mastabas of the old kingdom@ saqqaa The tomb of Nyankhnefertem also known as Temi
mastabas of the old kingdom@ saqqaa The tomb of Nyankhnefertem also known as Temi
Firstly, note that in the hieroglyphic version of his name, seen above,
the “”nefertem”” or “”nefertum”” portion comes first and the “”nyankh”” part comes last.
The funerary complex discussed here belongs to the funerary priest Nyankhnefertem
also known as Temi (his friendly name)
It was discovered in 1997 at Saqqara, below the west part of the
surrounding wall of the step pyramid of Djoser, to the east of the “dry
moat”, by the Polish mission of Saqqara, controlled by Prof. Karol
Myśliwiec.
This discovery followed shortly after the one of the vizier Merefnebef
(also known as Fefi)
it’s neighbour, just to the south
THE TOMB COMPLEX
The archaeological layers of the Old Kingdom were concealed under a
thickness of several metres of sand, soil and rubble, in which were
scores of newer burials, essentially dating of the Ptolemaic period,
which added to the hundreds previously discovered.
Some of the burials lately discovered revealed interesting funerary
material, like a girl of about twenty years of age, whose mummy was
accompanied by a magnificently paint wooden canopic chest, surmounted by
a falcon with two tall feathers on its head (see canopic chest).
There was also a statuette, also in multicoloured wood, representing a
mummiform image of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris – Another girl, between 15 and 18
years of age, carried on her mummy a beautiful two part cartonnage: a
gilt mask on her face and a large usekh necklace on her chest .
In the levels going back to the Old Kingdom, three chapels dating
from the end of the 6th Dynasty have been discovered, revolving around a
common courtyard, situated to the north of the one of Merefnebef, with
which it joins. Some funerary shafts are connected to them, but their
relationship with the chapels is not obvious, because none of them are
finished and all have been reused during the time toward the end of 6th
Dynasty and\or in the Greco-Roman period.
The three chapels which share the same courtyard – is No.15 (the one of Nyankhnefertem, which is the subject of these pages),
No.16 (anonymous, but fairly advanced)
and No.17 (uninscribed, and at the stage of rough hewing).
They present an architectural and structural consistency, making it
possible to consider them as belonging to the complex of Nyankhnefertem,
without knowing if the occupants were his family members (eldest son?
wife?).
Obviously No.15 preceded the other two.
The deluges of rain which marked the end of 6th Dynasty flooded all the
chapels, forcing the abandonment of the cult worship which was carried
out there. It is also during this period that the surface mastaba
collapsed and when the funerary shaft No.89 was dug.
Besides the very important work of restoration, the archaeologists protected the chapels of Merefnebef and Nyankhnefertem
as well as chapel 16
by constructions made from bricks
Chapel 15 – In general
This represents the one of Nyankhnefertem, also known as Temi, which
is the subject of the following pages – The total funerary complex is
composed of four elements: the chapel 15 dug into the cliff, originally
surmounted by a mastaba, via which were annexed two funerary shafts
The mastaba of mud bricks was built on an already existing thick
layer of sand and gravel, etc. This type of mastaba should not be
confused with those of Mereruka, Kagemni, Nikauisesi and many others,
which included within them the actual chapel chambers, often with the
access to the burial shafts being located with one of the chambers.
Today, that of Nyankhnefertem is almost completely destroyed, but the
remains shows that it was the same as the adjoining tomb of Merefnebef,
especially regarding the orientation, the direction and size (10.60m
by 8.00m, or 20 by 15 cubits). Virtually no other details are known,
except that its west wall, the one closest to the coving of the cliff,
into which the entrance and chapel chamber was excavated, had been
supported by a bed of stones, which was not the case with the one of
its neighbour – The area above the entry to Merefnebef’s chambers
actually collapsed and totally enclosed the entry and front part of the
courtyard.
Two shafts, one of these is funerary (shaft No.77), the other ritual
(shaft No.52) are associated with this tomb. A skeleton was found at the
bottom of the first, but it is not the one of Temi. These shafts will
be detailed more fully –
The rock-cut chapel chamber, situated down
below, entered through the rock face, is approached by a courtyard. The
distance between the southern end of the entry facade wall of this
complex and the northern end of that of Merefnebef is 5.10m. Unlike
the one of its neighbour, the facade is not decorated apart from the
long banner of text which overhangs the entry. The entry opens up almost
in the centre of the facade, a little towards the south (right) and
provides a small uninscribed corridor leading into a single chamber. This
inner chamber, which measures 6.53m by 2.83m, with a height of 1.90m,
presents an irregular shape: none of the walls which face each other are
actually parallel to the axis (see the plan above), which is especially
obvious for the west wall (the entry wall) which curves roughly inwards
from both ends (the entry forming the narrowest part of the chamber),
but flattened and almost parallel with the east wall at its extremities. The rocky ground, which remained irregular after the work carried out by the quarrymen, was levelled by means of a layer of mud. At
the time of the discovery, an offering table (actually a large
decorated flat stone) was almost in the centre of the room, to where it
had been moved by looters, from the bottom of a false door, its original
position. The north part of the chamber was also full of rubble coming
from the content of a neighbouring funerary shaft (No.89) belonging to a
later burial: the layer of rock which separated them, which was too
fine, didn’t resist the collapse of the north wall of the chapel. The
accident can be dated to the end of the 6th Dynasty or the First
Intermediate Period. The funerary complex of vizier Merefnebef exercised on the one of its neighbouring Nyankhnefertem a considerable influence and served as an indisputable model.
However, both monuments also contain significant differences which
translate as the evolution of the social and political context, as well
as the new fears which emerged in the few decades which separate them. Work
in the three chapels 15,16 and 17 certainly started toward the middle
of the reign of Pepi I, whereas the mastaba of Merefnebef, achieved in
the first part of the 6th Dynasty, probably under Teti, was still in
use, i.e. visited by members of the family.
Chapel 16
This opens up in the north wall of the courtyard. Its placement
in the courtyard would have followed shortly after the one of
Nyankhnefertem. The facade (4.36m by 2.33m) includes at the summit the
remains of a banner consisting of a formula of offering. The owner’s
name has disappeared with the west extremity of the inscription. The
inside of the chapel, which measures 9.00m by 2.40m, includes a main
chamber, an annexe and a serdab. There are no inscriptions or
decorations. It seems that the unknown occupant of the funerary shaft
No.59, which is in the north-west corner of the courtyard, preferred to
use this abandoned chapel for his funerary cult because it was
nevertheless a lot more advanced than the nearer chapel 17; it was
probably he who dug the niche which is in the west wall of the main
chamber.
Chapel 17
This dates from the same period. Its entry is immediately to the left
of the one of chapel 16 – As already mentioned, close by, in the
north-west corner of the courtyard, opens up a large funerary shaft,
No.59. The incomplete facade measures 4.50m by 2.15m. The entry gives
access to an oblong irregular chamber of 4.40m by 2.41m. The monument
is completely uninscribed.
THE DECEASED AND HIS FAMILY
The owner: Nyankhnefertem
His name means “life belongs to Nefertem”, this is often replaced by its abridged form: “Temi”.
As noted previously, in the hieroglyphic version of his name, seen
left, the “nefertem” portion comes first and the “nyankh” part comes
last.
His titles mentioned in the chapel are : 1. Overseer of the royal meal 2. Overseer of the noble places of the Great House 3. Overseer of linen 4.
Assistant supervisor of the god’s servants (funeral priests) of the
pyramid of Unas (actually written and often known as “Wenis”) 5. Guardian of the king’s property 6. Divine servant of the pyramid of Unas 7. Divine servant of the pyramid of Teti 8. Head steward of the Great House 9. Head steward of the king’s house 10. The one privy to secrets 11. The one privy to the secrets of the House of the Morning 12. The one privy to the secrets of the god’s words 13. The one privy to the king’s secrets in his every cult place 14. The one privy to the secrets of his god (= the king) every day 15. Sole companion 16. Companion of the house 17. Companion of the Great House 18. Inspector of the royal estate 19. Inspector of the Great House 20. Inspector of […] of the Great House
Among all these titles, those appropriate to the funeral temples of Unas and Teti
are the most meaningful, while the epithet “sole companion”, very
important in previous times, but no longer in the 6th Dynasty, was an
honorary title serving to indicate appointment to the nobility. For the
record, “Per-aa”, the “Great House”, designates the
royal palace; from the 18th Dynasty it also designates the sovereign
himself (from which we get “Pharaoh”), or as is said in modern times the
“Royal Palace” or the “White House”.
The family
A tomb is more than just a place of burial, it
is also a place of memory, whose management was submitted to
constraints, often contradictory and sometimes opposing, of the royal
ideology, of the will of the deceased and his family’s aspirations
(Carlos Moreno Garcia) .
His wife
From the scenes and inscriptions, Nyankhnefertem had only one wife, named Seshseshet , who held just the following two titles: the “king’s acquaintance” and “Priestess of Hathor, Lady of the sycamore”.
