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Welcome to our weekly Devblog!
Today we're going to discuss the posthumous cult of the pharaohs in Builders of Egypt, which is one of the most interesting and fascinating aspects of ancient Egyptians' daily life and religion.
The tombs discovered by archaeologists in Abydos were the burial places of the kings of the 1st dynasty. Some researchers, however, put forward the thesis that these were the so-called cenotaphs (symbolic tombs), and pharaohs are buried in Saqqara, near Memphis. The construction of these tombs has evolved over time. At first, several chambers were dug in the ground, then only one, but a much larger one, in which the king's body was stored in a wooden box. The ceiling of the tombs was made of wooden beams. Above it, a sand mound was built, and a brick wall was built around it. As was customary, sacrifices were made to the deceased ruler. For this purpose, a square was marked out in front of the tomb, surrounded by stone stelae. Inscriptions with the name of the king placed on the tablets allowed archaeologists to identify the owner of the tomb. Gradually, the structure of the tomb also changed, starting with Pharaoh Den (also known as Hor-Den, Dewen and Udimu) - stairs fenced with a stone block began to lead to the burial chamber, and the number of accompanying burials became small.
Mastabas were characteristic for Egyptian architecture monumental buildings in the shape of a pyramid, erected on a rectangular plan, playing the role of a tomb or a symbolic tomb. They were built of dried bricks - a burial chamber was dug into the ground, to which stairs led. The ceiling was laid out of wooden beams and a mound was poured over them. Everything was covered by the above-ground part of the building. Many such structures were discovered at Saqqara, belonging to the king and court officials.
Old Kingdom mastabas were used mainly for non-royal burials. In the times of the Middle Kingdom, great tombs began to be built in the southern part of Abydos, devoted to the posthumous cult of the pharaohs, emphasizing the union of the deceased ruler with Osiris. Over the millennia, they have been almost completely destroyed and their remains covered with thick layers of desert sand. The ancient Egyptians were convinced that there was a life after death. Often the building of the tomb started during its owner’s lifetime. The higher the rank, the richer the interior of the tomb was.
You will have the opportunity to build your first real Egyptian mastaba in mission 4 "Saqqara - Life is a journey, not a destination". This will be the beginning of your adventure with the monuments of ancient Egypt. ;)
Osiris, the resurrected god, patron of the entire underground half of the world which housed the source of new life, and the guardian of vegetation and fertility, reigned over the world of the dead, presented as an abundantly irrigated garden with an abundance of plants. Together with man, his two spiritual elements came into the world - ba, and ka. Ba - the solar soul - was associated with the upper half of the world, a zone belonging to Re, the sun god, and was pictured as a bird with a human head. On the other hand, everyone - the Osirian soul - was associated with the underground half of the world, the Kingdom of Osiris (and thus with the tomb), and was presented in art, inter alia, identical to a living man. After the death of a man, ka took over all his life functions and needed exactly all that human during his lifetime, especially food and drink. The Egyptian concept of paradise pointed to the afterlife as a careless copy of men's life, which was connected with the preparation of appropriate grave equipment and provision of service, posthumous victims.
The fact that the pyramids, or later the mortuary temples were surrounded by gardens, resulted from the Egyptian belief that the immortal ka soul still inhabits the body of the deceased placed in the tomb. Because for his life all goods that served the living man were necessary, hence his house-tomb had to have an environment for relaxation and bringing a number of benefits in the form of, for example, fruit or herbs.
Hope you enjoyed our latest blog with a bit of archaeological and cultural context! Looking forward to your thoughts about today's extensive introduction! Feel free to share them with us in the comments below, at Discord, or on Reddit!
Stay tuned and see you next week Egyptian Builders!
--- Your Team from Strategy Labs ---