The Holyoaks in the Holy Land: Tombs of Sacred Bulls and Dinner on the Nile River, Cairo

Entrance to the Serapeum, the tombs of the Apis sacred bulls.

The Serapeum was discovered in 1851 by Auguste Mariette. In case you are wondering, we are talking about the underground catacombs which contain the tombs of the sacred Apis bulls that were sacrificed annually during the reign of Remses II (2686 to 2613 BC).

The location was in Memphis, the first capital of Egypt before Cairo, and tunnels with tombs were carved out of solid rock. The Separpeum contains 24 separate chambers containing the tombs of Apis bulls.

This is what Mariette said about his amazing discovery:

"The work lasted four years. The Serapeum is a temple built without any regular plan, where all was conjecture and where the ground had to be examined closely, inch by inch. In certain places the sand is, so to speak, fluid, and presents as much difficulty in excavating as if it were water which ever seeks its own level. Besides all this, difficulties arose between the French and the Egyptians Governments, which obliged me several times to discharge all my workmen. It was owing to these circumstances (to say nothing of other trials) that the work proved so long and that I was compelled to spend four years in the desert -- four years, however, I can never regret."

Drawing by Auguste Mariette.

Ancient Egyptian writings revealed that animal cults date back to the First Dynasty. The ancients believed that the Apis bull was the incarnation of the God Ptah, the creator of the universe. They also believed that the bull symbolized the king's courageous heart, his strength and his fighting spirit and bull horns embellished some of the tombs.

Only one bull at a time was considered to be the sacred Apis and a replacement could be sought only upon the death of the bull.

The new Apis bull was transported to Memphis on a boat with a specially built golden cabin.

The long, underground hallway was lined with tombs tucked along each side. We were astounded at the size of not only the hallway but the individual tombs. Many questions came to mind: HOW were the ancient Egyptians able to carve each sarcophagus out of one solid piece of granite and HOW were they able to move each weighing up to 70 tons into the tombs? WHAT was their source of light? The ceilings were not darkened with soot so if they had used torches or oil lamps, they were cleaned later.

There are several theories: the first is that they used olive oil in clay lamps because it burned clean and when salt was added, it helped keep the soot to a minimum. Another theory is that they actually had light bulbs because ancient reliefs show what look like ancient light bulbs. Another theory is that the high priests had knowledge of a light-giving source but they were the only ones privy to this information and always kept it secret.

This shows the size of a sarcophagus (a box or coffin) for an Apis bull. It was carved from stone and used as the coffin/box in which the embalmed body of the bull was placed. The bulls were usually mummified in a kneeling position.

Sacred bull Apis. This was found at Sakkara in a chapel next to the processional way
leading to the tombs of the sacred bulls.

Ancient Egyptians did not consider all bulls sacred because there were distinctive features of only those they considered sacred. The bull had to be born from a virgin cow and had to be black with a specific white markings: a white diamond on its forehead, an image of an eagle on its back, double the number of hairs on its tail and a scarab beetle mark under it's tongue. The photo below shows scarab beetles. Let me explain more about these beetles because everywhere we went, vendors were selling amulets of all colors of scarab beetles. So . . . if you were an ancient Egyptian, you probably would have carried around a scarab beetle amulet such as one in the photo below.

Because of its strange life cycle, the scarab beetle was not only a symbol of the sun for the Egyptians but of life itself: an old beetle disappears underground and emerges anew as a youngster. Accordingly, they obsessively adorned themselves with scarab amulets in both life and death. Hundreds of thousands of these artifacts have been excavated in Egypt.

Now that you better understand the significance of the mark of a scarab when ancients were looking for a new Apis bull, let's continue. Egyptians believed that a flash of lightning descended upon the cow from heaven and this caused her to receive Apis or a god incarnate. Once the bull was proclaimed Apis, it was taken to the temple compound where it was purified, stabled in majestic quarters, fed the best foods and given a herd of the finest cows and thus enjoyed a long, pampered life.

The sarcophagi (coffin) in another tomb. When the sacred bull was born, it was to be placed in a sacred temple at Memphis and after death was embalmed and interred in the necropolis.

Mummified Apis bull from the web.

