Mastaba tomb of Mereruka at Sakkara

Mastaba tomb of Mereruka at Sakkara

The mastaba of Mereruka is situated in the north-east sector of the necropolis of Saqqara, just to the north of the pyramid of Teti, the first pharaoh of 6 Dynasty

Mereruka; his chambers being given the letter “A”. The south west quarter was designed as a separate set of chambers for his wife, Watkhethor: her chambers will have the letter “B’.

The main structure was later extended all the north far bis sos, Marylati; his chambers are lettered “C”. Both at these SOS above their entrance from within the

part af ihe comnyles devoted to Mereruka

Discovery

Although the mastaba of Kagemni was known from the mid-1800s, that of Mereruka remained unknown until it was discovered by J. de Morgan, the director general of the Services of Antiquities, in July 1893.

The first scholarly publication of the mastaba, by Prentice Duell, did not appear until 1936, although a brief summary had been produced some 40 years earlier by Georges Daressy.

Mereruka and his family members

Mereruka, his “beautiful” (or chosen) name Meri, as with all high officials, he was attributed with dozens of titles, some of which were honorific, but some were of functions which he actually performed.

Out of these many titles, it is worth noting that Mereruka succeeded Kagemni as “Vizier of the King (Teti) of Upper and Lower Egypt” and made him the second most powerful person in the state, as both Prime Minister and Chief Justice. Among his other titles are the following:

• Inspector of the priests attached to the pyramid of Teti
• Governor of the palace
• Scribe of the divine books
• Overseer of the royal record scribes
• Chief lector-priest
• Director of the scribes of the archives
• Director of all the works of the king (i.e. minister of public works and possibly architect)

His Family

Nedjetempet, her “beautiful” name, Tiyet, mother of Mereruka. Her mastaba is to the north of the Mereruka/Kagemni group.

Her name appears three times in Mereruka’s mastaba; twice on the north wall of chamber A13, either side of his statue and once at the southern end of the east wall of the same chamber.

Watet-khet-hor

Her “beautiful” name Seshseshet is the wife of Mereruka. She held no administrative offices, but did hold religious titles.

She was “eldest daughter of the king, of his body”, which made Mereruka the son-in-law of a king, very likely of his master, Teti.

Mereruka’s sons

Meryteti,

He is selected as both “eldest son of Mereruka and of Watetkhethor” and “eldest son of the king, of his body”.

His name, Meryteti, means’, referring to the reigning sovereign. He held many of his father’s titles, but in addition, he held the titles of “lector-priest of his father” and inspector of the priests attached to the pyramid of Pepi” (successor to king Teti, after the short reign of Userkare).

His wife, Nebet, is named in Meryteti’s own portion of the complex.

Pepyankh:

another son. He usurped Meryteti’s extension to his father’s mastaba and removed the

“Mery” from the Meryteti on the inscriptions of both Meryteti’s and his father’s mastaba (but not from those in the section belonging to Watetkhethor). The chambers were eventually restored to Meryteti.

Five other sons, whose names are Memi, Khenti, Apref, Khenu and Nefer, are among the other people depicted or mentioned on the walls of different chambers.

Memi is designated like Meryteti as “eldest son” (doubtless by a previous wife. It has been suggested that Memi and Pepyankh may have been the same person, having changed his name to Pepyankh.

Mereruka’s Daughter

There is also a daughter, Ibnebu, her mother being Watetkhethor, thus she was the sister of Meryteti.

She is depicted only once in the total mastaba, in chamber B01 of Watetkhethor’s section of the structure and is named here as “Her daughter, her beloved, of her body”.

Although she is shown as a fully developed woman, she is obviously young because she has her hair in a plait adorned with a disc.

Mereruka’s brothers, 

including Ihy, are named on the south wall of chamber A10 and the north wall of chamber A13.

Seven of the nine named in A13 held the position of “guard” (or “one who proceeds”), a position probably held by Mereruka in his early career.

Ihy: Mereruka’s brother, is depicted several times, but most memorably in well-rounded form, seated in a papyrus boat on the east wall of chamber A4.

The mastabas complex

Architectural design

The mastaba is: 23 meters east-west, 30 meters north-south, extending to 41 meters when including Meryteti’s addition and 4.5 meters high. The internal height of the ceiling is currently just over 4 meters.

The entrance to south, not east. This was probably due to an agreement between Kagemni and Mereruka.

Evidence in A10 indicates that this was, in fact, the eastern pillared portico, before the entrance.

