Henri Frankfort (1897–1954) was a Dutch-British archaeologist and art historian who directed the Egypt Exploration Society excavations at Abydos between 1925 and 1930. His excavation of the Osireion yielded the most complete archaeological documentation of the monument to date.
His two-volume report, The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos (EES Memoir 39, 1933), provides detailed plans, sections, elevations, and a systematic description of all architectural elements and inscriptions. It remains the primary reference for any reconstruction work.
Frankfort identified the structure as a symbolic tomb (cenotaph) of the god Osiris — a counterpart to the nearby Temple of Seti I — rather than a tomb for the pharaoh himself. He documented the sokar-Osiris mythology encoded in the monument's design and inscriptions.