mastabas of the old kingdom @ saqqara The mastaba tomb of Kagemni also known as Memi
Teti had good reason to trust his new vizier because Kagemni was a son-in-law of the king through marriage to “The king’s daughter, his beloved, [issue] of his body, Nebty-nebu-khet” .
Thanks to his new position and his royal connections, Kagemni was able to organise in the necropolis of Saqqara the construction of a sumptuous tomb for himself, situated close to his king’s pyramid. For it, he would have the best workshops and workers of the country, which explains the extraordinary quality of the decor which decorates the walls of his mastaba.
The monument is located to the north of the pyramid of Pharaoh Teti, and to the northeast of the step pyramid of Djoser (3rd Dynasty). It testifies to the power reached by the highest commissioners at the time where the decline of royal authority began. This decadence will be more obvious in the following generation, as will be seen in the magnificent mastaba of the successor of Kagemni, Mereruka.
Mereruka, Kagemni and Merefnebef
It is interesting to compare the mastaba of Kagamni with that of his successor Mereruka, as well as with that of the vizier Merefnebef, who, if he didn’t follow Mereruka directly, certainly followed soon after (Mysliewiec).There are many similarities, but also variations, often subtle but nevertheless meaningful.
THE TOTAL MASTABA COMPLEX
The mastaba was discovered in 1843 by Richard Lepsius. It had to wait until 1905 before von Bissing would begin his publication of rooms IV to VIII, which wasn’t completed until 1911. Even though Firth re-excavated the monument in the year 1925, he didn’t publish a detailed report of rooms I to III, which thus remain (academically) unpublished to date.The lower registers of the walls of the mastaba are well preserved, having preserved in many places the vibrant colours, alas the upper registers are nearly all lost, except toward the rear of the tomb. The monument has never been published in its entirety.
The person
The titles found dispersed throughout the tomb are about 50 in number , of which some are significantly imprecise, probably merely honorary, while others correspond to actual functions.The Titles of Kagemni also known as Memi
It can be seen that his brilliant career began under the pharaoh Isesi. Then, during the reign of pharaoh Unas (last pharaoh of Vth Dynasty), he was promoted to the level of judge and nomarch.
The apotheosis of Kagemni’s career took place under the VIth dynasty ruler Teti (2321-2290 B.C.), when he became vizier and head of all the judges of the country.
Among his other functions, several can be noted which relate to the cult of Teti in his pyramid, which could relate to the overseeing of the construction of this building. He was also inspector of the city of the pyramid “The-Places-of-Teti-are-Enduring”. For this reason he managed the attribution of the funerary concessions allotted by the king, including their cleansing.
Kagemni also had important religious functions: Ritualistic priest in chief, he was also the Great Priest of Heliopolis.
Kagemni is also famous from a literary view point. Indeed, the famous “Teachings of Kagemni”, the celebrated didactic text which dates to the VIth Dynasty seems related to him, even though it makes reference to a vizier having served king Snefru (which is to say, the father of Kheops) of the IVth Dynasty.
The prestige which Kagemni himself enjoyed was great for this period and traces have been found close to his tomb of worship to Kagemni in person.
The family of Kagemni remains difficult to locate. His wife Nebty-nebu-khet is easily identified. It could be that this was the only one. Her name has, however, only survived on one free-standing stone. There is a certain confusion, on the other hand, to the number of progeny, some characters are not named. Only the eldest son Teti-Ankh is positively mentioned.
General plan
The plan (seen left) gives a good idea of the complexity of this vast building, of which some rooms are still unpublished. It also shows that the lack of use of such valuable space.
The mastaba was created in limestone, local limestone for the main body and for the door and its doorposts, white Turah limestone for the rest and notably the external facing. The external face of the building must have presented a white brightness when the limestone had not yet been damaged by time. In any case, it was torn off the building a long time ago.
The blocks used measure up to two meters in length with a width and thickness not exceeding around fifty centimetres. The blocks were very carefully cut, so that the mortared joints are sometimes almost invisible.