His sons
Among the children, the eldest son, Meruka (and on the facade banner , which would actually translate as Meruk), plays important roles: “wab-priest of the Great House” and “inspector of the king’s house”,
he is represented in seven scenes. His special place is manifested by
two iconographic occurrences (which are a lot more important than in the
text). On the one hand, he is the only one to be represented in his
father’s model (wig, loincloth, etc.) ; on the other hand he is also the
only one who has the privilege to have his feet placed along side those
of his father.
The other sons are: Djawy : he is found in only two scenes and his only function given in the tomb is “under-supervisor of the Great House”. Tjetji :
he is also found in only two scenes and his only function given in the
tomb is “functionary and attendant of the Great House”. Mereri and :
Nyankhnefertem probably had three sons of this name, who is found in 4
scenes. Two of these are on the east wall, but the name of one of these
images has been altered to Mereri, whilst in the other a child named
Mereri appears both in front and behind their father. In these he is
depicted as naked, possibly representing him as the youngest. Only once
is he identified with a title (on the west wall) : “[…] of the Great House” (note that the first part of this title is missing). These three sons named Mereri pose a problem,
notably the two younger brothers which seem to have to fight to
emphasise their rights (whether real or not is another problem). At
least one of them tried to usurp (clumsily) part of the decoration.
Nevertheless, all three seem to have had brilliant careers, with even a
vizier amongst them. All have a tomb in the surroundings of the pyramid
of Djoser. Karol Myśliwiec dedicated a special article to them: “The
mysterious Mereris”, see bibliography.
His daughters
Two daughters are pictured and identified in only one scene, on the south wall, standing in front of their seated parents: They are Metjut and Khenut .
In the hieroglyphic naming of the daughter Metjut, the “w” hieroglyph
(used as “u”) is missing. Before each of their names is written “His
daughter, his loved”. This is followed by the only thing known of them,
their title, which is the same in both cases: “acquaintance of the
king”.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DECORATION
In the decoration of the four walls of the
Nyankhnefertem chapel chamber is similar to that of the main cult
chamber of vizier Merefnebef, but with several small differences, the
main one being that the decoration is incomplete. Only the northern part
was both carved and painted. The rest of the reliefs, sometimes coarse,
were not painted. Each side is occupied by a large original
painting, except the north wall which is extended on to part of the west
wall. Each has its own pattern border. Apart from the zone of the three
false doors on the west wall, Here there is a wide uninscribed band
(about 0.65m) between the bottom of the tables and the floor. Most of
the figures and hieroglyphs are in raised relief, but not all, though
logic can be generated underlying it.
THE FACADE
Like that of Merefnebef, which is only 5.10m away (towards the
right, see the plan above), the facade is in a recess in the cliff. It
measures 5.45m in length and the average height, between the ground and
the top of the upper band is recorded as 2.35m, the lower part of the
south side of the entry (on the right) where its base merges into the
rocky mass of the court. The cliff in which it was excavated (and on
which was erected the mastaba) forms a kind of awning extending beyond
the front wall by 0.68m. The designers have done their best to try to
make it look like the facade of that of its famous neighbour, imitating
its tripartite arrangement. It is clear that the two panels underneath
the banner, on either side of the entrance, were intended to be
engraved, since the rock was smoothed and mortar was used to seal some
cracks. But the decoration has never been achieved, maybe because of the
owner’s early death. The banner is treated as a pseudo-lintel, 0.50m
high, the inscriptions running from left to right. Large sections of
the inscription have suffered from weathering, particularly above the
entrance. The composition of the inscription, just like the shape of
the hieroglyphs, imitates those of the facade of Merefnebef: for
example, at the end of the inscription (left) is a representation of the
deceased standing with his wife and their eldest son, all turned
towards the south, however, the son’s head is turned towards his parents
(see the image opposite), the left hand end of the banner joins
against the banner of the facade of chapel 16 (see LXIIIc).
Nyankhnefertem is wearing a broad necklace and a kilt with a
projecting frontpiece, and is holding a long staff of office, which his
son grabs with a hand. Seshseshet places an arm around the shoulder of
her husband. Here, as mentioned above, his son’s name is written with
the hieroglyphic “k” and not the usual “ka”. Note: the hieroglyph
representing a sledge, “tm” (Gardiner u15), intended to write the Temi
nickname, has been altered deliberately, without a doubt after the
owner’s death . Other identical cases will be found inside the monument
and it will be seen than it represents a deliberate attempt to
ridicule the deceased. The text is in four horizontal rows (top
down), with the identification of Temi in a vertical column in front of
the family image and that of the the son is written above and in front
of him. Note should be made that the wife in not named in the text. Translation : (1)
“An offering which the King gives and Anubis, ‘Foremost of the Divine
Booth’, ‘Who is in embalming place’, ‘Who is upon his hill’, lord of
the Sacred Land, that he may be buried in the necropolis in the Western
Desert, after he has become exceedingly old […] as a honoured one by
the great god, and an offering which Osiris gives, Lord of Busiris,
that he may travel upon the beautiful roads upon which honoured ones
used to travel before the great god. (2) An offering which Osiris,
Lord of Busiris gives, (namely) an invocation offering for him, on the
Opening of the Year Festival, the Festival of Thot, on the Beginning of
the Year Festival, the Wag Festival, Festival of Sokar, the Great
Festival, the Festival of Min, the Beginning of the Month and Beginning
of Half-month Festival […] on (every) festival, every day, in eternity
as (for) a honoured one by Anubis, Lord of Burial in the necropolis. (3)
He is honoured by the king, the one who is honoured by the Great God,
the one who is loved among the people, the one who does justice which
is beloved by the god. I was the one who spoke well and reported well,
the one who did what the god likes. I was the one who caused peace and
who lived in a state of reverence. I revered my father and my mother. (4)
God’s servant of the pyramid of Unas, sole companion, privy to secrets
of the king in all his cult places, inspector of the Great House,
companion of the house, privy to secrets of the House of the Morning,
inspector of […] of the Great House […] overseer of the king’s repast,
overseer of the noble places of the Great House […] overseer of linen.” (5) “Companion of the Great House, Temi.” (6) “His eldest son, his beloved, Meruka.”
The Entry
This measures 0.54m wide, 1.87m high with an approximate length of
1.00m. It is accessed by a 0.12m raised threshold of small blocks of
limestone. Neither the left nor the right walls are perfectly vertical,
and both are damaged and completely uninscribed. The south wall has
benefited from repair with the insertion of blocks in the middle
friable zone – The ceiling was painted in dark red, dotted with black
spots, in imitation of the famous Aswan granite. This pattern is also
found on the ceiling of the chapel chamber itself, as can be seen in
view – which also shows the appearance of the room at the time of the
discovery of the tomb, filled with debris from the collapse of part of
the north wall, which will be examined in detail later It is possible
that the owner planned to complete the decoration of this entry and
that of the facade after completion of interior work.
The East Wall
This is the facing wall on entry to the inside of
the inner chamber. The decoration, which takes up the entire length of
this wall, repeats the composition found on the facade of the Merefnebef
complex. The presence here of the procession of multiple figures of the owner is unique in the tombs of the Old Kingdom. Several reasons could explain the migration of these scenes to the inside of the chapel.
Firstly, the facade is the place most exposed to natural erosion, especially as the stone is of poor quality.
Secondly, because of political and social
upheaval, times have become more troubled, especially after the brief
period on the throne of Userkare, who was probably a usurper. Thus, for
fear of deliberate damage, Egyptian owners of tombs increased the number
of representations on the walls of the chapel and the number of statues
in the serdab (Nyankhnefertem did not however have a serdab) ; they
would even place them at the bottom of the funerary shaft, where they
believed they would be better protected.
Finally, in the particular case of
Nyankhnefertem, another consideration surely comes into play: he
certainly saw how little some of the heirs of Merefnebef carried out the
will of their father, which was worrying, and he tried to prevent the
same thing happening to his chapel. He thus produced this very well
studied composition, where each one’s place in the family hierarchy is
specified, more by iconography than in the text. So, to protect the
scene and ensure that his will be better respected, he decided to place
what is seen as the main scene of his chapel in what he considered as
the best place, immediately visible to all visitors, giving it the
exclusive rights on this wall.
The total wall measures 6.53m in length, with a height of
1.90m. The decorated area takes up the full width, with a height of
about 1.20m. There is a a small undecorated area at the top
(approximately 10cm in height) and a blank dado area (about 0.60m in
height), extending from the bottom of the imagery to the floor. The
decorated area of wall is divided into two symmetrical parts, each with
four representations of the deceased striding, staff in hand, towards
the centre of the wall. Stylistic details in the treatment of his face
show that each half of the wall was created by a different artist (or
group of artists). Each of the eight sections are created to the same
model: a 0.93 to 0.96m representation of Temi. In front of each image of
him, to the height of the display, is a vertical column of text which
includes his titles and epithets. Each image is accompanied by one or
two members of his family, each of whom also have a small identifying
caption. Each column should have been bordered by a line incised
vertically, but this is not always present. Sometimes these are replaced
by traces of black paint. At the top of the area is a large horizontal
banner of text (actually two, one above each of the two groups of four
images). They each begin at the centre of the wall and extends
symmetrically to either side. Remains of multicolours are only found
on the four images of the north side and in scene 6 (of the south side),
but curiously, there was never any white paint on the wall, which is
particularly striking in terms of the kilts worn by the various figures:
the anomaly is probably related the fact that the work was not
completed.
