Mastabat al-Fir'aun

Mastabet el-Fara'un

mastaba, archaeological site

Part of	Memphite necropolis
Culture	Ancient Egypt
Country	Egypt
Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd	Giza Governorate
Ein location	Saqqara
Coordinate location	29°50′20″N 31°12′55″E
Commissioned by	Shepseskaf

De Mastabat al-Fir'aun (Arabic: مصطبة الفرعون Romanised: Maṣṭabat al-Firʿawn), dem sanso refer to insyd Egyptological literature as de Mastaba el-Faraun, Mastabat el-Faraun anaa Mastabat Faraun, wey dey mean "Bench of the Pharaoh") be de grave monument of de ancient Egyptian king Shepseskaf (reign c. 2510–2503 BC), de last king of de Fourth Dynasty dem document to date. E dey locate insyd South Saqqara halfway between de Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara den de pyramids of Sneferu, de founder of de Fourth Dynasty, at Dahshur. De structure dey locate close to de pyramid of Pepi II, a ruler of de Sixth Dynasty. De stone quarry give de structure dey locate west of de Red Pyramid of Sneferu.

Discovery

Dem describe de Mastabat al-Fir’aun for de first time by John Perring insyd de middle of de 19th century. Karl Richard Lepsius sanso sought out de tomb, buh he no carry out any close investigation. Dem carry out de first investigation of de subterranean parts of de structure by Auguste Mariette insyd 1858. Na dem first undertake a proper excavation of de whole tomb complex by Gustave Jéquier insyd 1924 anaa 1925. He sanso be de first to assign de structure to Shepseskaf, as a result of de discovery of a fragment of a stele. Before dis, de tomb erroneously be assigned to Unas, de last ruler of de Fifth Dynasty.

Description

Mastaba

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

De mastaba be 99.6 metres long den 74.4 metres wide. E be around 18 metres high den de sides get an incline of about 70°. For de core structure, dem use de same red sandstone as insyd de nearby Red Pyramid of Sneferu. Very sparse traces of de outer cladding per remain today, buh from dese e fi be concluded say na de lowest layer be clad insyd pink granite den all oda layers be clad insyd Tura limestone.

Substructure

De entrance to de subterranean system of chambers dey locate on de shorter, northern side. A passage plus a slope of 23°30′ dey lead down into de ground. Na e be originally 20.75 metres long, buh secof a collapse e now be 16.3 metres long per. After dis descent, de passage dey continue on de horizontal. Dis portion dey form a small chamber plus a length of 2.67 metres den a height of 2 metres. After dis chamber, three portcullis stones still be anchored insyd de ceiling. At dis point de passage be 1.1 metres wide wey ein height dey decrease to 1.27 metres. De walls den ceiling be clad insyd granite. After de portcullis stones, de height of de passage san dey increase, buh de floor be very uneven, since na e no longer be plastered. After a further reduction of height to 1.2 metres den a total length of 19.46 metres, de horizontal passage finally dey reach de ante-chamber.

De ante-chamber get an east–west length of 8.31 metres, a width of 3.05 metres den a height of 5.55 metres. E get a pointed roof dem make 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 plus a slope of 10°30′ dey extend from ein western end, wey dey lead to de burial chamber. Dis be 7.79 metres long, 3.85 metres wide den 4.9 metres high. E get a pointed granite roof, plus a ceiling dem shape like a barrel vault. Fragments remain of de sarcophagus per, wich dem probably make of greywacke anaa basalt. Na de ante-chamber den burial chamber both be clad plus granite, buh na e no smoothed anaa polished.

Anoda passage dey lead south from de southeast corner of de ante-chamber. E be 10.62 metres long, 1.14 metres wide den between 2.1 den 2.3 metres high. On ein east side der be four small niches wey der be anoda one on de west side, immediately opposite de southernmost of de eastern niches. De eastern niches be between 2.1 den 2.27 metres long, barely 0.8 metres wide den 1.4 metres high, de western niche be 2.65 metres long den 1.16 metres wide.

Tomb complex

Groundplan of de tomb complex insyd Spanish

De mastaba be surrounded by two mudbrick walls. De innermost one be about ten metres away from de mastaba on all sides. E be 2.05 metres thick. De second wall dey encircle de whole funerary area at a distance of almost 48 metres. Ba on de east side of de mastaba be a small funerary temple, of wich de foundations per den a few remnants of de walls remain today. A causeway of wich de upper portion per remain, dem terminate at dis temple. De rest of de causeway den de valley temple no longer be in evidence.

Read further

• Rainer Stadelmann: Die ägyptischen Pyramiden. Vom Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder. 3rd Edition, von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-1142-7.
• Miroslav Verner: Die Pyramiden. Rowohlt, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-499-60890-1.
• Zahi Hawass: Die Schätze der Pyramiden. Weltbild, Augsburg 2004, ISBN 3-8289-0809-8.

External links

• Tomb of Shepseskaf