Now see the east wall of this chamber, showing the signs of four pillars matching the four which now stand in the middle of the current chamber.

This east wall was built as infill between the pillars, and then decorated. The agreement was probably due to the fact that Kagemni wanted to extend his mastaba westward to provide additional storerooms.

The mastaba is the largest, containing no less than 31 upper chambers.

• From these, 21 are to Mereruka himself (chambers prefixed A),
• 5 are to his wife Watetkhethor (chambers B) and
• 5 for his son Meryteti (chambers C).
• In addition to these, there are 3 well shafts and their associated burial chambers.

Mereruka’s access shaft is located within the chamber; those for both his wife and his son are not accessed from within one of their chambers, but from the roof. Chamber B2 in his wife’s section is actually a flight of stairs

(Chambers A) forms a rotated L-shape enclosing the (area of chambers B).

The mastaba was enlarged by (area of chambers C).

Thus, the great Mereruka embraces his wife to the southwest and is accompanied by his son to the north; a symbolic family group.

The decorated areas of Mereruka’s section of mastaba consisted of 10 chambers (A1, A3, A4, A6, A8-A13). To these can be added the doorway thicknesses.

Inscriptions can be found above the doorways to chambers A14 and A16.

Chambers A1, A3, A4, and A6 may be regarded as corridors leading to the offering tables in chapels A8 and A9, and also to the large statue of Mereruka enshrined above an alabaster altar in the large, six-pillared ceremonial or cult chapel A13.

The storerooms are grouped along a corridor in the northwest corner of his tomb.

Storeroom A15 has the remains of a stone shelf along its east side.

Chapels A8 and All, along with the serdab (A7) and its approach (A6), centre about the tomb shaft, contained in chapel All, thus forming the centre of the structure.

The false door was located in the west wall of Chapel A8 to allow the entrance of Mereruka’s ka into the mastaba.

Also was located in a direct line through the second false door, at the end of the chapel, and entered the tomb shaft and the tomb chamber itself.

The serdab (A7) once contained statues of Mereruka. A small opening for ceremonial purposes connects the serdab with chamber A6.

A small doorway leading to chamber A2 was cut through the wall of chamber A1 after the decoration had been completed.

Possibly, the chamber was cut out as a corner of solid masonry.

Although its entrance was cut through an important relief, there seems to be no reason for this chamber unless it was intended as an antechamber for the adjoining vestibule.

The Mastaba of Mereruka

Chamber A1

Beyond the doorway, a short passage gives entry into chamber A1 (the vestibule). Although the passage maintains the south-north axis, the chamber is oriented along a west-east axis, the entry passage being at the west end of the south wall.

The chamber is approximately 7.0m long, 2.7m wide, and, like all of the other chambers, it is about 4.2 meters in height.

As with many walls in the mastaba, only the lower half has survived intact, with the addition of a few upper blocks of the north and south walls.

Chamber A1: Entrance: East wall

Mereruka is seated in front of a panel, with a feather in his right hand and a paint palette over his shoulder. He is painting the three seasons of the Egyptian year.

They are shown in the form of three seated characters, each holding a cartouche enclosing four hieroglyphic crescent moons (the sign representing the four months of each season. Starting at the end furthest from Mereruka, they are the seasons of:

accompanied by the hieroglyphic sign for “good” (Nefer) ; germination (Peret), along with the sign for “offering” (Hetep); finally, summer (Shemu), and the sign for “life” (ankh).

Mereruka looking out from his tomb, painting whilst viewing the annual cycle of Egyptian life. a smaller separate panel facing him, and his son stands “His son, lector-priest and scribe of the God’s Book, Khenu”, his instruments in his hand.

Chamber A1: Entrance: West wall

A tall figure of Mereruka walking towards the interior of the tomb, accompanied by his wife Watetkhethor (behind him) and his eldest son Meryteti (in front).

On either side of the central group are groups of three attendants placed above each other. Nine still exist in front, but only six behind.

At the northern end of this wall is the entrance to the chambers of Watetkhethor’s section of the mastaba.

Chamber A1: The north and south walls:

The two long north and south walls are decorated with scenes of marshes filled with wildlife. Each side is set on a stretch of horizontal water, teeming with a variety of fish, large hippopotamus, and dangerous crocodiles

On the north wall, Mereruka is fishing with a harpoon, hippopotamus, while other men carry fish in baskets

The lower registers of each wall still exist, but the image of Mereruka is more fully preserved on the south wall, showing his head and extended left arm.

