Research Items
1931; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 128; Issue: 3220 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1038/128119a0
ISSN1476-4687
ResumoCult of the Sacred Bull in Ancient Egypt.—Mr. O. H. Myers contributes to Discovery for July an account of the past season's excavations carried out by the Egypt Exploration Society in the Bucheum, or burial-place of the sacred bull, at Armant, near Luxor. The Baqaria, or burial-place of the mothers of Buchis, near by, was also excavated. The Bucheum was functioning from the thirtieth dynasty to the time of Diocletian. Numerous stelæ in the Bucheum, some in situ, make it possible to assign most of the bulls to the ruler who inducted them, and in the Baqaria the evidence from a variety of sources, in conjunction with that from the Bucheum, enables the mothers of many of the sacred bulls to be identified. The Bucheum is roughly T-shaped, the base of the T being the entrance to a sloping ramp. Many tombs are situated half-way down this ramp but the greater number are along the cross passage. In accordance with Egyptian idiosyncrasy, the earlier tombs are well-made solid sarcophagi cut from one stone and well spaced, but they degenerate through a stage of well-built sarcophagi of neatly dressed blocks to badly dressed blocks and finally to burials in the passage itself. A series of stelæ ranging from the time of Darius III. to Diocletian alleges a personal interest in Buchis on the part of the rulers, including the Roman emperors, and it is stated with doubtful credibility that Cleopatra VI. herself brought the bull up the river from Karnak for his induction. The site has proved disappointing in the matter of the objects found. A Nemes vase in green faience inscribed “Beloved of Osiris Buchis the King Nekht-Hor-Heb” and a fine group of bronzes, including two inscribed situlæ and a Kebeh vase, and stone and faience amulets are the most notable. A good corpus of pottery has been constructed.
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