Abusir Papyri facts for kids

Fragments of an Abusir papyrus

Overview of the locations of the different findings around the Abusir necropolis

The unfinished Pyramid of Neferefre at Abusir

The Abusir Papyri are a very important collection of ancient Egyptian papiri. They are the largest group of papyri ever found from the time of the Old Kingdom. This was a period in ancient Egypt's history.

These papyri were first found in 1893. The discovery happened at Abu Gorab, which is close to Abusir in northern Egypt.

They were written around the 24th century BC, during the time of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt. Even though they are mostly broken pieces, they are some of the oldest papyri that still exist today. Many more pieces were found in the same area later on.

What Do the Abusir Papyri Tell Us?

The Abusir Papyri give us a lot of information. They describe how a royal mortuary temple was managed. A mortuary temple was a special building for remembering dead pharaohs.

The papyri include many interesting details:

• They have duty rosters, which are lists of when priests were supposed to work.
• They list all the equipment used in the temple.
• They show daily offerings made to temples in Abu Gorab.
• There are also letters and special permits.

How the Papyri Were Written

The papyri fragments show two different types of writing. The beginning part is written using hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs are the picture-like writing system of ancient Egypt. This part starts with a date that points to the reign of Djedkare Isesi. This helps us know the papyri were made near the end of the Fifth Dynasty.

The broken papyri are written in columns. Each column is divided into three horizontal sections, like rows:

• The first section lists dates and the names of important officials.
• The second section lists the names of people who received things.
• The third section lists the types of meat cuts that were given out. This part is mostly damaged.

The writing on the right side of the papyri talks about how grain was given out. All the writing was done in a style called hieratic script. This was a simpler, cursive form of hieroglyphs. It was written with ink using reed pens on papyrus.

See also

In Spanish: Papiros de Abusir para niños