On both walls, Mereruka is shown accompanied by his wife in a light papyrus boat, and in both cases, they face towards the entrance to the inner chambers.

On the south wall: he is in the act of hunting and his throwing stick at a flock of waterfowl, which take flight from the thicket of reeds. This time in the lower register, immediately below the reeds, hippos are attacked by crocodiles.

Towards the left, cattle are herded through the water, above which other men wrestle to control other cattle;

Above the scenes with cattle, men water and tend plants, in what can only be a cultivated area (perhaps a garden).

Further up still is the transport of fowl in a basket. It is uncertain whether these are leisure activities or whether

they have some other significance.

Chamber Al: The east Wall:

The east wall is showing a tall figure of the owner and his wife. Their heads are missing, but they can be seen holding hands, a loving feature that reveals their closeness.

The couple faces north, heading towards the depths of the main chambers. They are preceded, on six registers, by various servants and porters of a palanquin.

This wall was cut at its northern end for an entrance passageway to chamber A2, destroying the southern part of the lower three sub-registers of servants.

Chamber A2 (Annexed to Chamber A1)

The chamber is approximately 2.5m (west-east) by 2.1m.

The entrance passageway is only about 2m high, with a width of 0.6m and a depth of 0.75m. Its floor is higher than that of the rest of the tomb. The walls of the passageway and the chamber were left undecorated

This chamber may have been added later to make use of what had been a corner of solid masonry.

According to Daressy, this chamber was built above a four-meter-deep well shaft, in which were found only remains of alabaster and terra cotta vases.

Chamber A3

Chamber A3: South wall:

Mereruka, in large size, faces the entry doorway from chamber A1. Standing in front of him, his wife had a lotus flower to her nose.

In front of them, two of the mortuary priests are bringing offerings from his estates. Behind them, his eldest beloved son Memi at the bottom and with Mereruka’s brother Ihy above him.

It would have been interesting to know who stood above these two.

Chamber A3: The west wall:

Hunting scene: Dogs attacking antelopes, a lion attacking a bull. Vegetation can be seen. Vegetation scenes, containing two partially hidden hedgehogs, a small antelope and a hare.

Chamber A3: The north wall:

Mereruka and his wife Watetkhethor face east, towards the exit to chamber A4. In front of them, their son Meryteti; he wears the side lock of youth and carries a lotus flower in one hand and in the other, he holds a fowl by the wings.

Behind the family group are several female servants, each on her own register. Only the lowest female has fully survived and carries a chest on her shoulders.

For a servant, she is extremely well dressed, wearing a slim-fitting dress with shoulder straps, a broad necklace and wrist adornments. The female above her wears ankle bracelets.

There is no identifying text, but could they, in fact, be daughters?

Chamber A3: East wall

To the left, Mereruka, standing at the north end, is accompanied by the smaller-scale figure of his wife, who stands in front of him with a lotus flower at her nose.

Except for his head being missing, this figure of Mereruka has survived intact.

He wears a leopard skin, which hangs over his triangular kilt. He holds his staff of office in his left hand and a sceptre in his right.

The couples are attended by pairs of officials, five and a half registers of which still survive.

Chamber A3: East wall

In front of Mereruka and his wife, a column of text, the wall is divided into several registers showing many craftsmen busy in their various crafts.

The column of text states: ” for his tomb of the beautiful West, in peace, in peace.” (then possibly) “How happy she is in respect of it.”. The texts in the registers include the words spoken by the craftsmen or a short description.

The bottom two registers show metal workers. Weighing, then smelting of gold ore, the pouring of the molten metal and finally the beating of the gold into foil.

The lower register shows the production of collars and pectorals. The left-hand person of the middle pair states: “This is very beautiful, comrade.”Whilst the left-hand one of the couples to their right says:

“Hurry up, you, make it happen.” The intermediate, narrower, register represents a shelf of objects including headdresses, pectorals and collars.

A similar shelf appears in the upper part of the registers, containing a variety of vases, some of which are on stands.

Immediately above the metal working registers is the most complete one, showing the moving of sledges with statues of Mereruka towards his tomb.

This register possibly represents a street separating two different workshops. Above the “street” are the remains of three more registers Carpenters at working on a bed, and two others are occupied with the construction of a chest and its lid.

The middle one production of various vessels, of different shapes and sizes, and stored in a sub-register above.

The conversation is: (left) “Hurry up, you.”, (right) “This nXnm-jar is very beautiful.”.

