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An Egypt mastaba is an element of the
Egyptian architecture consisting in a sepulchral structure that
was built on the ground. The mastabas from the period of the
dynasties (3200-2680 BC) like the one of the Dynasty I in
Saqqara were complex, with numerous storage or compartments and
were copies of the contemporary houses. The Old Kingdom` s
mastabas are more popular; they are an elaboration of the
burial-pit of the pre-dynastic period. The rectangular plan
shape characterizes the typical mastaba which have the walls
built of brick and inward-sloping. The walls have the faces from
slabs of limestone. The roof of the typical mastaba is flat.
Even from the early Dynastic Period the rectangular structures
were chosen as funerary monuments. At the beginning, the mastaba
used to be built on a shaft and in the shaft`s bottom was
placed a tomb. But the mastabas became more complex after the
increasing of the Egyptian craftsmanship. And so the mastabas
included shrines, funerary chapels, and even tables for the
deceased`s cult holding. The Egypt mastabas from the Old
Kingdom have various images and texts, as well as images that
illustrates scenes from the deceased` s everyday life and
hunting scenes. This comparing to the pyramids, the mastabas`
counterparts, which were undecorated. The largest mastaba in
Saqqara is the one of Mereruka who was the Teti I`s Vizier; Teti I was a pharaoh from the 6th dynasty. His wife,
Hert-watet-khet, was married with Mereruka and burried, with her
son, in one of the 32 rooms of her husband`s mastaba. The
entrance` s wall has paintings of Mereruka playing games or
painting. The sacrificial chambers are placed at the Mastaba`s
far end and has 6 pillars. Inside the room was found a statue of Mereruka in an intact shape. |
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