On entering the chamber, immediately in front of the visitor,
can be seen the double vertical column of hieroglyphs. These are the
result of the fact that the four figures of each side are preceded by
the title text and this is the junction of the two groups. Thus the two
leading images of the deceased, accompanied by his eldest son (right)
and his wife (left), face each other. These images of the deceased are
based on those found at the tomb of Merefnebef, but the other
representations vary slightly in visual design.
Nyankhnefertem is represented in a stereotypical manner except
in scene 4, where he appears with a few different personal features.
Apart from this scene, only the hair changes, sometimes he has a small
curly wig (accompanied with more juvenile facial features) and sometimes
a wig which extends down to his shoulders. He wears a short beard, a
blue painted broad necklace and a relatively short kilt, not even
reaching down to his knees. This kilt has the usual front section which
projects forward, associated with higher ranking men. The only exception
is scene 4, where he wears a tight fitting kilt. In one hand he holds a
long staff of office, in the other hand he grasps a folded piece of
cloth. Here again, scene 4 is the exception, where he holds a sceptre
not a folded piece of cloth.
In these scenes, Nyankhnefertem is always accompanied by at least
one character, sometimes two, always represented smaller than himself:
his wife, Seshseshet, is present twice, and his eldest son, Meruka,
four times. The importance of these two characters is reinforced by
their position on either side of the middle line of the wall. Meruka
has other privileges: he is always represented alone with her father,
and he is also the only one to hold a piece of cloth in his hand, and
also the only one to wear a wig which extends down to his shoulders,
but not as long as that of his father in four of the scenes.
One of the most remarkable things is that in this wall is the attempt to render the images in three-dimensions
(although not in perspective) by the position of the main character
and secondary figures at different levels. This is to differentiate,
for the observer looking at the scenes face-on, the positional presence
of characters to the right or left of Nyankhnefertem. In Egyptian
artistic conventions, the figures represented in front of the tomb
owner, means that they are standing beside him on the off side (these
are set on a higher level than the main figure). Those represented
positioned behind him, are on his closer side to the viewer, these are
shown standing on the same level as his feet. The only exception is
that of his eldest son, Meruka, in scene 5, where he is depicted in
front of his father, striding in front of his legs. This exception is
possibly to be interpreted as expressing the eldest son’s predominant
position in the family. Both representations which include
Seshseshet (scenes 2 and 3) : she is portrayed above ground level,
crouching, her left hand is folded across her chest, her right hand
rests on her thigh
Scene 1 : the upper text band
This is actually two bands, one above the northern section of
the wall and one above the southern. Each part of the inscription, both
of which start at the centre of the wall (actually very slightly offset
to the right), has a different version of the offering formula: Northern band (to the left, above scenes 2 to 5) : “A
offering which Osiris gives, Lord of Busiris, Lord of the Thinite Nome,
(namely) an invocation offering for him on the Opening of the Year
Festival, the Festival of Thot, on the Beginning of the Year Festival,
the Wag Festival, the Festival of Sokar, every festival, every day,
eternally, (namely for) the inspector of the Great House,
Nyankhnefertem.” Southern band (to the right, above scenes 6 to 9) : “An
offering which the king gives and Anubis, Foremost of the Divine Booth,
Who is in the embalming place, Lord of the Sacred Land, Who is upon his
hill, that he may be buried in the necropolis in the Western Desert,
after he has become exceedingly old, (namely) the inspector of the Great
House, Nyankhnefertem.” North side, scenes 2 to 5
Scene 2
Here the major figure wears a short wig and the normal kilt; the
accompanying column of text identifies him as “Inspector of the Great
House, overseer of linen, Nyankhnefertem”. In front of him squats his wife, wearing a tripartite wig, identified as “his wife, his beloved, Seshseshet”. Behind
him stands one of his sons, holding the calf of his rear leg. Part of
his accompanying inscription was deliberately hammered out, the region
of the name was covered with mortar on which clumsy hieroglyphs have
been drawn in red. This today reads, “his son, his beloved […] Mereri”
The son’s head was also reworked. Presumably at some point (possibly
after the death of his father?), a young Mereri acquired (or was given) a
more important role in the family and dislodged one of his brothers
who had this prestigious position.
Scene 3
This time Nyankhnefertem wears a long wig and is accompanied by his
wife and his son Djawy. Here the main column of text states: “Inspector
of the king’s house, privy to secrets of the king in his every
cult-place, Nyankhnefertem.”. His wife, Seshseshet, again squatting
and wearing a tripartite wig, is identified as before. She is here
represented younger, whereas in scene 2, when she had assumed a role as
a mother, was shown more mature. Here the work is very poor, an
ill-proportioned torso, hands made in haste and the ear non-incised
The son is identified as “His son, his beloved, under-supervisor of the
Great House, Djawy”.
Scene 4
Here, Nyankhnefertem is holding a kherep sceptre and, for the
only time on this wall, he wears a tight fitting kilt. The accompanying
column of text states: “Sole companion, privy to secrets of the House of the Morning, whose great name is Nyankhnefertem”. This
time he accompanied by two sons, both with the same name. The one in
front holds onto his father’s staff with one hand and with the other an
unnaturally large bird with an out of proportion high crest on its head.
He is: “his son, his beloved, Mereri”. The one standing behind and
holding the calf of his father’s leg, is his: “son, his beloved,
Mereri”. Note that both of these sons are named Mereri.
Scene 5
This scene is remarkable for its quality of execution and was
probably intended to serve as a model for the rest of the composition.
In particular the treatment of Nyankhnefertem’s face, that of his hand
grasping the staff, and the son’s wig, are of high quality and reflect
the quality of a true Master. The son, who wears a kilt like that of his
father in this scene, is the eldest, Meruka. His status as heir is
further reinforced by the unique way that one of his feet is partially
covered with that of the front one of Nyankhnefertem. There is no better
illustration of the phrase “walking in the footsteps of his father”. It is also possible that he held a kherep sceptre in one hand, which was skilfully removed. The main column of text states: “Inspector of the king’s house, honoured by the king, Nyankhnefertem”. The son’s text identifies him as: “His eldest son, his beloved, the wab-priest of the Great House, Meruka”.
Karol Myśliwiec analysed this peculiarity of the father’s and eldest
son’s overlapping feet, see bibliography). Only the eldest son,
Meruka, has the privilege of being seen with his feet sometimes being
overlapped by those of his father – His rear foot seems to emerge from
that of his father, which means that he represents the living Ka,
reincarnation and successor of the deceased. This theme, as well as the
resemblances in the representations of father with elder son are
common in the 5th dynasty, and even more in the 6th. This is a way of
showing that these two people are, in some way, of the same substance
or essence, and thus establishes a clear family hierarchy, as intended
by the deceased. The popularity of these scenes can be linked with the
political and social disorder which prevails at the beginning and the
end of the 6th Dynasty, and the occupying search for order and
security.
Scene 6, scene 7 and scene 8
Continuing now with the southern set of scenes, the representations
of which remain based on the same model. In all of these three cases,
Nyankhnefertem is accompanied only by his eldest son Meruka, identified
all three times as: “His eldest son, wab-priest of the Great House,
Meruka”. The main column of text is similar to what has been seen
with the northern scenes. Scene 6 has: “Sole companion, privy to secrets
of the House of the Morning, Nyankhnefertem”, scene 7: “Inspector of
the king’s house, overseer of linen, keeper of the king’s property,
Nyankhnefertem” and scene 8: “Inspector of the Great House, honoured by
the Great God, Nyankhnefertem”. Only scene 6 has retained any
colour. Scene 7, as mentioned above, is the only one where a son holds a
piece of cloth in his hand, like his father
Scene 9
Nyankhnefertem, wearing a long wig and identified as the one “privy
to secrets of the king in his every cult-place, Nyankhnefertem.”,
is accompanied by two sons, Mereri and Tjetji. Both are clothed the
same as their father. The treatment of each is significantly different. Tjetji
is at the rear (to the right) and represented much larger than his
brother. This is the only son who is found standing at the rear who does
not hold the leg of his father, he keeps both arms hanging at his side.
His identifying text states that he is “his son, his beloved,
functionary and attendant of the Great House, Tjetji”. No doubt he was
older, more respected and more independent. Standing in front of his father, this son is merely identified as “his son, his beloved, Mereri”.
Finally
The east wall is the social and hierarchical business card of the family
, the daughters had no place there, but it is certain that Seshseshet, the mother, played an important role. It
is possible to also note there the ambitions and the intrigues among
seven brothers. Nyankhnefertem would have had no doubts about the fact
that his designated successor, his eldest son Meruka, would actually
inherit his position and his duties, otherwise he would not have made
the effort to show this in the representation on so numerous occasions
and so clearly. In addition to the threats which the father felt to
smooth for his oldest son, it will be seen that the second son, Tjetji,
was also attacked on the north wall. All of this seems to have been
done by the younger son, Mereri, whose ambition was probably not
apparent until after the death of his father.