Next to the potters, two men construct scaffolding, of which only half survives. This is made of a forked piece, held upright by three stays, supporting a horizontal beam.

The character on the right says: “Press down hard on that pole, (put your butt on it.”

The upper register, of which only the lower portion remains, has the legs of several characters. From what little remains, it is impossible to determine what activity is taking place.

After the wall had been decorated, an opening had been cut at the southern end of this wall (approx. 1.4m high by 0.7m wide), between this chamber and chamber A10.

This is now sealed off. It was probably cut during the occupation of chamber A10 by fellahin in more modern times, when the mastaba was in ruins.

Chamber A4

This is the second of the group of four chambers, and it lies in line, on the same axis as the previous chamber.

Chamber A4: The south wall:

Mereruka and his wife, both portrayed in large scale, stand facing the entrance from the chamber

A3. Mereruka holds his stat of office in one hand; this hand has not survived, while in his right hand he holds a sceptre which is partially hidden behind his kilt. As in all scenes of this chamber, neither of them has sandals on their feet.

The separated block, containing the head of Mereruka, may in fact have been misplaced; it could be that it actually belongs on the east wall of chamber Al.

Chamber A4: The west wall

The first section of wall, to the right of the passageway, only the lower register has survived intact; although portions of the two above exist in part and appear to contain similar scenes.

The scene is that of the punishment of village leaders for the nonpayment of taxes. These headmen have been brought before local tax officials and flogged, the whipping post being shown at the right end of the scene.

Scribes located at the left end of the scene record the evidence. Everyone in the scene is named and their official titles given; the wrongdoers will be remembered for eternity.

The next section of the wall shows Mereruka, in an ankle-length dress, with his wife (behind him). They look north, towards a scene where mortuary priests offer food before statues of Mereruka. Almost the whole of the lower two registers has survived. Just behind the statues is the entry to Chamber A6.

On the final decorated section of this wall, at the north end, Mereruka again stands facing the entry to chamber A6. The smaller image of his wife stands behind him

Chamber A4: The north wall:

This wall contains, at its east end, the doorway to Chamber All, built to accept an inward-opening door. The entry frame is 1.2m wide and 0.3m deep.

The decoration to the left of the doorway is again that of Mereruka with his wife (similar scale) standing behind him, both facing in the direction of entry into A11.

In this and the final image on the west wall, the figure of Mereruka only exists up to his knees.

Chamber A4: The east wall:

At its northern end, this wall contains the doorway to chamber A10.

Mereruka, accompanied by his wife (at a similar height) followed by several registers of scribes and servants.

Watetkhethor holds her husband’s wrist, both facing north. Together they are receiving fish and birds brought to them by fishermen and fowlers of registers facing them.

Chamber A4: The east wall

In the lowest two registers, fish are shown in great detail being netted. Above these two registers is one showing the catch being carried towards the deceased.

Methods Egyptians practised, from the use of a simple line to the large-scale use of nets and baskets. The scene also shows a large variety of fish in exquisite detail.

Seated in the boat is Mereruka’s brother, “Thy”. He is eating fish and drinking from a cup held by a servant.

This image of Ihy is very different from that found on the south wall of chamber A3; here, he is very plump.

The smaller section, at the north end of the wall, is again of the deceased, followed by his wife at a smaller scale) facing north.

This time, he is preceded by an even smaller-scale image of his son, Meryteti, who holds a bird in his right hand. Preceding the family group are several sub-registers of servants,

one of whom leads a baboon and two dogs.

Chamber A6

The chamber A6 is entered at the south end of its east wall, from the north end of the west wall of chamber A4.

The entrance doorway is wider at the A6 end, to accept a door which would open into this chamber. The passageway is decorated on both sides, with the usual parade of servants with various items: livestock, birds, food and drink.

They are grouped in threes in each register, all facing into chamber A6; two and half registers surviving of the south jamb, one and a half on the north jamb. There is no accompanying text.

Chamber A6: The east wall:

This wall, which contains the entry from chamber A4, is only decorated with the images of the deceased and one of his wives. In this scene, Mereruka wears sandals, while elsewhere in this chamber, he is barefoot. It should also be noted that here, as in the

two occurrences on the south wall, Seshseshet stands in front of him, grasping his front stepping leg. On the north wall, she stands behind him at a similar size to her husband.

Chamber A6: The south wall:

On the left half of the wall, animals are depicted, which include oxen, goats and gazelles. In the lower register, the four scribes are with an attending scribe standing behind them. In front of them, another scribe, probably more senior, presents the lists to Mereruka.

