A Protective Measure at Abydos in the Thirteenth Dynasty *

Abstract

A new edition of stela Cairo JE 35256, discovered at Abydos at the turn of the century, which records a royal edict usurped by Neferhotep I protecting a sacred area dedicated to Wepwawet. The original promulgator of the decree is identified as Khutawyre Ugaf, and it is argued that the area in question is the depression which runs from the Osiris temple to the Umm el-Qa'ab. This served as a processional route between the temple and the tomb of Djer, already identified as that of Osiris, and was threatened by tombs encroaching from the North Cemetery. The development of the cult of Osiris at Abydos is briefly traced, and the importance of the Thirteenth Dynasty in the process emphasised.