The North Wall
This measures 2.60m wide by 1.9m in height. It has a gaping
opening of about 1.15m wide by 1.02m high, caused by the collapse of
this wall, which originally separated it from the adjoining funerary
shaft. Thus, what remains preserved of the wall is 1.16m to the left and
0.54m to the right (but this is severely damaged).
The burial shaft, No.89
This was dug secondarily, but not a very long time after the actual
mastaba of Nyankhnefertem, in the second half of the 6th Dynasty. Its
opening (1.20m by 1.10m) is close to those of the two other shafts
intended for Nyankhnefertem – These are discussed in full detail on page
5. Shaft No.89 has a depth of 3.56m. At the base, a funerary niche was
created in the west wall, heading southwards, where it is no longer
separated from the north part of the chamber by the cracked and brittle
20cm rock wall. A mummy in a reed coffin – was deposited in it, then the
shaft was filled with sand, digging rubble and stones, etc. At the very
end of the 6th Dynasty and early First Intermediate Period, an accident
occurred. The separating wall, the rock of which was already of very
poor quality, due to be weakened even further by the heavy rainfall
associated with infiltration of the time. Perhaps the blows of the
looters, when they removed the offering table from the west wall, were
responsible? Be that as it may, the wall collapsed, and the contents of
the shaft and the mummy it contained, poured into the chamber, where
much later explorers found it. Here is a view of the chamber BEFORE and
AFTER the clearing (the offering table returned to its original
position, in front of the northern-most false door).
During the accident, the list of offerings and the top of the lower
register were damaged. These were partially restored from the fragments
found in the debris.
The entire wall is occupied by a single scene in two registers. It is
very original, in a different way: the lower register of porters is
carved in raised relief to show that they are in the foreground, whilst
the upper register, which contains the seated Nyankhnefertem, is in deep
sunken relief, and appears well situated as a related background. This
is another attempt to try to make a three-dimensional image.
Each register is surrounded by a incised line which was then painted
black. A frieze was supposed to surround the entire wall at the top and
on the right and left sides. Its white background was applied
everywhere, but only the upper part had a pattern representing a
stylised lotus flower, which actually consists of only three black
branches . The rest of the wall has a black background, except at the
far right where the colour was not applied.
The upper register
Left-hand section
Nyankhnefertem sits on a low-back seat, the legs of which are in the
shape of those of a bull, each resting on a solid cone for protection.
He wears a long wig and a short beard. Although this is difficult to
assess on a photo, the face is well detailed, the eye is elongated, the
almost straight eyebrow is thick and the cheek is smoothly curved.
Around his neck, a necklace made of successive rows light blue and dark
blue beads, is in stark contrast with his dark red skin – The kilt is
poorly preserved, and the yellowish layer of mortar, which was used to
prepare (and repair) this area, can be seen. His left hand is folded
across his chest, whilst the right hand touches the table in front of
him. From lack of space at ground level, the foot of the offering table
in front of him is raised and appears to float in space. Half-loaves
of bread stand vertically on the top of the table. On either side of
the support stand of the table is a classic list of offerings. On the
left side: “a thousand alabaster vases, a (thousand) pieces of linen,
and on the right: “a thousand t-breads, a thousand pAt-breads, a
thousand (jars of) beer, a thousand oxen, a thousand birds”.At the top
of the area is the title text of the deceased, written in four columns
in front of him: “Inspector of the king’s house, he who is loved by his
lord, inspector of the Great House, privy to secrets, honoured by the
Great God, Nyankhnefertem”, and a single row above his head: “sole
companion, inspector of the Great House”.
Right-hand section
The list of offerings (a tabular list) This
occupies a rectangle 1.75m long by 0.68m high, the central area is
missing due to the hole in the wall. Its background is white, with
monochrome hieroglyphics, whose beautiful cobalt blue colour is the best
preserved of the chamber. The list is divided into three rows of
rectangular units. Each row is 0.22-0.23m high, and each unit is
0.05-0.055m wide. Each unit consists of two parts: a large rectangle at
the top, which describes the offering or rite, and a smaller one below
for the quantity. Because of the damaged gap, the exact number of
columns it is not known, but is estimated at 31. Thus there are oils,
breads, drinks, beer, pieces of meat, libations, and incense, including
an entry which just states: “the best of the offering table”. The item
listed in the first column of the top row (top left) reads “pouring
water: 1 vessel”, whilst immediately to its right it reads “incense of
fire: 1 censer” (see the image right).
Under the list, is a sub-register of 1.87m long and
only 0.20m high, largely destroyed at the centre. The surviving piece
on the left it is placed on a black background. On this left section
can still be recognised a small rectangular table with a middle cross
section, painted black surrounded by yellow, on which are placed two
sets of vessels for washing hands, each consisting of a srwtj-basin and
bzmnjj-ewer, (see the bottom of the image to the right, under the
list) – On the other side of the gap is a short segment which seems
never to have been painted – Seen on the left is part of the vessel
which appears to contain open lotus flowers and buds; according to
Schafer, this does not mean that the vase actually contains flowers but
represents the decoration of the edge of the vase or the relief from
the inside of the container. Then come five tapered rolls arranged head
to tail, their exact nature remains uncertain (perhaps flax or loaves
of bread?). Finally, a small offering table concludes (or starts!) the
line.
Lower register
Measuring 2.50m long by 0.30m high, it is damaged in its upper
area. The register shows a procession of twelve men carrying various
offerings to the tomb owner represented in the register above. They are
shown walking towards the west (to the left). It extends under the chair
in which Nyankhnefertem, for whom the offerings were intended, is
seated. Each character transports an offering and comes with a small
legend, carved in low relief and sometimes barely incised. Like the
upper register, the background of the bottom one is also black (now
looking dark blue), but the colour was not applied on the right-hand
side.
This is introduced on the left (west) by a short column of hieroglyphs: “Bringing the choice pieces from, the front leg (khepresh) and birds”. Then,
separated by a black line, comes a procession of twelve people moving
to the left. As mentioned previously, they are treated in raised relief
to try to give a three-dimensional look to the full display area. They
are superimposable: each is wearing a short wig and carrying around his
waist a small tight-fitting white kilt.
The first two bring a choice piece, the front leg of a large animal
(cattle, gazelle, ibex, etc.) – The first is identified as “his eldest
son, inspector of the king’s house, Meruka” followed by “his son, of his
body, his beloved, Mereri”. The epithet “of his body” is unique and
suggests that there were some doubts on the issue. Note also that the
hieroglyphs of unequal size and layout.
The following five each bring a goose which they hold in both hands.
These are: “his son, under-supervisor of the Great House, Djawy”, “his
son, his beloved, Tjetji” and “His son […]shepes […] Mereri”
but here there are also alterations: the first part of the text is
engraved, second part is only painted, confirming the existence of
problems with one or both of the youngest sons named Mereri. Next comes
“the ka-servant, butler, overseer of linen, Djawy” and then “the
director of the dining-hall Imaheni”.
These are then followed by two “servants of the ka, under-supervisor
of the Great House” Sobekhotep and Nefer, followed by three who are only
identified as “servants of the ka”, Iyherdjefaw, Shafi and Temi, five
of whom carry between them various offerings
The South Wall
This features a large scene of 2.66m long and 1.14m high, divided
into four regions: a seated couple (the deceased and his wife) at the
upper right facing two registers, with another register at the bottom
extending the length of the decorated area. Surrounding the image
area, between the ceiling and the right and left sides of the wall, is a
border 5 to 8cm, in which can be seen parts of the original wall
surface. The undecorated area (or dado) of the lower wall is unusually
high (0.65m), the irregular surface of which bears extensive evidence
of chiselling, partly levelled with white-grey-pinkish lime mortar,
fragments of which have fallen almost everywhere. The creation of
the decoration posed major problems, because the rock here is of a very
poor quality and cracks, including a particularly large one of 5cm
which crosses the wall vertically in its western part, approximately
0.70m from its western edge. In the upper part, the crack continues
diagonally toward the ceiling, where it widens. To remedy this
situation, the artisans applied thick layers of a pinkish mortar
(different from the first one) – The wall is incomplete and it never
received its painting and the engraving is not at the same stage on the
three horizontal registers. There is also a difference in the quality,
as will be found also the west wall. Everything suggests that the same
master and apprentice even worked on this wall.
The seated couple
The scene is set in an almost square panel (0.90m by 0.88m)
treated in sunken relief, unlike the rest of the wall which is in raised
relief. The couple, Nyankhnefertem and his wife, are seated side by
side, their backs supported by a long thin pillow which is folded over
the small bench backrest. Seshseshet, wearing a large tripartite wig,
embraces her husband with one hand over his right shoulder and with her
other hand on his left elbow. Nyankhnefertem, wears a wig down over his
shoulder and a short beard. He breathes the scent of an open lotus
flower which he holds to his nostrils (probably to be interpreted as a
poetic allusion to his partial namesake – see below), whilst his other
hand rests on his thigh squeezing an object, probably a piece of cloth.
The god Nefertem and lotus flower
The god Nefertem and lotus flower
His name, Nfr-tm, can be translated as “he who comes to appear perfect”.