The deceased and his wife stand to the right of the scene. Only the last part of the column of text remains in front of them, which states: “. from his settlements of Lower and Upper Egypt”.

On the right half of the wall, Mereruka and his wife receive the products of the villages, symbolised by women carrying these in either a basket on their head or carried by hand.

The names of each domain are given in front of the representative. Male servants walk behind the women, with more offerings.

Chamber A6: The west wall:

Geese, ducks and pigeons appear to roam freely in a large meadow. The bottom register deals with the scenes of the raising of cranes.

Grain is thrown to the free-roaming adults. For the young, this is prepared as a mash or it is cooked; with this, they are then force-fed.

Towards the middle of this wall, a vertical opening gives the only access to the serdab (chamber A7), situated behind.

When the mastaba was originally constructed, a space would have been left in the wall to enable the placement of statues of Mereruka.

Afterwards, this would have been filled with blocks, faced, then decorated, leaving only the small opening.

Chamber A6: The North wall

The lower register shows the butchery of oxen. Three dead animals are shown having their haunches severed as an offering for Mereruka. Above, men carry offerings towards the entry to chamber 8.

In the middle of the wall, the deceased, his wife and son face the fishing scene on the right. His actual fishing scene of the lowest register shows twenty-three men pulling on a large net, provided with floats.

Trapped in this are a large variety of fish. In the register above can be seen the fishermen bringing the produce of their task towards Mereruka.

Chamber A8

Chamber A8; The south wall:

This wall was originally covered with bas-reliefs representing long lines of servants heading towards the west, carrying foods and products of all kinds, for Mereruka and his wife Seshseshet.

Mereruka is seated on a fine chair. His wife kneels next to him, breathing the lotus flower. He sits in front of a table of offerings, of which the upper portion is missing. Various offerings are situated under the table. More offerings are piled to the left of these.

In the bottom register, are six men carrying thighs of oxen, a most valued offering. These are positioned directly below the seated couple.

Only the first of these is named; they were relatives of the deceased. Of the other names which have survived or ever existed, only four can be found.

Porters carry various goods in containers, some carry large fowl, and some are accompanied by small domesticated animals.

One interesting item being carried, which all visitors seem to want to see, is the hedgehog being carried by the eleventh porter from the left-hand side of the bottom register

Chamber A8; The west wall:

This wall of the chamber is formed with a false door, in Turah limestone. The upper portion is destroyed.

In the middle, the deceased can be seen seated in front of a table of offerings of many upright half-loaves. Below the table are two vessels on top of a box.

On the lower lintel, beneath the small scene, are several of his titles and his name “Meri”, written on two lines of text.

Below this, and extending across the width of the inner door section, is a cylindrical drum that contains just his of “Sole title companion” and just “Meri”.

Three long texts (the inner two are of two-column cache, the outer is of three columns), located at either side of the central narrow door, list many of his titles, each side enumerated in the same way.

Many of the titles are repeated; each set ending with both of his names. At the bottom of each set of text lines is the standing figure of Mereruka, facing inwards, towards the actual door section.

Down each side of the stela are superimposed seven sets of vessels containing the seven sacred unguents?

Each set stands on a table. In front of the stele was placed an offering table in the shape of a hetep-sign.

Chamber A8: The North wall:

The reliefs represent long lines of servants heading west, carrying offerings towards the seated Mereruka and his wife.

The couple, and the table in front of them, is the only remains of any registers above the bottom one. However, here nearly the entire image of Mereruka has survived, including some of his titles and part of the list of offerings, which is located over the table.

This enumerates nourishments and perfumes. Mereruka stretches out his hand towards the table of offerings covered with a vertical stack of eighteen half-loaves.

Directly in front of the leg of the table is a variety of vessels. Beyond this is a pile of offerings.

Six men are carrying thighs of oxen. Unlike the south wall, their names are given, and they are the names of relatives.

Porters (like those of the south wall) have a variety of goods in containers, carry various birds, and are accompanied by livestock.

A descriptive text band is located above the characters, but only the western end still exists. From what does still exist, it can be seen that it would have been a duplicate of that found on the south wall.

Chamber A9.

Chamber A9: south wall

In the lowest register, four servants transport, on poles, two large chests of garments.

2nd register. – Five men drag three large jars of oil on a sledge.

3rd register – two servants carry, on a table, two enormous necklaces.

