Understanding the news: Late Period statue of Osiris found at OldKingdom pyramid site of Djoser

Understanding the news: Late Period statue of Osiris found at Old Kingdom pyramid site of Djoser
Sorry to put a "spoiler" in the headline but I didn't want any misunderstandings about this one - it is about a pyramid after all!
When I first saw this article title I was, to say the least, excited; however, my multidisciplinary science brain kicked in and I examined the article carefully before I drew too many conclusions.
When I saw the statue of Osiris, which is substantial, (it stands around 2ft/63 cm high), I realised immediately that it was bronze[1], and unlikely to have been representative of any contemporary (Old Kingdom) cultic activity at the site, which would have made this a major find. The article states that it dates to the Late Period - when the Greeks and Romans were in Egypt, and Egypt was quite a different place to that known by 3rd Dynasty King Djoser.
However, I'm not hugely disappointed about this because it highlights the fact that activity persisted at the site from the Old Kingdom into the Late Period, and scientific analysis of the object may provide us with further information about this. We may never know why it was secreted into a gap at the base of the pyramid, but Osiris, is a funerary god and this object was found on the western side of the pyramid where the Afterlife was thought to lie.
The pyramid is part of a complex. It's not a standalone entity, but part of a group of buildings. Because usually only pyramids survive, people forget or do not realise this is the case. The site at which this statue by accident during restoration work was found, had a complex that covered approximately 15 hectares.
The pyramid site in this article is the Step Pyramid of Djoser, which is the largest and most significant 'first' pyramid site in Egypt, and it is a hugely interesting site for reasons too numerous to detail here without digressing from the news story entirely.

[1] Although you will see many objects described as 'bronze' from ancient Egypt, usually only those from the Late period actually are bronze, with earlier examples (pre-New Kingdom) being copper (as opposed to an alloy of copper and tin) (more brief info from University College London: )
You might be interested in some of my previous posts on this site:
[The Pyramid Complex of Djoser virtual tour
https://plus.google.com/u/0/115474587731688985845/posts/6CKCm46ZK8n
And of course who could forget:
King Djoser was not an alien
https://plus.google.com/u/0/115474587731688985845/posts/Q8EzdgHuhdQ] [links to G+ posts]
Ok, you're excused, I forgot I wrote that. ;)
Discover more about Saqqara via artefacts
Approximate co-ordinates for Google Earth: 29°52'16.86"N 31°12'59.46"E
Wikipedia Djoser
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-god-statue-discovered-in-first.html


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