Nefertem plays a central role in the creation myths of the world: the
blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) is, in this myth, the first thing which
emerges out of the waters of Nun (the primordial chaos). When it opens,
the sun god appears for the first time. This is beautifully illustrated
in the furnishings of Tutankhamun: Nefertem, as the young king, is
regenerated out of the open flower
The flower has a strong fragrance, which is why Nefertem quickly became
the god of perfumes, which it is referred to in the Pyramid Texts – as
“the lotus flower in front of the nose of Re”.
Nefertem is often represented as a man wearing an open lotus flower, as
shown in the representation opposite, which comes from the tomb of
Pharaoh Horemheb – as a young child (sometimes reduced to just the head)
placed on the flower. Note the association found of the lotus-Nefertem
in Chapter 81 of the Book of the Dead, which begins with “O lotus, this
image of Nefertem” In Memphis, Nefertem will be associated with the
triad, with the god Ptah and lion goddess Sekhmet.
His name, Nfr-tm, can be translated as “he who comes to appear
perfect”. Nefertem plays a central role in the creation myths of the
world: the blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) is, in this myth, the first
thing which emerges out of the waters of Nun (the primordial chaos).
When it opens, the sun god appears for the first time. This is
beautifully illustrated in the furnishings of Tutankhamun: Nefertem, as
the young king, is regenerated out of the open flower – The flower has
a strong fragrance, which is why Nefertem quickly became the god of
perfumes, which it is referred to in the Pyramid Texts – as “the lotus
flower in front of the nose of Re”. Nefertem is often represented as
a man wearing an open lotus flower, as shown in the representation
opposite, which comes from the tomb of Pharaoh Horemheb (photo I.S.),
as a young child (sometimes reduced to just the head) placed on the
flower. Note the association found of the lotus-Nefertem in Chapter 81
of the Book of the Dead, which begins with “O lotus, this image of
Nefertem” In Memphis, Nefertem will be associated with the triad, with
the god Ptah and lion goddess Sekhmet.
The representations have no internal detail, except some details within their faces. The
descriptive text is written in seven columns, starting in front of them
and continuing above their heads. There is a clear difference between
the first text column, which extends vertically from the top to the
level of the feet, and the other six shorter columns. The first
column has hieroglyphs carved in sunken relief with no inner details,
having similar dimensions and classical proportions of those found on
the false door of the west wall, next to the chamber entry. The text
reads: “The funerary priest of the pyramid of Teti, the deputy supervisor of funerary priests of the pyramid of Unas…”. The inscription continues in the six smaller columns (the first of which is only slightly shorter than the first) : “…
inspector of the king’s house, loved by his lord, inspector of the
Great House, privy to secrets, Nyankhnefertem; his wife, loved by him,
honoured by her husband, Seshseshet”. These hieroglyphs are smaller,
the relief shallower, the shape quite irregular and often poorly
proportioned. This is particularly true of the sledge-sign “tm”,
deliberately faulty, as will be found several times on the west wall.
The whole text looks as if it was produced by two different people, a
master and his apprentice.
The three registers in front of the couple
All three registers remained incomplete. The bottom one extends
under the chair of the deceased and his wife. The decoration of all
three was produced by removal of a layer of stone around the figures, so
that they clearly projected from their background. The silhouettes of
the characters have only been roughly shaped to varying degrees, from
which it is possible to see the different phases of the work.
Upper register
This is the tallest (0.54m). The sculptured outlines are still
unrefined, often rectangular, and the guide lines can still be seen in
several places, in particular for the details of the faces. Three
papyrus boats (skiffs), with three male figures standing in each one of
them, head toward the couple, to whom they bring wild geese from the
marshes. The sculptor’s work is at best preliminary, and several
representations of black and red guide lines are still visible on the
polished wall. The smoothing of the wall, particularly irregular in this
area, was completed in mortar, but large fragments have broke off. In
the front and at the rear of each skiff are nearly naked men who
manoeuvre it with a long pole. When each group is identified, it is with
the qualifier “hunter of birds”. In the middle of each boat is a
character whose representation reflects the abundance of the catch. He
is plump, rounded chest and a belly suggesting an opulent lifestyle of
higher social rank than the mariners. This man is clothed in a long kilt
with a rectangular, diagonally projecting front. In each hand, he
clutches (by the wings) several geese. The first and the third of these
men are designated as “overseer of fowling”. Some of the fowl are also
represented in cages, one on the first and third skiff, two on the
middle one. On two of the cages is perched a goose: one guesses it
agitating the wings – The boats float on the Nile or on a canal. The
water on which they float would have been represented by zigzag lines
on a blue background, but, at this stage, the draftsman had delimited
the zone (7cm in height) by two horizontal lines and the zigzag water
lines were not produced.
Middle register
This measures 0.28m high and 1.75m long. Again, the left has
largely been coated with a pinkish mortar, which was used to trace the
preliminary guides lines. The decoration is more advanced than the upper
register, but no figure was completed. The engraver gave up working on
the mortar and therefore the last 30 centimetres from the left end were
not decorated. There are seven characters, fairly well preserved, all
bearers of offering, who head towards the couple. They remain
unfinished, but are more advanced than those of upper register. First group
Two women lead the procession, each designated as “His daughter,
his beloved, the king’s acquaintance Khenut (1) and Metjut” (2). Then a
man, probably a son of the deceased, remains anonymous. These three
characters bring not only birds but also lotus stems. Second group
Separated from the first group by a small space, this second one
is made up of four men. They have short-cropped hair and short,
tight-fitting kilts. Each carry two geese, but in each their posture is
different. Being devoid of text, it is impossible to known if they
represent any of the sons of the tomb owner. On the left, the register ends with a thick red vertical line drawn on the mortar.
Lower register
This measures 0.30m in height and occupies the entire width of
the wall (2.69m), passing under the seated couple. It shows some scenes
the festival attended by the seated couple. With the majority (left) of
the register having the participants facing right (towards the couple)
and those under the couple facing left, it positions the couple at the
centre of the celebration. In this register the etching was completed,
there is no trace of guide lines. Thus, all that remained was the
application of colour, which has not even been started. From left to left to right, is found: First group
This consists of nine females, two “singer (s) “, who beat time,
and in front of them are seven “dancer (s) “. The seven dancers
advance, arms raised above their heads, one foot off the ground. Each
wears a broad skirt with projecting front and each has a long pig-tail
with a pom-pom at the end. They sway to the rhythm of the dance. The
breasts of the dancers is produced for only one dancer, posing again
the question of the place of the erotic imagination of the Egyptians.
But perhaps they are pre-pubescent girls? Second group
Then come a group of four squatting musicians composed of two
similar couples, each consisting of a harpist (facing left) and a
chironomist (facing right) thus facing each other, each pair is
designated as “Rhythm-giver and singer”. From the image it is obvious
that the chironomist (on the left) is a man, extending his left hand
towards the harpist, a woman, and holding his right hand to his ear.
The holding of a hand to the ear whilst chanting is still done today.
This area was originally coated with a thin layer of pinkish mortar,
the surface of these four figures, like that of the closest group of
dancers, has suffered much due to salt efflorescence forming a
petrified surface.
Third group At the right-hand end of the image, a
dwarf moves to the left. He is designated as “their master”, in the
text above his head, indicating that he is in total charge of the two
animals which he has on leashes, a monkey (above) and a dog named
“iaXi” (written above it). These are certainly the two favourite pets
of the deceased. They are represented one above the other, as if the
monkey is suspended on an imaginary soil line.
The West Wall
The wall is centred by the narrow entry (just 0.54m wide) which
divides it into two unequal length parts, the right side (north) being
approximately 3.00m, but only 2.90m on the left (south). The height
varies from 1.92m at the centre (at the entry) to 1.78m at the extreme
south end, increasing to 1.93m at the northern end. Each side is
divided vertically into two main panels of similar sizes. The south
side is comprised of two false doors, adjoining and partly overlapping
each other, and on the north side is another false door, preceded at
the entry end by a series of scenes relating to the deceased receiving
food offerings. Again, by working at different levels of depth, the
artists have tried to produce a three-dimensional aspect, as seen in –
The main difference between the two sides is that colour was applied
and is fairly well preserved on the north side, but it was not applied
on the south side. The south side retains traces of original drawings
thus indicating that the decoration of this side remained unfinished. The
existence of three false doors is not exceptional in the necropolis.
The two false doors on the south side extend almost the full height of
the wall. On the north side, the false door has at its base a stone
offering table (it rear edge inserted into a niche). The offering
section of this north wall has an undecorated dado area (approximately
0.50m in height) below the scenes and the floor. Bordering the north
false door, on either side, is a sunken outer rectangular area which
also have an undecorated area equivalent to the dado area just mentioned
The north side (right)
This part of the wall is 3.015m long at the top and 2.96m long at
the bottom, the height (as mention previously) is 1.92m at the entrance
and 1.93m at the northern end. It is divided into two distinct parts
of almost identical in width, about 1.4m for the offering scene and
1.6m for the false door with the two sunken outer rectangular zones,
the left sunken zone thus enhancing the false door and the offering
scene. An original image of this wall was taken from inside of shaft
no.89, on the north wall – Below the false door was positioned an
offering table/platform.