The second scene is identical except that they transport a pectoral. Of the text above this register only his some of his titles and names have survived.

4th register – there is a small lower trace of this register, which again showed the transportation of three large jars on a sledge.

Chamber A9: west wall:

Mereruka stands with his staff of office in one hand and probably holding a folded cloth in the other; his wife holds his leg and breathes the perfume of a lotus flower.

Behind them can be seen the two remaining lower registers:

Register 1 – four individuals pulling a rope-drawn sledge laden with four very large jars.

Register 2 – Two large chests are transported on poles by four men.

In front of them, the wall is occupied by processions of servants transporting various goods towards Mereruka:

In the bottom register:

• Three men, each carrying two bands of material.
• Seven men follow, holding the vases of various shapes, all containing oils.
• The remains (due to the ancient damage) of four chests, each being carried on poles by two men.
• Servants carry tables on which the contents have not survived, towards at least one standing table containing three vessels.
• Third registers
• Servants carry tables on which the contents have not survived, towards at least one standing table containing three vessels.

Chamber A10

Chamber A10: North wall

The deceased is seated on a chair, facing towards the entry from chamber A4, holding his staff of office.

At his feet squats the figure of his wife. The front upper part of the portrayal is badly damaged.

Behind him were originally five sub-registers (the upper one almost totally lost), attended by four attendants with the title “servant of the Ka” four to each register.

This title is held by priests given the task of attending the funerary cult.

In front of him is first a column of text, “Observing the jubilation of the one honoured by the king, Mereruka, his good name is Meri”, then five sub-registers of servants carrying food offerings (six in each register).

Towards the left, the upper row is damaged, along with the leftmost servant of the next row down. In the top two registers, the servants bring a variety of fowl and joints of meat, whilst in the bottom three registers, the offerings are carried in panniers suspended from poles across the shoulders.

Again, these porters carry the title “servant of the Ka” before their names. The upper surviving part of the wall shows that it contained a kheker frieze.

This and the surviving part on the east wall are the only in-situ occurrences of the kheker frieze.

Chamber A10: East wall:

At the north end of the wall, Mereruka stands facing south, toward a ceremonial scene before his statue in a shrine depicted at the opposite end.

He holds his staff of office and displays a short beard. He is accompanied by his wife, smelling the lotus flower. They are followed by some of his servants. These servants are all named.

In front of them, the wall is divided into many registers. A column of text separates the couple from the five registers: ” (Observing) the jubilation of the one honoured by the king, Mereruka, his good name is Meri”.

At the height of the bottom two registers, a man carries on his shoulders a large crate containing two spouted vessels. All characters in these registers face, like the deceased, towards the south.

The bottom register begins on the left with six men beating their hands rhythmically; further on, male dancers, grouped in twos, execute various figures.

The second register begins with six women beating time; in front of them are individual female dancers, their arms raised above their heads.

The upper three registers again represent “servants of the ka” of the deceased and they are all named. A column of text spans the three registers, in front of the leftmost rows of ten servants: “How beautiful is the jubilation for

Mereruka, honoured by the gods of the snwt-sanctuary”.

The small remaining decoration is at the southern end of the wall. It shows the lower portion of the legs of the statue of the deceased in his shrine. Approaching it are two servants bringing large birds, and in front of them is a small animal.

Chamber A10: west wall

On the left side: a large bed with lion’s feet and two men spreading the linen. Five attendants (originally seven) wait with their arms across their chest. These all hold the title of “the overseer of linen”. Mereruka moves toward the bed,

holding his wife by the hand; Mereruka moves toward the bed, holding his wife by the hand; they are followed by twelve men, four in each sub-register. The twelve men hold their arms across their chests.

Their names, which were drawn in ink, have become erased. Originally, there were probably more than just the three surviving sub-registers.

The group of men behind the couple stands with their backs to similar groups of five females who attend Mereruka’s wife in the next scene

The central scene: Seshseshet playing the harp for her husband; both are squatting on a couch, and Mereruka holds in his hand a small stick and a fly swatter. Below the couch are vases and caskets; the text between the two rows reads:

“First class sealed (things): golden (necklaces), all (kinds of ointments and clothing”. Women in fives and men in fours are grouped standing behind their respective mistress and master.

As previously, the group of men stands with their backs to the attendees of the next scene, this time groups of four men.

At the right-hand end of the wall, Mereruka is shown seated, clothed in the kilt; his wife is squatting next to him, at his feet.

