Auxiliary shrines dedicated to other, less universal, Egyptian deities could be found here as well, including those dedicated to Anubis (Hermanubis), Hermes Trismegistus, the syncretism of Thoth and Hermes, Harpocrates, and others.
Interest in ancient Egypt was revived by archaeological and political events- the discovery in 1851 by Auguste Mariette of the Serapeum at Memphis and the digging of the Suez Canal in 1859- and by the reports of the educated élite returning from the Grand Tour.
The sculpture of the seated scribe was discovered in Saqqara on 19 November 1850, to the north of the Serapeum's line of sphinxes by French archeologist Auguste Mariette.
According to Plutarch, who visited Alexandria, Python of Catana and Seleucus were sent to a serapeum to ask the oracle whether Alexander's body should be sent to Alexandria and the oracle answered positively.