The History of Egypt Podcast · Dominic Perry

229: The First Egyptologist? Khaemwaset & the Apis Bulls

·24 min

Episode 229 of an Egyptology podcast examines Prince Khaemwaset, fourth son of Ramesses II, who served as Sem Priest of Ptah at Memphis around 1263 BCE. The episode walks through the elaborate Apis bull funeral Khaemwaset led in year 30 of Ramesses II's reign — the mummification process, the funerary procession from Memphis to Saqqara, and the burial in the 'isolated tombs' — then explains how the prince initiated the Lesser Vaults of the Serapium as a more permanent catacomb solution. It also details Khaemwaset's restoration program on Old Kingdom pyramids at Saqqara and Abusir, including inscriptions on the pyramid of Unas, establishing his modern reputation as the 'first Egyptologist'. The episode closes by teasing a follow-up on Khaemwaset's later legendary status as a folk hero in Egyptian literature.

As heard by us

A royal jubilee narrows into an Apis burial where jewellery, shabtis, and a small tomb make devotion feel tangible.

The episode begins with Ramesses II's first jubilee, a thirty-year celebration of ritual, strength, offerings, and royal abundance, before narrowing to the funeral of an Apis bull at Saqqara.

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Why you'd press play

Want to follow an Apis funeral into a small buried tomb before the Serapeum catacombs existed?

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