldnt have known otherwise. Reading Dr. Zahi Hawass
excavation has made me want to go and explore Egypt for myself. Ive appreciated
all the human history and techniques I was able to learn in this archaeology class. I
hope that one day I am able to travel and see some of this history for myself.