Left-hand section – receipt of offerings
The decorated area, which is surrounded by a double black line, is
only 1.33m long and 1.30m high – A broad undecorated dado area (0.50m
high) separates it from the ground. The top and sides are surrounded,
outside the double black line, by a narrow undecorated border. The
scene area is divided into two parts, separated by a black line, above
which is the deceased and offerings, whilst below is a scene of animal
slaughter.
The deceased and offerings
The two figures, their accompanying texts, as well as the
offering table with its loaves, are carved in sunken relief, whilst the
rest is in raised relief. The two male figures have their skin painted
dark red, as indeed have all of the other characters in the register
below. Identified as “Sole companion, inspector of the king’s house, Nyankhnefertem”
by the three columns of text above him, the deceased is seated on a
chair painted black with thin, vertical yellow strokes, indicating
either planks or veins and knots of wood. Its low back is covered with a
white cushion. The legs end in claw feet resting on semi-conical
supports. The tomb owner wears a short kilt, a wig and a short beard.
Around his neck is a broad necklace made of alternating rows of light
blue and dark blue (suggesting the turquoise and lapis lazuli). His left
hand rests on his thigh holding a piece of cloth, the other reaches out
towards the yellow loaves of bread which stand symmetrically erect on
the blue table with a single supporting leg. The offerings are
represented in two ways: on the table and in the three registers in
front of and above the table, where they are arranged in a truly ordered
style, whilst under the table they seem disorganised.
In total there are twelve half-loaves on the table, whilst
under it is a piled accumulation of a variety of food, the artist
obviously wanted to create a “live” representation, which would
correspond to the reality on the floor during a funerary meal. There are
several cuts of oxen: flanks (with ribs), legs, a head, several birds,
lettuce and grapes, etc. The heir apparent, “his eldest son, wab-priest of the Great House, Meruka”
walks forwards, from the entrance of the chamber, towards his father,
to add a goose to this pile. He presents it with both hands
outstretched, one immobilising the wings, the other holding the neck of
the bird. He is officiating at the funeral of his father, as this marks
his pre-eminence among the siblings. He has a short curly wig and wears a
tight fitting kilt, the edge of which forms a rounded line which
diagonally crosses its surface.
In front of and above the table (actually meant to be in the
surrounding area) are three sub-registers (0.20m in height) containing
methodically organised offerings. To fill the gaps in the composition,
the artist has added bunches of grapes, their beautiful turquoise blue
colour with black spots make the registers attractive with the rest of
the multi-colours having disappeared extensively.
Bottom sub-register :
in the same plane as the loaves on the table are two large vases –
On the left is represented a large bowl/vase with stems of lotus
flowers which are alternately open or buttons, perhaps a flower pot
[Note however: the hypothesis of Schäfer should also be considered,
that the flowers are a metaphor for the interior decoration of the
vase]. To the right is another boat-shaped vase in which are placed five
unidentified objects, separated by the grapes and lettuce. Middle sub-register : on the
right is a black painted low table on top of which is a basin and an
ewer with a spout which points towards the tomb owner, a second object
on the table, to the right, has disappeared. To the left, beyond the
table, is then a curious object, possibly a bowl on a short stand with
only the outline of the bowl shown in order to display that it was
completely filled with fruit, then a flat stand and another (but
shallower) bowl each containing various foods, including conical breads.
On the far left stand five rolls of fabric. Top sub-register : this again
starts on the right with another low oblong black table supporting three
vases of slightly different shapes, the middle one being of a different
colour. Then an accumulation of various commodities on and under
another low single pillared stand. This is followed by three tall vases
without spouts and sealed with high conical stoppers; there are
separated by bunches of black grapes. Next is a curious flat-shaped
inclined dish in the shape of a reed boat with an accumulation of
provisions. Finally there are two tall elaborate vases.
Bottom register: two scenes of butchery
The imagery was created in raised relief on a background which
has preserved traces of its original dark grey or black colour. Two
large carcasses of cattle whose hind legs are bound are lying on the
ground and being cut up by butchers. Scene on the left : an
assistant, who is awkwardly represented with arms which are too long,
holds on tightly to the front leg of the beast, whilst his companion
holds the knife, saying “Hold (one) “. Again, the designers had a
problem, as the knife begins where the hand should be. It should be
noted that there is no sign of any grid, which would have defined their
proportions, as was used for the representations of characters in the
Old Kingdom (as noted by Kanawati, see bibliography). At the rear stands
a man who is busy “sharpening the knife”, the imagery of the left hand and forearm of this man is very confusing. The scene on the right is more
realistic because the butchers are represented behind the carcass.
Again, a sharpener stands towards the rear of the carcass, while his
companion, leans with a hand inside the animal, is busy (according to
the text) “extracting the heart”. In front, a character named in the
text at his feet as “Tjetji”, undoubtedly the son of Nyankhnefertem, is
carrying with both hands a large “khepesh” (front leg) to the table of
offerings, as specified in the short column of hieroglyphs in front of
him, “bringing a choice cut of meat”.
The right-hand section: the false door, its outer recessed zones and offering table
This area is immediately striking to the eye with the
conservation of much of its multi-colours, an extraordinary aspect to
the group and giving the viewer an idea of what has been lost elsewhere
in the chamber and a multitude of others.
The outer recessed zones
The false door is flanked by two rectangular areas of 1.92m in
height, recessed into the wall by 2cm. This gives the impression that
the external doorposts and lintel of the “door” are raised. The left
zone is 0.23m wide, the right one being 0.30m at the bottom to 0.36m at
the top. The decorated area of each reaches only to the level of the
bottom line of the decorated segment found on the southern area, that of
the offerings. The non-decorated dado space below these are
respectively, left then right, 0.63m and 0.64m high. The decoration of
both is carved in raised relief, consisting of a vertical sequence of
four rectangular squares. The content of both zones is of oils for the
annointing of the deceased. The column to the left
is, as mentioned, divided into four parts, one above the other. They
each contain the image of a low black table supporting three vases in
the top two areas, and two in each of those below. The names of oils
which the vases contain are written horizontally above each group; these
are (from top to bottom) : “sTj-HAb”, “Hknw”, “sfT” and “nxnm”. The
vases are of different shapes, but have the same decorative pattern:
the body is blue with black spots, the top and neck are red with a
narrow vertical white stripe in the middle. The column to the right
shows the remains of a dark background and that it also required
several repairs and alterations. This column is, like the other, divided
into four parts, each showing characters who are similar in each case.
They stride towards the false door, holding in their hands a vase
containing an oil of a name other than those seen in the other column.
This identification is written in a column of text in front of the
porter, and in each case is preceded by: “bringing”, then the name:
“twAwt oil”, “HAtt aS oil”, “HAtt THnw oil” and finally “mrHt oil”. The
figures are clumsily created, with many alterations, reflecting the
difficulty of the work of the artist in this corner of the wall. A very
interesting detail worth noting is that Mereri (one or more of them)
has added his name to the two middle images, between the column of text
and the front of the legs. In the upper one, written in red characters,
is “Mereri”” whilst the one below this has, in blue: “His son, […] of
the Great House, Mereri”. These insertions are probably contemporaneous
with those found on the east wall, where the same name was written in
red, but there they are visibly replacing the name of another brother.
The false door
As already mentioned, this false door does not actually extend down
to the floor. A recessed niche (about 1.12m long by 0.6m deep and 0.22m
high) was cut below it to accept the rear edge of the offering table,
which is discussed in detail below. The false door measures 1.04m
wide and 1.69m high (above the niche below it). It consists of two
doorposts and a lintel outside and the same internally. Between the top
(outer) lintel and the inner one is a scenic panel, typical of false
doors. A central slit, topped by a roller, is located between the two
inner doorposts. The background of the false door, initially black, was
then covered with a white distemper in order to make it appear greyish.
This was then painted secondarily in pale yellow, which is especially
visible on the external lintel; texts and vignettes are engraved in
sunken relief and are richly colourful. The group is distinctly
different from the false door of Merefnebef, whose background imitates
granite and whose inscriptions are monochrome -This change, which is
important because it has been noted how much Temi was anxious to copy
his prestigious predecessor, without doubt reflects changes and testing
of ideas towards a different style, a little more free, in a period
where the political power of the monarchy begins to disintegrate in
favour of the nobles
The external part of the false door
– The two doorposts
These measure about 0.25m wide and include at their bases the
abridged name of the deceased, Temi, written above the image of him,
where he is seen striding towards the centre of the door with a long
staff in his hand In the left image he wears a short wig and a beard,
and is clothed in a projecting kilt. In this image, most of his upper
body colour has been retained as well as the black colour of his wig.
The other image (right) has totally lost its colour and he appears to
wear a shoulder length wig. The text, identical on the two sides, is
produced in two vertical columns: (1) “An offering which Osiris gives
(namely) an invocation offering for him on the Opening of the Year
Festival, the Festival of Thot, on every festival, every day, in
eternity (2) (for the) inspector of the Great House, honoured by the
king, possessor of reverence, honoured by the Great God and by Anubis,
(3) “Temi” (written horizontally at the bottom).
