Much of the original settlement is now lost under modern construction and cultivation but excavations have revealed hundreds of stelae which have yielded a good deal of information about the cult of Osiris. A beaten path still leads from Kom El Sultan to Umm El Qa'ab, showing the way pilgrims took in the past.

At Kom el Sultan a peculiar configura­tion of late period enclosure walls is preserved as part of a large segment of the mound.

circa 3200–1000 BCE

Situated just north of Abydos’ royal cemetery at Umm el-Qaʿab, Kom el-Sultan began as one of Egypt’s earliest mud-brick settlements around the Predynastic to Early Dynastic period (circa 3200–2686 BCE). Initial structures enclosed a precinct that likely served ritual and administrative functions, reflecting Abydos’ dual role as both a burial ground for early pharaohs and a spiritual hub tied to the local deity Khentī-Amentiu. Over time Khentī-Amentiu merged with Osiris, anchoring Kom el-Sultan as a sacred site within the emerging cult landscape.

By the Old Kingdom era (circa 2686–2181 BCE), the precinct had grown into a formal religious enclosure featuring monumental mud-brick walls and chapels, which Miriam’s successor kings maintained as part of royal cult traditions . Evidence shows a path linking Kom el-Sultan to the royal necropolis, suggesting organized pilgrimages and rituals that reinforced Abydos’ status as a locus of Osirian worship . Throughout the Middle Kingdom (circa 2055–1650 BCE), the site continued to flourish — house remains and votive stelae confirm sustained settlement and cultic activity.

Kom el-Sultan’s religious and architectural importance endured into the New Kingdom and beyond. Stone shrine remnants — including a later portal temple from Ramesses II — demonstrate continued royal investment. During the Late Period and Ptolemaic era, the precinct underwent further refurbishment; inscriptions indicate activity through at least the 30th Dynasty, consistent with enduring Osiris cult significance

circa 3200 BCE

Great Mud-Brick Temenos
Kom el-Sultan, situated in northern Abydos in Upper Egypt, is defined by a substantial mud-brick temenos wall enclosing an area of approximately 76,800 square meters. This precinct wall, constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, is one of the most prominent surviving architectural elements at the site. Its southwest section is the most intact, extending for about 327 meters with an average thickness of 7 meters. Surviving portions of this wall stand to a preserved height of over 5 meters above the present ground level, although its original height cannot be determined with certainty due to subsequent erosion and collapse. Early excavators initially applied the name Kom el-Sultan only to the enclosed northwestern corner of the temenos, but more recent scholarship and survey practice have expanded this to describe the entire walled enclosure. This precinct demarcated the ancient settlement and temple complex of Abydos during the Early Dynastic and later periods and reflects a major monumental enclosure at one of Egypt’s most significant cult centers.

circa 3200/3000 BCE

Osiris Temple
The Osiris temple at Kom el-Sultan is recognized as one of the earliest cult centers dedicated to Osiris at Abydos. Excavators working at Kom el-Sultan — including Mariette, Petrie, and Marlar — uncovered substantial evidence for a long sequence of sacred architecture spanning the Early Dynastic period through the Late Period. The core of the temple was built over an earlier sanctuary to Khentyamentiu, a jackal deity of Abydos who was gradually syncretized with Osiris.

Petrie’s excavations revealed architectural remains that he attributed to several phases of Osiris’s temple — starting as early as the 1st Dynasty — and documented continuous building activity down to the 26th Dynasty. Marlar’s investigations exposed substantial New Kingdom and Late Period structures belonging to the Osiris temple proper, including walls, courts, and votive deposits. Other archaeologists, such as Adams, found related settlement layers and cultic installations surrounding the precinct. The temple appears to have been an active Osirian sanctuary over many centuries, developing into a pilgrimage center and commemorative complex. It was enclosed within the large mud-brick temenos wall of Kom el-Sultan, demarcating this sacred precinct as an integral part of the town of Abydos.

circa 2750 BCE

Khufu's Statue
Also known as the Khufu Statuette or the Ivory figurine of Khufu is an ancient Egyptian statue. Historically and archaeologically significant, it was found in 1903 by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie during excavation of Kom el-Sultan in Abydos, Egypt. It depicts Khufu, a Pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty (Old Kingdom), and the builder of the Great Pyramid. This small seated figure is the only known three dimensional depiction of Khufu which survives largely intact, though there are also several statue fragments.