Their present aspect is that of a wilderness of sand hillocks,
covered with masses of fragments of red pottery, from which the site has
obtained the modern Arab name of _Umm el-Ga'ab_, "Mother of Pots." It
is impossible to move a step in any direction without crushing some
of these potsherds under the heel. They are chiefly the remains of the
countless little vases of rough red pottery, which were dedicated here
as _ex-votos_ by the pious, between the XIXth and XXVIth Dynasties, to
the memory of the ancient kings and of the great god Osiris, whose tomb,
as we shall see, was supposed to have been situated here also.
[Illustration: 065.jpg (right) THE TOMB OF KING DEN AT ABYDOS. About
4000 B.C.]
Intermingled with these later fragments are pieces of the original
Ist Dynasty vases, which were filled with wine and provisions and were
placed in the tombs, for the refreshment and delectation of the royal
ghosts when they should visit their houses at Abydos. These were thrown
out and broken when the tombs were violated. Here and there one sees a
dip in the sand, out of which rise four walls of great bricks, forming
a rectangular chamber, half-filled with sand. This is one of the royal
tomb-chambers of the Ist Dynasty. That of King Den is illustrated above.
A straight staircase descends into it from the ground-level above.
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