Upon the death of the Apis bull, there was the mourning of his death, the mummification process and a very costly burial and joyful celebrations took place throughout the country when a new Apis bull was found. Tombs with more than sixty animals in separate tombs have been excavated in other locations with chapels built above them.

What was the mummification process? Because organic material decayed rapidly in the the hot climate of Egypt, it was important that the internal organs were removed. To dry out the body, the ancient Egyptians rubbed salt into the corpse. Then other substances such as oils, beeswax and pine tree resins which repel water were then applied. After a long process of many weeks, the body of the Apis bull was carefully wrapped in linen fabric.

Egyptians believed that the bull was the personification of the God Ptah, the master God of Memphis. The sacred bulls were also believed to be the source of divine power.

Each year in Memphis, ancient Egyptians had a week long celebration called the "Festival of the Apis Bull." People gathered as priests lead the sacred Apis bull in a procession and believed that if a child smelled the breath of the Apis, that child would have the ability to predict the future.

The Apis bull was often consulted and asked questions about the future and then offered food. If the bull ate the food, the answer was a "yes" but if it rejected the food, the answer was a "no." The average lifespan of an Apis bull was 14 years.

The sarcophagi of the sacred bulls were highly polished and engraved with hieroglyphics. Some were even decorated with the facade of a palace. Unfortunately, the mummified Apis bulls have been robbed so they no longer remain in the sarcophagi.

The outside of the sarcophagus had symbols which might be for divine protection. Robbers attempted to steal this but because a weight of 80 tons, they were unable to move it. Eventually they gave and left, leaving the lid ajar.

When the sarcophagi were opened, the precision of the inside measurements of the lids and tombs were remarkable. They were cut with such exactness that when a lid was placed on the top of the box, it became airtight. HOW ancients were able to accomplish this is a mystery because the lid was cut from a solid piece of granite as well as the bottom box. were not finished on the outside but inside they were polished and perfectly finished. Scientists have marveled how this could be accomplished because the granite was in one piece. I never cease to be amazed!

These ceremonial burial sarcophagi have given deep insight into Egyptian funeral rituals, as well as the beliefs their pharaohs held about their place in the afterlife.

I love this relief of the Apis bull and am including it one more time for another look.

After a full day of touring famous sites in Cairo, we were treated to a wonderful night dinner cruise on the Nile River. What more could we ask for?

We were eager to sit down and relax while cruising down the Nile. The boat was located in the very heart of the city and it was enjoyable to watch the city light up while we dined on tasty Egyptian dishes.

As we were finishing our buffet dinner, a disk-jockey began playing music and the students began to dance. The next thing I heard was from Travis with a contagious smile, "Come on, Sister Holyoak. Let me teach you the Salsa." "Oh, my, I pleaded . . . do you know what you are asking?"

Long story short: As I got up on the dance floor, the students cheered as I was fumbling all over myself but Travis kept dancing and reassuring me. Finally, the dance was over. Whew! I no sooner sat down when Alexa was pulling me out of my chair and asking me to join her on the dance floor. Once again, I tried to not look like a complete idiot. Fortunately this time the spotlight was not on me as the dance floor filled with students. We were having fun while literally rocking the boat.

To our surprise, and Egyptian dancer appeared in an elaborate costume. He had

a large, hooped skirt and as he twirled around, he lifted it over his head.

For the next half hour, he put on quite the show and dazzled everyone with his
fancy dance steps. Then to our surprise, his skirt an bodice lit up!

I took a video of this and wish I could share it on the blog so photos will have to suffice.

The dancer was full of surprises as his skirt split into two parts
which he kept twirling around as he danced.

The dancer went around the room and asked students to join him on the floor where he attached his skirt over their clothes and had them twirl. I sat there thinking I as safe. Oh, dear! Before I knew, I was in the middle of the dance floor with his fancy skirt twirling around. Fortunately, he stopped me after a few twirls. To say the least, it was quite the evening and certainly one I shall never forget!

Dr. Huff, our director was pulled out of his chair and we knew at this point, nobody was safe.
He was a good sport and again the students cheered. It's great to have a director who is willing to let down his hair. Did I say hair? Whatever!

Dr. Huff thought the dancer was just showing him how he could twirl his skirt of his head but then he put the lit up skirt over his shoulders and asked him to dance.