– The lintel
This measures 1.04m by 0.31m. On its left is an image of
Nyankhnefertem walking towards the right before whom there are three
lines of text: ” (1) “An offering which the king gives and an offering
which Osiris (gives) (namely) that he may be buried in the necropolis
after he has become exceedingly old. (2) An offering which Osiris gives
(namely) an invocation offering for him on the Opening of the Year
Festival, on every festival, every day, eternally, (3) ” (for the)
inspector of the king’s house, major domo of the Great House, honoured
by the Great God, Nyankhnefertem”.
The internal part of the false door
The whole inner section is set deeper (2.5cm) into the wall
than the two outer doorposts and lintel. The actual central section, the
passageway for the deceased’s ka, is set even deeper. This inner area
consists of two inner doorposts between which is the entry passage for
the ka of the deceased, the inner lintel (which rests on the doorposts)
and above this the usual rectangular panel, which includes the image of
the seated deceased before an offering table.
– The two inner doorposts
These are 1.04m high and 0.023m wide. Their decoration
resembles that of the outer ones, with a representation of the tomb
owner striding towards the centre. He is surmounted again by two columns
of inscription with a horizontal line at the bottom, this time giving
his full name. The text includes the yellow cartouche encircling the
name of king Unas (Wenis) (last king of the 5th Dynasty). The two texts
are again the same: (1) God’s servant of the pyramid of Unas, sole
companion, (2) inspector of the king’s house, privy to secrets of the
god’s word, (3) Nyankhnefertem”.
– Passage for the ka
This narrow ka entry area is 0.09m wide and 1.04m high, and is
0.03m deeper than the surface of the inner doorposts. A semi-cylindrical
“drum” is set just below the upper edge of the recess. This
sausage-shaped ring represents a rolled blind used over the windows in
the houses.
– The inner lintel and panel
The actual inner lintel consists of a horizontal line of text,
on the left-hand side of which is an image of the tomb owner sitting on a
chair, staff in hand. The text in front of him states: “Sole companion, inspector of the king’s house, Temi”. Above
this is a panel, usually found associated with a false door. This is
comprised of two outer text columns with the deceased seated in front of
a single supported offering table. Apart from the partially lost yellow
background, the colours have survived well. However, the finish of the
painting was neglected, especially in the right arm, hands and legs, and
there is almost no detail. The chair is yellow, with multiple black
lines, and its lion feet rest on very high semi-conical supports. He
sits with his right hand held out towards the pile of upright breads on
the table, with his other held across his chest. The two columns of text
state, left: “Inspector of the king’s house, Temi” and right: “Sole
companion, inspector of the king’s house, Temi”. At the top of the
offering scene is yet another title: “lnspector of the king’s house,
Nyankhnefertem”. Above and below the table is a list of offerings; above
are: “a
thousand (loaves) of t-bread, a thousand (loaves) of pAt-bread, a
thousand jars of beer, a thousand of alabaster (vases), a thousand
(pieces) of clothing”, below are: “a thousand oxen, a thousand birds”.
The offering table, at the bottom of the false door
At the foot of the false door is positioned an offering table, later
moved to the centre of the room by looters in search of the burial
pit, but once more in it’s original position -A niche to accept the rear
edge of the table was cut into the wall beneath the bottom of the
false door decoration, thus raising the feet of the those at the bottom
of the columns. This is in the shape of a limestone plaque 1.12m by
0.60m with a thickness of 0.15m and not really in the form of a table. A
Hotep sign is engraved on the surface between two rectangular
depressions. The translation of the inscriptions is as follows
(following the numbering on the image opposite) : (1) “An offering that
the king gives and an offering that Anubis (gives), that an invocation
offering may come forth for him on every festival”; (2) “Funerary
priest of the pyramid of Teti, Inspector of the king’s house,
Nyankhnefertem”; (3) “Deputy supervisor of the god’s servants of the
pyramid of Unas, Inspector of the king’s house, Temi”; (4) “Inspector of
the Great House, (Ny) ankhnefertem””; (5) “Inspector of the king’s
house, Temi”; (6) “Inspector of the Great House, Temi”.
Burnt traces
Found at the foot of this false door and near the entrance (and only
there) was evidence of worship in the form of burnt traces on the
ground (of 30-35cm diameter) with remains of charcoal and some bone. The
few fragments of pottery found date from the reign of Teti and a
little later. This provides an important clue: it seems that at this
time, the cult “funeral” of an individual began to be made in his
lifetime in his chapel chamber, even if it was not completed.
The south side (left)
This is to the left of the entrance and measures 2.88m long, with a
variable height due to the irregularity of the floor, from 1.92m high
(near the entry) to 1.78m (at the left corner of the chamber). The wall
is decorated, but almost no colour applied, to a length of 2.63m and a
height of 1.68m, leaving a blank undecorated area all around it. A
blank zone of 0.23m separates it from the entrance (damage here has
been badly repaired in recent times ) A 0.10m blank area extends up the
southern edge and above the top of the display. At the bottom, the
display is separated from the floor by a 0.20m blank strip.
The decoration (see line drawing) was designed as a single image
composed of elements carved on four levels of depth, showing two false
doors side by side, without a vertical separation zone, but with an
overlap which benefits the one of right, making it wider than the one on
the left. In contrast to what was seen on the north side of the west
wall, there are no projections resembling an offering table at the foot
of the false doors.
The total group includes a horizontal lintel, three vertical pillars
and two intermediate spaces each occupied by a false door, giving an
appearance reminiscent of the Gardiner hieroglyphs O22 and O27, but with
a lack of symmetry. Indeed, the central pillar is the external doorpost
of the northern false door (width: 1.46m), which has three vertical
posts on either side of its “open” centre, whilst the southern false
door (width: 1.17m), has three posts on the left, but only has two on
the right: it is as if this missing post has been hidden behind the one
of the north one. This sounds complicated, but it becomes clear on
looking at the photo above and this line drawing where the overlap is
shown in yellow.
The surface of the upright doorposts and lintels, etc. were produced
at a deeper level towards the centre, with four levels for each door. The
surface plane of the second level is 2cm deeper than the first, which
has two upright doorposts (extending up to the upper lintel) connected
by the central lintel, forming an “H” The area inside the upper part of
the “H” (above the inner lintel) is a further recessed area (1.5cm)
forming the decorated panel. In the lower part are two more uprights
also recessed to the same level as the panel. Between these two
innermost uprights is the even further recessed (2.5cm) passageway for
the ka, spanned at the top by a rolled up mat.
Northern false door (right)
Clearly, this was considered the most important of the two.
The six upright doorposts
These are arranged symmetrically about the central axis, three
on each side, bearing vertical inscriptions and, at the bottom, a
representation of the deceased above whom is his name. The differences
from one to the other suggest that at least two people worked on them.
In all cases, he wears a short beard, flared at the bottom, a necklace,
and a kilt with a projecting triangular front. On the external and
innermost doorposts Nyankhnefertem wears a short rounded wig, holding in
one hand a kherep sceptre across his chest and in the other a folded
piece of cloth. On the other two, he wears a longer wig which extends
down to his shoulders and holding in front of him his long staff of
office, and the other hand hangs at his side clutching a folded piece of
cloth.
The three left doorpost representations are by the same artist
and are of average quality with very few details. With those of the
right side (see the image opposite), the figure of the middle doorpost
is in stark contrast to all the others: the engraving is deeper, the
facial features are better produced and there is more detail in the
hieroglyphs: this is the work of a master/teacher, probably the model
intended for his pupil (s?). In contrast, his staff is very poorly
executed: no variation in thickness, no bulge at the end: everything
indicates a rather clumsy hand. Was it to show disapproval in the
quality that someone cut the staff in this doorpost with several
horizontal irregular cuts? Above each of the characters where he
holds the long staff he is inscribed with the name “Nyankhnefertem”, but
on ones where he holds the sceptre he is identified as “Temi”. Note
that the hieroglyph “tm”,
of the sledge, has been reversed in all instances except in the case of
the middle doorpost on the right. Why this inversion? As will be
discussed below, it is not about a mistake, but of a deliberate act.
The inscriptions
All hieroglyphs are carved in sunken relief (0.5cm) but are seldom
detailed, except the sign “Hr”, representing a male face looking
forwards. It occurs five times in the titles of this false door, but
the one on the right middle doorpost is treated with greater care and
precision (see line drawing). As with the face of the image of the tomb
owner, carved below it, this sign was probably another model created
by the master sculptor. Normally, when actually coloured, the skin,
contrary to what would be expected, is the female yellow colour (see –
taken from the bottom line of text of the upper lintel of the false door
on the north side of the wall). The hieroglyph “tp”, which is a again
modelled as a male face, but in profile, is in dark red. The colours of
these two glyphs do not vary throughout Egyptian history . The upper lintel
(1) “An offering which the king gives and Anubis, that he
may be buried in the necropolis in the Western Desert, after he has
become exceedingly old, (2) (namely) the sole companion, inspector of
the king’s house, privy to secrets of the king in his every cult place,
Temi”. The
inscription, runs from right to left, ending with a representation of
the seated deceased, located at the intersection of the lintel and the
top of the left outer doorpost. This image could also be considered as a
determinative to the name which precedes it. The representation is
similar, but in reduced size, to that which is on the north wall. Temi,
wearing a long wig, sits on a seat with the usual animal legs, holding
his staff with one hand whilst in the other, placed on his thigh, he
holds a piece of cloth. The right (north) external doorpost “God’s servant of the pyramid of Unas, inspector of the Great House, inspector of the king’s house Temi”. The left (south) external doorpost “Inspector of the Great House, overseer of linen, honoured one by the Great God, Temi”. Both middle doorposts These,
unlike the doorposts on either side, are inscribed in two columns, with
the deceased’s name written horizontally below them. (1) “An
offering which Osiris gives, that invocation offerings may come forth
for him on every festival, every day eternally, (2) (namely for) the
sole companion, inspector of the king’s house, privy to secrets of his
god on every day, (3) Nyankhnefertem”. Both inner doorposts “Inspector of the Great House, privy to secrets, Temi”. The small inner lintel “Inspector of the king’s house, honoured one, Temi”.
