The Discovery of the Serapeum of Saqqara

The finding of the Serapeum of Saqqara by Auguste Mariette in 1851 was important for more than one reason. It was, in its own right, a discovery of the highest significance, revealing more than a millennium of the history of one of the most important animal cults of ancient Egypt. But it also had a long-term impact on the field of Egyptology itself, bringing to prominence the man who would, before the end of the decade, undertake the refounding of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, fundamentally altering the way in which the archaeological heritage of Egypt would be managed down to the present day. Auguste Mariette (1821-1881). Ironically, as the future ‘gamekeeper’ of archaeology i