Pyramid of Ahmose I (Abydos)
Ahmose Pyramid · Pyramid of Ahmose at Abydos · Ahmose I Cenotaph Pyramid
Early New Kingdom (18th Dynasty)·Ancient Egyptian (Theban — founder of New Kingdom)·🇪🇬 Sohag Governorate, Abydos South — Ahmose terrace at foot of Anubis Mountain cliffs, Egypt
About
About Pyramid of Ahmose I (Abydos)
Last royal pyramid built in Egypt (c. 5 m base mudbrick core faced with limestone, 53° slope, ruined mound 10 m high at cliff terrace. Part of a huge terraced memorial complex 1 km long: pyramid-temple at east, terraced causeway, ritual shaft, and subterranean curving 'Osiris' tomb under the mountain symbolic of the god's tomb. No burial found — Ahmose's mummy is from Deir el-Bahri cache, tomb is Theban Dra' Abu el-Naga? cenotaph debate ended by Harvey showing Abydos complex deliberately mirrors Osireion ideology.
His queen Tetisheri's nearby pyramid-chapel complex is contiguous. Excavated by Mace 1899, Peet 1920s, Stephen Harvey from 1993. Final transition from pyramid to hidden Theban tomb.
Why it mattersFinal Egyptian royal pyramid; marks ideological shift from pyramid to hidden Theban tomb and Osiris cult at Abydos; links Middle/New Kingdom funerary theology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Location of Ahmose's actual burial — Dra' Abu el-Naga?
- 02Function of curved subterranean tomb
Theories
- 01Cenotaph deliberately at Abydos to claim Osiris kingship after Hyksos expulsion
- 02Harvey: complex is mortuary estate like Old Kingdom pyramid town
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1550–1525 BCE (early 18th Dynasty, Ahmose I year ~22)
- Period
- Early New Kingdom (18th Dynasty)
- Culture
- Ancient Egyptian (Theban — founder of New Kingdom)
- Builders
- Ahmose I (Nebpehtyra)
- Purpose
- Cenotaph pyramid for Ahmose I as Osiris-identified memorial; actual burial presumed at Thebes
- Rediscovered
- 1899 (Arthur Mace) / reinvestigated 1993 Stephen Harvey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 1550–1525 BCE (early 18th Dynasty, Ahmose I year ~22)
Initial construction
c. 1122 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
26.1750° N · 31.9311° E · 85 m · 3 mapped features
Ahmose pyramid mound
pyramid52.5 m cenotaph mound
26.1750° N · 31.9311° EPyramid-temple east
templeMudbrick temple footing before pyramid
26.1750° N · 31.9316° ESubterranean Osiris tomb
tombCurving rock-cut symbolic tomb under mountain
26.1745° N · 31.9302° E
Gallery