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The Osirion, Abydos The Osirion is located at Abydos, behind, below and connected to the Temple of Seti I. When  archaeologists like Flinders Petrie and Margaret Murray were working at Abydos in the early 20th century, they discovered the Osirion by accident while excavating Seti’s Temple. The Osirion was originally constructed at a much lower level than the foundations of Seti’s temple, and although orthodox Egyptologists regard the two as contemporary, there is ample evidence that this is definately NOT the case. This evidence will be discussed later in this section. The Osirion is also known as the Tomb of Osiris, just as Seti’s temple is known as the Temple of Osiris . Abydos was the chief seat of worship of Osiris, Lord of the Underworld. Osiris, his sister Isis, and their son Horus were fundamental figures in the religion of ancient Egypt – they were neterw, a race of devine beings that ruled Egypt from way before the 1st Dynasty, from a period known as Zep Tepi, the “First Time”. Below is a diagram of the layout of the Osirion, “borrowed” from The Traveller’s Guide to Ancient Egypt, by John Anthony West. The Osirion was orignally meant to be entered from the Transverse passageway leading from the back of Seti’s temple, but nowdays the passageway is not open to the public, and the tourist must exit Seti’s temple at the rear, climb up, and approach the Osirion from above at modern ground level. The first thing that strikes the visitor is the enormous size of the red granite  blocks used in its construction, and it is easy to draw architectural parallels with similar megalithic structures, like the Valley Temple, and the Sphinx Temple at Giza. The similarities are inescapable – the stark and simple megalithic design, the lack of prolific inscriptions, and the fact that some of the larger stone blocks weigh up to 100 tons.