General description :
From room I, a small opening gives access to room III, which has three central pillars along its long axis. At its western extremity an opening was created to a set of 5 storerooms. A new stepped doorway, to the right (north) on entering room III, leads to room IV and beyond.
To the west of room IV, and buried in the masonry with no openings, is the serdab. In this room one usually finds a statue of the deceased, who comes out to eat the offerings. In some mastabas, an opening is preserved in the wall so that the dead can “see” what happens in his tomb, but not here. At the time of the initial excavation, the room was empty.
Room V has the curious particularity to include a bench, intended for the people who came to participate in the funeral cult.
Room VI includes a funeral shaft of a later period.
Room VII was the one intended for the offerings, since it includes at its western extremity the false stela doorway, which assures the point of contact between the world on earth and the beyond. It also includes an offering table on the floor.
Room VIII seems to have no other function than to extend further into the monument, probably to come closer of the vizier’s terrestrial dwelling. In fact, it represents just an offset extension to the offering chamber. Here are preserved the most vivid colours.
In the solid structure of the masonry situated at the northwest corner of the mastaba, and therefore close to the offering room, through an opening in the roof and down through the ground, is the funerary shaft. This leads to an underground funerary structure, strictly intended for the deceased, to which no one had access after funeral ceremony. This construction takes the form of a rotated “T” shape and includes the sarcophagus of Kagemni.
To the west of the serdab and room VI (but actually located on the roof) are preserved two boat-shaped pits, which would have been intended for the barques, but which remained empty. Note that these barques were originally supposed to come solely with royal pyramids, as with the one recovered at the foot of the pyramid of Kheops, or the two boat pits belonging to the pyramid of Unas, here at Saqqara.
Present State of the tomb
In addition to plundering, dating from Pharaonic times, the monument suffered a lot when it was transformed into a stone quarry. This is how the original slabs from roof disappeared completely. In the same way the upper part of the walls, especially in the first rooms, went missing. The remaining scenes, carried out in raised relief, are of a great quality; these are situated between the upper empty area and the dado at the bottom of the wall, which measures about 1m in height. This is surmounted here by two yellow and one red band, each outlined in black.The interior decor
Remembering that – contrary to what we sometimes suppose – the wall representations of an Egyptian tomb has only superficial affinities with the modern comic strip, because its syntactic organisation is a lot more complex and by no means creates any intended narrative: the deceased, the only real spectator of the images, finds the totality of a real world idealised in them, figuratively reflecting bursts of reality, these are organised collectively (in antithesis, chiasmus, etc.) which involve the space of one or several rooms, even that of the whole chapel.The set of the scenes, chiselled in raised relief, have been achieved on a blue-grey background, which is well preserved only in room VIII. Elsewhere the early disappearance of the flagstones of the roof have exposed paintings to the air and the sun, thus making them disappear more or less completely. Empty spaces, as those which were spared behind the doors, were painted in red pique on black in order to imitate granite, THE hard and noble stone, par excellence.
Note that certain scenes, seem to have been neglected, with awkward and hasty sculptures. There are in fact unfinished areas, which are found in the parts nearer the entrance, normally the last to be decorated .
The themes which Kagemni chose are stereotypical of the time, relating entirely to his terrestrial activities and his cult, intended to show the abundance of goods which he enjoyed, the fertility of his livestock, the wealth of his fields… This is why the agricultural scenes, of hunting and fishing, as well as those of transportation of various riches constitute the main part of the tomb’s artistic itinery.
By chance, the very precise layout of the scenes enables us to apprehend many details. Sometimes they are scientific details, like the techniques of hunting and fishing, or the identification of species of birds or fish. Elsewhere they are details of movement, like the small calf which a herdsman carries on his back whilst crossing the water, and which turns its head as if to call its mother. Some very lively festive scenes are also found.
The outdoor scenes occupy the first rooms, whilst the scenes relating to the funeral meal are concentrated in the most remote part of the tomb. The inscriptions contain the title of the scenes, the description of the offerings and their source, as well as the titles of Kagemni.
They are visually punctuated by the conversations or interjections exchanged by the master’s servants. So it is necessary to imagine the chapel as being magically alive, busy with the activities of daily life, in which Kagemni participates as if he were alive. It is important to know how to hear, in the silence of the rooms, the men who challenge and respond to each other, it is necessary to “see” them not as figures in the stone, but really DOING what is represented. A whole world is then opened to our eyes.
The facade
The entry is located at the south end of the east facing facade. At either side of it, the facade carries the names, titles and representations of the deceased . Two figures of Kagemni are present on the doorposts of the entrance doorway to receive the visitor. He is represented standing, Sekhem sceptre of power in his right hand, and long cane of office in his left hand The accompanying texts retraces the stages of the career of Kagemni and the good deeds which he accomplished.BIOGRAPHY OF KAGEMNI
Source: PM III, p.521.
Publication: Urk. I 194-196; MIO 1 (1953), 210-226.
Comments: Junker, Pyramidenzeit, p.54; Edel, Untersuchungen, § 53, p.68-71 ;
Janssen, Autobiografie, I Af 2; IIS 1, V 2, Bl 29, Bz 37, Dv 1, Hc 12-13.
Translation :
§ 113 ‘The State Vizier, Kagemni, says: “I was the favourite of Isesi. I filled the task of civil servant of the state, in the time of Unas. His Majesty rewarded me very generously,
His Majesty rewarded me for it very generously.
The majesty of Teti, who lives eternally, reached the Residence… [His Majesty] learned their name in the Palace, then His Majesty ordered all things which His Majesty wanted, [which one made happen in the courthouse of the Six. As for] all things which His Majesty had justly ordered to be done in the courthouse of the Six, [it was justly done by my action.] It was with a deep desire that His Majesty wanted [that I should render justice] in all things which he ordered.”.
§ 114 ‘The Vizier of the State, Kagemni, says: “[The majesty of Teti, my Lord, he who lives eternally, named me as the head of] all offices, on service at any hour (at) the Residence. His Majesty had confidence with regarding all things which His Majesty had ordered to be done, [because I was capable, because I was appreciated by His Majesty]”.
“[Oh living… accomplish] justice for the king, because it is justice which the God likes. Known as Ma’at (to the king, [because it is truth which the king likes. Oh living…] you won’t be able to throw slanders against me, because the sovereign knows my character and my conduct [and His Majesty has confidence in me, pleased that in his civil servant who is in this country, because I am] someone who speaks the truth and repeats the good in what the king likes. I desire that good is in me near the king and the great god, [and I desire that my condition of Imakhu is close to men and close to the great god. I judged] the parts so that they were satisfied, I fed the poor person, [I removed the pain of the grief-stricken.]”
Texts of bewitchment follow, in a rather fragmentary state.
Based on Alessandro Roccati: “La littérature historique sous l’Ancien Empire Égyptien”, Ed du Cerf, 1982, p 139-141.
The influence of the Osirian religion, which developed at the end of the Vth Dynasty, is notably visible in the last part, the “Great God” to which he makes allusion being Osiris.
Room I
Only the lower registers survive, which have completely lost their colours.1) – The west wall facing the entry
In the fishing scene located here, Kagemni, of whom only his feet remain, appears standing upright on a papyrus boat, itself slipping in the dense papyrus lined marshes whose plants are represented by upright stems. He is evidently fishing in the marshes.
Notice how far the artist/craftsman has taken the detail: on the branches immediately in front of the boat, can be seen a frog, a grasshopper dragonfly .
Other representations of the same type are present .
Some dangerous animals can also be seen in this hostile environment, where the order required by Ma’at doesn’t reign; so there is a battle between crocodiles , and crocodiles hunting fish, one among them having made a large catch . The composition shows well the panic of the potential victims, who flee in all directions.
Because there is an obvious immediate reading for this scene, it is necessary to imagine secondary symbolic one. The marsh is the border zone between the unorganised environment
(or Isfet) and the semi-organised one of Egyptian men, in accordance with the will of the gods
(this is the zone of Ma’at). While hunting the wild animals, these are also the demons which are hunted and which are thus prevented from penetrating into the most intimate parts of the tomb.
This motif of fishing in the marshes will be seen again in the ford crossing of room III and in the fishing scene of room IV. So it is very much confined to the outer areas of the complex, far from the place where the false door is located and where the offerings are placed.
2) – The east wall
This is the wall in which the entry doorway from outside is located. On the left, around the doorway, can be found the titles of Kagemni. On the right part of the wall are the servants, carrying or accompanied by various animals, a hedgehog in a cage, calves, and numerous birds of different species. Some plant offerings are transported by other men.
Room II
This quite long room leads towards the staircase located at the northern extremity. This leads to the roof. The room is totally undecorated.An inscribed block had been placed on the ground at the time of my visit
Room III
The room includes three badly preserved pillars, symmetrically placed along its east-west axis, on which can be seen some fragment representations of Kagemni and his wife (or wives).1) – The west wall
Kagemni is found represented at heroic height on this wall, in a pastoral scene of breeding and taking care of the herds.Two registers can be identified
Crossing the ford is dangerous, not just for the beasts, but also for the men. Indeed, besides the usual fauna of fishes, there are crocodiles and hippos to look out for.
On the second register servants take care of the milking of cows, which have been tethered to stop the animals from moving and to help keep away the calves which have not yet been weaned, which obviously seek to suckle their mother .
To the right, two men are seated face-to-face on some sort of thick vegatable matting. They manufacture faggots from stems of papyrus, even though it is difficult to understand the nature of the instruments which they hold in their hands; nevertheless the action is indisputable since the hieroglyphic wording of the scene is “qeni”, which means faggot or bundle
Another servant, seated in a strange kind of basket, weans a young pig to which he seems to regurgitate milk into its mouth. Note (as an aside) the pig, which is known from excavations to have been abundantly preserved, is hardly ever represented in tombs, probably considered as an impure animal. Besides, it will later become an animal connected to the god Seth
2) – The north wall
The larger section, to the west of this doorway, was decorated with two symmetrical scenes showing Kagemni (of which only the legs and feet survive) standing on his boat. He hunts and fishes in the middle of the undergrowth of papyrus . Below the two representations, a narrow space shows the water filled with many fish.
Close to their master’s large craft, and at a much smaller scale, are small boats with hippo hunters and fishermen.
In one of these there are three hunters. Two are armed with harpoons, the third with a club. The men wave their harpoons while pulling the ropes put around the body of the hippos. The large mammals struggle and scream under the effect of the pain .
The hippopotamus hunt
The male hippo also has a negative symbolic value. Indeed, the animal could remain immersed for a long time and then surface suddenly, it was prone to overturn the craft and to kill its occupants.
In the Old Kingdom it was already the image of brutal and uncontrolled, menacing strength, the creation of a return to the original chaos. With the change in funeral beliefs and the deceased having to travel in his boat on the celestial Nile, in order to reach his eternal destiny, the animal will only become more dangerous. This is why it was necessary either to destroy it by harpooning it, or to control it magically at the bottom of water, and it was the role of certain objects, created in glazed ware, where the hippo can be seen with a lotus flower on its back: bearing a lotus it was undoubtably under water
Thus the dual aspect that an animal could take on can be seen in the imagination of the Egyptian: on the one hand it was a living being, which hovered between good and evil. On the other hand, it was assigned a value of a receptacle, of an icon, to embody an inexplicable natural strength. The animal becomes thus the god’s hypostase to which has been attributed the phenomenon.
3) – The east wall
Room IV
In the thickness of the entry between rooms III and IV, are represented four servants who transport parts of the funerary equipment of Kagemni. Behind the entrance doorway, on what is the secondary thickness, is found a scene where servants pull a sledge on which is the “statue of the Ka” of Kagemni. This is the statue which was to be placed in the serdab, the room which was then completely closed.1) – South wall
A cortege of five animals carrying offerings head toward the rear of the tomb, more precisely towards room VII where the offerings are concentrated.2) – West wall
a) – First register
When sufficient number of birds are under the net, the man on the right gives the signal and, with his three friends in front of him, they pull violently on the rope, closing the net and trapping the fowl. A few survive, distraught, to escape from the trap
On the right, the second scene shows a very full net. The man situated on the right holds a piece of material between his outstretched arms, a signal perhaps for his hidden friends to pull the rope
b) – Second register
Three bird cages are represented side by side, surrounded by nets and with a roof sustained by sticks with forked ends . In front of the first lot of poultry stands a character holding a bag of grain on his right shoulder, letting the grain trickle to the ground. This is a typically conventional representation of Egyptian art, because the character wouldn’t perform this action outside the cage of course; he would have entered the enclosure by the small door represented at the bottom. But as the artist would have had difficulty representing him inside, he is shown accomplishing his task “outside”
c) – Third register
d) – Fourth register
Remaining with the actions of force-feeding, this register is very different and a lot more dangerous. In fact it is the force-feeding of animals, in this case hyenas. These animals could never be domesticated, and this is why the Egyptians gave up their exploitation from the end of the Old Kingdom.However, be that as it may, the scenes represented here are very interesting.
e) – Fifth register
f) – Sixth register
A drover with his ox and scribes, nothing much remains of them.3) – East wall
The characters receive the contributions of fish resulting from the activity of the servants in the marshes
4) – North wall
The chair is transported by 20 men laid out in two teams of ten, each one carries a stick while supporting a pole of the chair on his other shoulder -Between the rows, a supervisor, cane in hand, is ready to make his respect. Note the enormous disproportion of the sizes between the Lord and his chair on the one hand, and the other characters on the other.
In front of and behind the palanquin (the covered sedan-chair), two men hold vertical poles which are in fact the handles of its canopy.
We possess an example of a sedan-chair of this type, that of queen Hetepheres, preserved at the Cairo museum.
As highlighted by Jacques Vandier, and as can be seen with the queen’s chair – a great difference exists between the real size of the chairs and those that are sometimes represented. Certainly 20 men were not necessary to carry them. Victor Loret provided a very ingenious hypothesis, based on the likeness of the name designating this model of chair and that of the centipede deity: “Sepa”. The Egyptian centipede has only 42 legs, here we have 42 legs, counting the number of legs of 10 porters represented on each side, plus one supervisor!
In front of the scene, advance three superimposed nobles, among which are mentioned “his son”, but his name is not specified. Immediately above the doorway, can be seen a dwarf holding, by leashes, two dogs and a monkey. The dogs have curly tails and are of the breed “sloughy”.
Room V
Taken from room IV, – show the entry into room V and, at the far end, the beginning (west side) of the north wall. These images also show, in the north-west (top left) corner, the door between V room and room VI.
The thickness of the doorway is decorated on both sides by a procession of porters with offerings, laden with fruits, with birds, with vases containing flowers, trays and baskets filled with breads, meats and vegetables intended the “ka of Memi”. These continue on the following walls, in either a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction.
Kagemni, who is illustrated on the north wall, next to the entrance to room VII -receives the products of the fields which are provided for his funerary worship. Thus he sees the procession of servants laden with the various goods approaching in front of him -which finish up – magically – in room VII, the one for the offerings.
On the section above the doorway to room VII, there are three sub-registers. The bottom row shows chests containing vases and on the left is a strange assembly including a fan and a flail resting on what can only be a bed. Above, the first row of men is constituted of scribes carrying different scolls. Note that in front of the first one of them has been added his name
Take note of the first three men in the top register and the curious disposition of their arms. If the gestures of the first and the third are those of greetings, then the attitude of the one of the middle is very perplexing.
Room VI
The remaining decor of the west wall is similar to that of the east wall -showing in the lower register slaughtered beasts, lying on their back, notably oxen.
In the third register, some men measure grain from large heap situated in front of them, grain which will then be transported to a silo.
Up again, one finds men transporting some chests on wooden poles.
The deceased, majestically represented on the south wall, supervises all these activities -He is dressed in his short kilt, with the panther skin of the lector priest draped over him. Behind him are 15 men in five superimposed rows of three, the top row is barely visible. Among these is found Teti-ankh, and another son who doesn’t have the honour to be named, a brother of Kagemni is also anonymous, and the “hem-ka”. These last are priests (lit. servants of the ka), appointed to the cult of the deceased’s “double”, which is supposed to contain the substance of his vitality, his vital force, in the proper sense of the term. It is this metaphysical part of his persona that was capable of moving between the this world and the next, and to return to the deceased’s mummy the vital essence which it had absorbed from the offerings (real or those shown on the walls).
Room VII
In the thickness of the doorway, joining rooms V and VII, can be seen the traditional parade of porters with offerings
The whole focus of this long room is towards the wall at the rear, to the west, which includes the false door
1) – The north and south walls
Among the multiple details which show the interest that the Egyptians often especially showed for the animal kingdom the period of the Old Kingdom – what should be noted is the precision of the representations. As for example: this hedgehog in cage-, these small calves at play – but which doesn’t stop them showing a dead calf being transported in a basket -, etc. What does remain dubious, in front, is the representation of two ibexes in a basket: it is quite possible that it represents an ornamental accessory.
2) – The west wall
It is raised above the level of the floor, and approached by a flight of steps. Its upper part is missing, but on the whole it remains very well preserved.
Its right and left uprights are formed of three engraved panels, each being inset deeper toward the middle, achieving a stepped aspect. They each carry vertical columns of hieroglyphs, pointing out the deceased’s titles, and his two names (Kagemni and Memi).
The central, very narrow opening is painted in orange and is surmounted by a thin roller bearing the name of Kagemni. As in a terrestrial dwelling, this roller is the equivalent of the blind protecting an opening without door.
Through this opening, situated directly above of the underground funeral chambers, the Ka of Kagemni could leave and re-enter the sarcophagus, and come to satiate himself from the food offerings which were presented for him in front of the stela door.
If by misfortune his funerary cult should fall into oblivion, the Ka always had at his disposition the representations on the walls, which magically assumed the same role.
Above the roller, the deceased is represented seated in front of a table decorated with “thousands of breads, beer, alabaster, head of livestock, etc., achieving that which Egyptological jargon names a “placard”. This formula of wishes was also intended for the living, who had to recite it in a loud voice, so that it became a reality in the beyond.
Room VIII
1) – West wall
Six teams of men, distributed on the two lower registers, pull sledges laden with enormous vases of oil – They continue to the scenes on the north wall, heading for its eastern extremity where Kagemni awaits them. Each of these two registers is again surmounted by a broad band of hieroglyphs.
The upper registers are incomplete in places and all have very little colour. The two immediately above the porters, are of boxes containing even more vases, the one above these has a vast array of vases of various designs.
2) – North wall
-The two lower registers, which display porters, are each surmounted by a broad band of sculpted hieroglyphs.
The porters of the bottom register carry in their hands a long unidentifiable object, and which has been speculated to be a roll of material – If this is the case, would it be so amazingly rigid? The men of the register above carry either large vases -or they carry something round which could be a necklace. Some of the men are designated priests of the Ka. Kagemni stands magnificently at the eastern end of the wall to receive the many gifts
Like the west wall, the upper registers contain a great number and variety of vases; again with minimal colour other than that of the background.
3) – East wall
4) – South wall
Under this scene, through the doorway can be seen the succession of rooms which followed from the far south wall of room V (room VII being immediately to the right).
At the extreme east end of the wall is the standing figure of Kagemni, a match for the one on the north wall, although with rather less colour on his upper torso -. Note how the sceptre, which he holds in his right hand, can be seen in front of his kilt, whilst on the north wall it is correctly shown behind it, but due to the way which Egyptian artists drew people, the shoulders would indicate that to our eyes it was in his left hand.
The underground chambers
The walls of the two rooms are covered with scenes of offerings and inscriptions, including a large list of offerings.The sarcophagus bears the name and the titles of Kagemni. The plunderers displaced its lid. The limestone box section actually contained a wooden coffin with various remnants and bones belonging to the great nomarch, whose mummy had been smashed to steal the amulets and other precious objects which it contained. The excavators have found very little of the funeral furniture, primarily crockery. Canopic vases were also present, although broken.
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