In a poor condition, above Mereruka’s head, are the remains of seven columns of text, which contain his names and some of his titles.

The first (right) column has the title “Inspector of Prophets of the Pyramid The-Places-of-Teti-Son-of-Re-Are-Enduring.

The last three columns end with his two names. Behind him stand several rows of male servants with their arms folded in different ways.

The couple are separated from several registers of servants coming towards them by a column of text which titles the scene: “Observing the sealed (things), the sealed (things), and clothing brought from the residence, as a boon which the king gives for the honoured one, Meri”

In the lower register, two men hold two pieces of material, followed by four transporting chests and finally, two scribes follow them carrying a palette under their arm.

The title of this register, written above, describes the scene “Bringing chests and clothing, which are brought to him from the residence, as a boon which the king (gives) “.

In the second register, men hold in their arms large vases of different shapes. Above them is the description of the scene “Bringing Hs-vases and vase stands, which are brought to him from the residence, as a boon which the king (gives) “.

The characters of the third register transport three chests of linen. The text, along with the heads of five of the six men, is lost. A further register existed above these, but only a small fraction has survived.

Chamber 13:

Chamber 13: South wall:

Mereruka is travelling in a reed boat; his wife is next to him. Behind him, in the lowest of several registers, stands one of his sons and his elder brother Ihy. Above these two characters are at least two registers of three servants.

In front of Mereruka, a bird has made its nest in the reeds which are on the bank and among which is also an ibis.

A crocodile, with a strange-looking mouth, devours one of the fish which fill the water which extends under the whole of this section of wall.

Harpoon fishing takes place from the smaller skiff by Mereruka’s fishermen. All that remains of the fishermen’s scene is their feet, the light craft and the harpoons, which are equipped with barbed tips.

The west (larger) section of the wall is the beginning of the decoration of the chamber and although only half the height of the lowest register now exists, there is enough detail to determine its content.

Next to the entry are represented the mourners; they surround the efficient, the lector-priest, dressed in his panther skin. The text above them says: “Oh Meri, my lord, the honoured one, may Anubis glorify you”.

surround the efficient, the lector-priest, dressed in his panther skin. The text above them says: “Oh Meri, my lord, the honored one, may Anubis glorify you”.

In front of them, many servants carry a way of chest, which is probably very heavy. Notice how this is represented: three porters are shown in the front and three others at the rear, all holding a carrying pole.

The next scene shows the barge and the three rowing boats which will pull it.

To the left of the barge, some men appear to have fallen in the water (Duell thinks that these are actually pushing the barge to start its journey, but because no text has survived, it is impossible to know.

It should be noticed that the oarsman stroked differently in each of the three boats.

Next is probably the landing stage where funerary equipment has already landed, a short text of description is at the right-hand end:

“Necessities for the craftsman and the lector priest”. Beyond, the coffin is transported disembarking from the barge, this time the two officials follow the porters.

Finally, outside the tomb stands the lector-priest. Facing him are mourners, dancers and a kneeling woman offering bread from the table in front of her.

This scene depicts women mourning Mereruka during the funerary procession.

Chamber 13: West wall

Chamber 13: West wall: On the left, the deceased is accompanied by two of his sons. The one in front of him (whose image has been chiseled out) was probably that of Memi-Pepyankh; the one behind is unknown because no identifying text is available.

Next, Mereruka is seated on a chair with his wife squatting in front of him; they view the boats shown to the right.

Below them, they are accompanied by nine servants. Those boats register all face left, towards Mereruka, and are powered by both sails and oars.

This would be normal for boats travelling upstream against the current. The boat of the second register has its sails down and travels in the opposite direction.

Below the remains of the seated Mereruka, and intruding into the boat register below a group of three men is approaching the vessel. They are armed with sticks held over their shoulders, and they are possibly messengers.

They are followed by a servant leading two dogs. This scene and that of Mereruka above are situated above the entrance to chamber Al4, which is the corridor leading to the storerooms.

Chamber 13: North wall:

Scene 1: Close to the left corner, Mereruka is represented seated in a palanquin carried by twelve men.

Three servants precede it with their arms crossed; three others follow it, the first holds a mat and a staff, the second carries a chest, and the third just holds his long staff.

Under the palanquin are two naked dwarfs with a pet monkey and three dogs.

Below all of this are thirteen members of the deceased’s family, several brothers and sons.

Scene 2: Mereruka in the company of two of his sons, all holding hands.

The cartouche containing part of the name of the leading son has been erased, but the last part of his name (“ankh”) remains; this can only be Pepyankh.

