Don Barone Wrote:
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(Osireion images)
> Now a few of questions.
>
> 1) Do we have clearer images of these designs ?

Yep. (See citation below)

> 2) Have they been translated ?

Yep. (See citation below)

> 3) Do we know for sure if they were put on at the
> time of construction ?

We know for a fact these inscriptions were put on after construction by Seti I and after Seti I's death.

The Central Hall, which these walls surround, was built by Seti I. We know this by the stamping of his cartouches on the foundation bricks which exist in the Central Hall and throughout the monument. But during Seti I's lifetime, only the Sarcophagus Chamber was inscribed (which is inaccessible by the public, and is through the darkened doorway in Picture 1 (Frankfort 1933: 31)).

Afterwards, Seti I's grandson, Merneptah, had the east wall and southern architrave of the Central Hall (partially) inscribed. Other inscriptions include the sloping passages, anterooms and entrance passage to the west of the edifice, containing primarily the Book of Gates text. All of these texts refer to Merneptah, however, and not to Seti I.

> Now since Seti I has been touted as the builder of
> the Osireion, if these heiroglyphs refer to him
> and are original with the building of The Osireion
> then would this not seem to stop any further
> conjecture on who and when built this structure.
> Or am I over simplifying things ?

As far as I am aware, the builder of the Osireion has never been in doubt: it was Seti I, who designed it as a building to complement his piety for the god Osiris, to lie behind his "House of a Million Years," which honoured not only the Osirian triad, but also the national gods of Egypt and his own deified self. It's the only monument of its kind in ancient Egypt, and the subject of my doctoral dissertation.

What has been speculated, but is generally doubted since Frankfort's excavation, is whether the Osireion was built atop an older structure.

Frankfort's excavations in the 1930's pretty well ruled that idea out, IMO, specifically since the east end of the Sarcophagus Room of the Osireion and the west wall of the Temple of Seti I were built at the same time and support one another (as Frankfot noted, when he followed up what appeared to be a "robber's hole" found in the northern end of the east wall of the Sarcophagus Room (he opined the inte was to try and reach the "blind rooms" (Mariette Room K) of the Seti I temple, which have no entrance points(Frankfort 1933:22)). No other foundations below the Seti I foundations have been found, which tends to rule out the monument being places atop an older cult chapel.

The book which you need for sharper images, translations, and overall good information on the Osireion is

Frankfort, H., A. de Buck, et al. 1933. The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos. [[b]Vol. 1[/b]: Texts; Vol. 2: Plates]. EES Excavation Report 39. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

HTH.

Katherine Griffis-Greenberg

Doctoral Candidate
Oriental Institute
Doctoral Programme in Oriental Studies [Egyptology]
Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom