Abydos Cemetery Analysis

The Abydos Cemetery was a burial ground for the ruling elites of Abydos in Predynastic times. “Umm el-Qa'ab”, which means "the mother of pots", is the modern-day Arabic name of the site. (Bard 2008: 109) The cemetery is located in the desert between Abydos and the edge of a mountain range. The burial ground was used from at least the Naqada I period in 3800 B.C. It was the royal cemetery during the 1st Dynasty and was also used by the two last kings of the 2nd Dynasty. The area has been divided into two cemeteries, U and B.
Cemetery U includes the famous tomb U-j, which belonged to a powerful unknown ruler whose influence is thought to have possibly extended as far as Lower-Egypt. Cemetery U contrasts with Cemetery B mainly because the elite
For example, a jar from Umm el-Qaab grave U-239, depicts the unknown ruler with his mace smiting a group of bound captives. There is a similar scene from the painted wall of the Naqada IIC Tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis that is, a “central symbol of kingship, conquest, and domination.” (Baines: 1995, p. 97) These visuals show political power and a separation of classes was being developed. Many other artifacts also reveal a “focus on foreign relations” and power. (Baines 1999) This tomb symbolized a new political order where a state religion was headed by a king. The commonly held beliefs about life after death created a “mortuary cult.” (Bard 2008:
Cemetery U was likely where the ancestor chiefs, possibly 17 of them associated with the rulers who later united Egypt in 3,100-3,000 BC, were buried. (Dickinson 2014: 23) Their graves are larger and more elaborate. The tombs hold massive amounts of pottery and stone pots containing food, drinks, tools, weapons, and personal belongings. As evident in Tomb U-j, elites and their kin literally distanced themselves from the commoners in separate burial grounds. This can be seen in cemetery T at Naqada, cemetery U at Abydos, and Locality 6 at Hierakonpolis. (Kohler 2010: