Mastabat al-Fir'aun

Coordinates: 29°50′20″N 31°12′55″E / 29.83889°N 31.21528°E / 29.83889; 31.21528
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Mastabat al-Fir’aun (Mastaba of Shepseskaf)
Tura limestone
Height18 m (59 ft) contemporary
Base99.6 m (327 ft) × 74.4 m (244 ft)
Volume148.271 m3 (5,236 cu ft)
Slope~70°

The Mastabat al-Fir'aun (

stone quarry for the structure is located west of the Red Pyramid of Sneferu.[1]

Discovery

The Mastabat al-Fir’aun was described for the first time by

Fifth Dynasty
.

Description

Mastaba

The

Tura limestone. It is readily apparent that the structure consists of two levels. In this respect, the Mastabat al-Fir’aun was modelled on the stepped mastabas of the early dynastic
kings in north Saqqara.

  • The mastaba from the southeast
    The mastaba from the southeast
  • Entrance to the subterranean chambers
    Entrance to the subterranean chambers
  • The northwest corner of the mastaba
    The northwest corner of the mastaba

Substructure

The entrance to the subterranean system of chambers is located on the shorter, northern side. A passage with a slope of 23°30′ leads down into the ground. It was originally 20.75 metres long, but due to a collapse it is now only 16.3 metres long. After this descent, the passage continues on the horizontal. This portion forms a small chamber with a length of 2.67 metres and a height of 2 metres. After this chamber, three portcullis stones are still anchored in the ceiling. At this point the passage is 1.1 metres wide and its height decreases to 1.27 metres. The walls and ceiling are clad in granite. After the portcullis stones, the height of the passage increases again, but the floor is very uneven, since it was no longer plastered. After a further reduction of height to 1.2 metres and a total length of 19.46 metres, the horizontal passage finally reaches the ante-chamber.

The ante-chamber has an east–west length of 8.31 metres, a width of 3.05 metres and a height of 5.55 metres. It has a pointed roof made of granite. A 1.2 m-high (3.9 ft), 1.11 m-wide (3.6 ft) and 1.54 m-long (5.1 ft) passage with a slope of 10°30′ extends from its western end, leading to the burial chamber. This is 7.79 metres long, 3.85 metres wide and 4.9 metres high. It has a pointed granite roof, with a ceiling shaped like a barrel vault. Only fragments remain of the sarcophagus, which was probably made of greywacke or basalt. The ante-chamber and burial chamber were both clad with granite, but it was not smoothed or polished.

Another passage leads south from the southeast corner of the ante-chamber. It is 10.62 metres long, 1.14 metres wide and between 2.1 and 2.3 metres high. On its east side there are four small niches and there is another one on the west side, immediately opposite the southernmost of the eastern niches. The eastern niches are between 2.1 and 2.27 metres long, barely 0.8 metres wide and 1.4 metres high, the western niche is 2.65 metres long and 1.16 metres wide.

Tomb complex

Groundplan of the tomb complex in Spanish

The mastaba is surrounded by two mudbrick walls. The innermost one is about ten metres away from the mastaba on all sides. It is 2.05 metres thick. The second wall encircles the whole funerary area at a distance of almost 48 metres. On the east side of the mastaba was a small funerary temple, of which only the foundations and a few remnants of the walls remain today. A causeway of which only the upper portion remains, terminated at this temple. The rest of the causeway and the valley temple are no longer in evidence.

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Instead of the last sign, which depicts a pyramid, a similar sign without a point signifying 'mastaba' must have actually been used, which cannot be shown for technical reasons.

Citations

  1. ^ [1] Archived 15 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Mastaba of Shepseskaf

Further reading

External links