Serapeum of Saqqara

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Abstract is: The Serapeum of Saqqara was the ancient Egyptian burial place for sacred bulls of the Apis cult at Memphis. It was believed that the bulls were incarnations of the god Ptah, which would become immortal after death as Osiris-Apis. a name which evolved to Userhapi (ⲟⲩⲥⲉⲣϩⲁⲡⲓ) in Coptic, and Serapis (Σέραπις), in the Hellenistic period. Over a timespan of approximately 1400 years, from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic Period, at least sixty Apis are attested to have been interred at the Serapeum. The earliest burials are found in isolated tombs, as the cult gained importance underground galleries were dug that connected subsequent burial chambers. One of the cult practices involved the dedication of commemorative stone tablets with dates relating to the life and death of the Apis. This data was crucial for the establishment of an Egyptian chronology in the 19th century. It is part of the Saqqara necropolis, which includes several animal catacombs, notably the burial vaults of the mother cows of the Apis. The Greater Vaults of the Serapeum, known for the large sarcophagi for the mummified bulls, are accessible to visitors.

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