The panel between the two lintels
This measures 0.34m high and 0.37m wide. To better highlight
the actual central panel, it was edged on either side by a deeply
recessed (1.5cm) uninscribed column. The deceased is seated at a table
supporting stylised upright halves of bread. At the centre, the two
halves are attached, giving the image of a tree, which marks a late
development of the motif (Cherpion). Under the table, on the right-hand
side of the support, is a set of two vessels used for washing hands.
Nearest to the deceased’s legs is found a short list of offerings: “a
thousand […], a thousand (jars of) beer”. Above the table, in front of
his head, is written: “Inspector of the Great House, Temi”.
Southern false door (left)
This was conceived as a copy of its northern neighbour. However, there are several important differences: The quality of execution is not as good. There is also a constant degradation in quality from north to south of the wall: everything seems to have been done in a hurry and without care. What
would have been the outer right doorpost has “disappeared” under the
south outer one of the northern false door, but the now right-most could
still be considered as the central doorpost. The representations
are smaller, as also are the hieroglyphs in the texts: this is
understandable because the content of these texts is longer. Nyankhnefertem
is never alone at the bottom of the doorposts: he is either accompanied
by his wife or his eldest son – Seshseshet is present on the two left
outer doorposts and on the now right-most one. No doubt she would have
been present on the right outer one if it was not “masked” by the one
which overrides it. There is a small difference: the two images on the
left show the wife with her arm around the neck of the deceased while
the other hand grabs his elbow, whilst on the one instance on the right
she still has her hand on her husband’s shoulder but the other hangs
at her side. In all instances she is shown at the same height as her
husband. The eldest son, Meruka, is present on the two inner doorposts,
portrayed small when compared with his father’s image, he is shown
gripping the staff of office held by the deceased. Note that the son’s
back foot is completely covered by that of his father. This has already
been discussed previously. The representations of Nyankhnefertem
are remarkably superimposable. He wears a long wig, a beard, a
loincloth with a projecting triangular front-piece and a necklace. He
holds his staff of office in one hand and a piece of folded cloth in
the other. His wife wears a large tripartite wig and a tight fitting
dress. The son wears (from what can be seen) a kilt like the one of his
father.
The inscriptions
In each case these occupy two lines or columns, except on the small
inner lintel (see the left side of the yellow column in the line
drawing). The signs are in less sunken relief than those of the northern
door, only an average of 2mm (instead of 5mm). Most do not have
engraved interior detail.
The “tm” hieroglyph (Gardiner
u15) is this time not only in reverse, but oversimplified and
distorted: the vertical bars of the sledge have disappeared, the rear
has become rounded and the knot has slipped towards the rear,
undeniably, this makes it close in shape to that of the phallic
hieroglyph (Gardiner d52). It
was with deliberate obscene intention that an engraver, whose incentive
will remain a mystery forever, distorted this sign on this false door
where the deceased is represented in company of his wife. There is no
doubt that Nyankhnefertem was dead at that time, but why did the other
family members do nothing? Hatreds and rivalries may have been even
worse than can be imagined. The upper lintel The
text is written from right to left in two rows (top row first), with the
deceased’s name written vertically in front of his seated image. (1) “An
offering which the king gives and Anubis, Foremost of the Divine Booth,
that he may be buried in the necropolis, after he has become
exceedingly old, (2) (namely) sole companion, inspector of the
Great House, inspector of the king’s house, privy to secrets, honoured
by the Great God. (3) Nyankhnefertem.”. The left (south) external doorpost Here the texts
of the two columns refer individually to the deceased and his wife,
each being above the respective person: (1) “An
offering which Osiris gives, foremost of Busiris, that an invocation
offering may come forth for him on festivals, (namely for) the inspector
of the Great House, Nyankhnefertem (2) (and for) his wife, his
beloved, praised by him, honoured by her husband, the king’s
acquaintance, priestess of Hathor Lady of the Sycamore, Seshseshet”. The two middle doorposts The
text on these two are identical for the deceased but they differ
slightly for his wife; her’s also includes a statement to her husband.
That for the deceased states: “Inspector of the king’s house,
majordomo of the king’s house, privy to secrets of the king in his every
cult-place, Nyankhnefertem”. On the left (south), for the wife: “An
offering which the king gives and an offering which Anubis (gives)
Foremost of the Divine Booth, (namely) that he may be buried in the
necropolis (and also) his wife, his beloved, king’s acquaintance,
Seshseshet”. On the right (north), for the wife: “An offering
which the king gives and an offering which Anubis (gives), (namely) that
he may be buried in the necropolis (and also) his wife, his beloved,
king’s acquaintance, Seshseshet”. The two inner doorposts On
these two doorposts the columns of text are identical, with the content
being a single continuous statement, ending with the name of the father.
The son is identified above him, between his father and his staff. (1)
“Sole companion, privy to secrets of the House of the morning, he who is
loved by his lord, (2) inspector of the king’s house, inspector of the
Great House, the majordomo, Nyankhnefertem. (3) “His eldest son, Meruka”. The small inner lintel (This is the horizontal bar of the “H” shape) : “Inspector of the king’s house, sole companion, Temi.”.
The panel between the two middle lintels
This time the panel, although a similar size to the one of the
false door to the right, actually contains the seated image of the
deceased and his wife. The couple are seated on a single large chair,
the front leg of which is shown between the legs of the couple. The wife
is shown embracing her husband. Once again the panel is bordered on the
two sides by a sunken uninscribed column. The table in front of them
has a single support and contains upright half loaves on top. This time
there are no offerings below the table. Two short columns of text above
loaves state: “Inspector of the king’s house, Temi”. A single horizontal line above their heads states: “his wife Seshseshet”.
The Shafts
As mentioned in the introduction, on page 1, two shafts had
been dug from the mastaba area which surmounted the tomb of Temi. The
actual mastaba, of which almost nothing remains, rested on a layer of
rubble, into which the shafts had been dug, before reaching the solid
rock beneath. These two shafts served different purposes: one was funerary (shaft No.77), the other ritual (shaft No.52).
Shaft No.77
The entry opening is a square of 2.25m on each side. The shaft
penetrates into the ground to a depth of 10.10m (of which 8.30m was dug
into solid rock). The irregular base of the shaft gives access to a
rectangular room of 5.32m wide (N/S) by 3.31m across (E/W) and 1.91m in
height. A funerary pit had been hollowed into the floor of this chamber,
on the west side, and was surrounded by an architectural feature,
producing the image of a buried sarcophagus. The pit was covered with a
stone lid on to which is inscribed the name of Temi. A fragmentary
skeleton was found in the pit, but it is unlikely that it that of
Nyankhnefertem. Indeed, this deceased was accompanied by pottery dating
from the time of Pepy II (the end of the 6th dynasty). An unusual detail
is that this deposit also contained green painted stones. Some bricks
with a white face probably came from blocking entry, the latter having
been, once completed, on its outer face.
Shaft No.52
This opens up 0.95m to the south of the previous one and is
only 5.10m deep. All indications are that, originally, it was a ritual
shaft of Nyankhnefertem, to collect the remains of the funeral banquet
and debris from the ritual breaking of the red vases. Later however, a
niche was dug 1.4m into the east side, with an average height of 0.8m,
the floor of which was located 0.65m from the bottom of the shaft. This
was for a secondary burial and the skeleton of a deceased was still
found in situ. The pottery found in the filling, was mainly of beer
jars, one still containing ashes characteristic of this type of deposit
from in the reign of Pepy II. Thus, the two shafts of the complex of Nyankhnefertem were reused as early as the end of the 6th dynasty.
Conservation of the tomb
It poses much the same problems as that of its
neighbour Merefnebef, but it is even more vulnerable. To protect this
fragile monument, it is essentially necessary to stabilise the climatic
conditions in the tomb complex. For this, a protective shelter has
first been installed, which covers the entire monument. Conservation
methods were selected taking into account various factors, including
annual observations, and information to be collected on a recording
device which is permanently in position even when the Polish mission is
not there. For the phenomenon of disintegration of the reliefs to be
controlled, the extreme brittleness and salinity of the rock will
necessitate permanent (annual) care, to reduce cracking, chipping and
salt efflorescence.
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