Finding the God Osiris: Latest Excavations at Abusir and Saqqara

Miroslav Bárta presents the latest results from archaeological research at Abusir and Saqqara, two ancient Egyptian cemeteries. The exploration of several historically essential tombs dating to the Fifth Dynasty sheds new light on the rise and fall of the Old Kingdom empire and the introduction of the god of afterlife, Osiris, into ancient Egyptian society. Presented by the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. About the Speaker Professor Miroslav Bárta is a Czech Egyptologist and archaeologist. He currently focuses on the study of Egyptian late prehistory and the Old Kingdom, a comparative study of civilizations and their rise and fall. He has led excavations at the site of Usli in Sudan and discovered settlements of early Christian communities at the El-Heyz oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert, organized expeditions to Gilf Kebir, where his expedition discovered the possible origins of ancient Egyptian civilization. Since 2010, he has been in charge of interdisciplinary excavations at the pyramid field of Abusir, where under his leadership, many discoveries have been made in recent years, including the tomb of the legendary sage Kairsu, the tomb of the priest Ptahshepses, and the temple of Ramesse II. He is the author of the theory of seven laws explaining the evolution of civilizations. Bárta is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the New York Explorers Club.