He is identified as a lector priest. The son at the rear, also a lector priest, is named Apref. He is also described as “sole companion”.

Although he is not called a son, his appearance in this important scene with the eldest son Pepyankh would seem to indicate such a relationship. This is Apref’s only appearance.

Scene 3: This tableau is formed from a set of six registers:

1st register.

The overall activity is that of fattening hyenas for eating. In the middle, two animals have been placed on their backs with their paws bound, and are being force-fed with cuts of meat and poultry. This would have been a very dangerous activity.

On the left, an animal is being brought towards the central area, tethered by ropes fastened to its neck. Note that it has a flat stomach.

On the right, on the other hand, another animal is led away, fully fed; it doesn’t need to be restrained anymore, and its stomach is clearly rounded.

2nd register.

Here, there are five gazelles and antelopes.

The first (right) has straight horns, those of the second are lyre-shaped; the third has them bent slightly forwards again, those of the fourth are curved almost to its back; finally, the fifth, whose body is thinner, has its horns bent at nearly 90 degrees

The first (right) has straight horns, those of the second are lyre-shaped; the third has them bent slightly forwards again, those of the fourth are curved almost to its back; finally, the fifth, whose body is thinner, has its horns bent at 90°.

3rd register.

Food is being given to three reclining oxen, a fourth

4th register.

A man leads four oxen, another man three. At the rear, the chief drover leads a single ox without horns.

5th register.

Four goats eat whilst lying on the ground.

6th register.

This top register shows the manufacture of two boats. The workers dig the first (left) with an adze or cut holes in the planking with a chisel; a man measures the length of the second boat with a rope, and the carpenter, having taken the proportions, indicates with a plumb line where to place the mast.

Scene 4:

Mereruka strides forward, holding the great staff. In front of him stands his wife smelling a lotus flower. Behind Mereruka stands

Nedjetempet. This is the first of only three scenes which include Mereruka’s mother.

Another is at the other side of his statue niche; the third is at the south end of the east wall.

His wife and mother are named in their own column of text, above them.

Scene 5:

Opposite the entry doorway to the chamber is a large statue of the deceased, approximately 2 meters high. He is clothed in the starched kilt, and he wears a thick wig.

His arms are held down at his side. The form of his left hand indicates that he originally held something, probably his sceptre. It is strange that he should have been holding it in his left hand.

This statue is at the back of a niche-formed shrine dug into the wall and decorated on the outside with a semi-cylindrical moulding. On the outer are some of his titles.

The column of text on the right ends with his full name, Mereruka, and the one on the left ends with his other name, Meri.

In front of the shrine is an offering table, made of alabaster, placed on an oblong pedestal preceded by a set of four small steps.

On this table, in the shape of the hetep-sign, can again be seen some of his titles. These same titles are repeated on the pedestal.

Scene 6:

This last portion of the wall consisted of a number of activities distributed on six registers; the decoration was already finished when a doorway was cut through it to give access to Merytet’s extension of his father’s mastaba.

1st register.

In the lower of the two sub-registers, on the left are three men with their arms crossed on their chest; and on the right, men with long staffs.

Above, on the left, are four naked children with the long side lock braids; on the right are two naked individuals, the first of whom appears to carry a child on his hands.

2nd register.

In this register, which crosses over the doorway, four women execute an acrobatic move. Four other artists, two facing two, holding either a mirror or a stick finished with a hand, express different gestures.

Finally, there are two more dancers

3rd register.

An individual, who has his arms bound behind his back, is escorted by six naked men holding a stick finished with either a hand or a feather. To the right, a man crouching on the floor receives kicks from four individuals, either to his leg or his head, while a fifth looks on.

4th register.

This represents exercises in gymnastics.

– The first group, left, is composed of three men carrying a child

– The second group is of six men in two teams in a tug-of-war competition.

– Next, there are three runners, and finally, two individuals seated in a bizarre position.

5th register.

Here, on the left, can be seen two servants holding various birds. Of the remainder of the register, only the bottom part remains, and this contained small scenes separated by trees.

6th register.

With only the small lower portion on the left remaining, the indication is that this showed more servants bringing more fowl.

Chamber 13: The east wall:

This wall is divided into three scenes. The one on the right (north) revolves around Mereruka and his wife, facing south.

At the other end (south), the activity relates to Mereruka, his wife and his mother. The larger central scene is divided into several registers involving agriculture.

The north and south ends of these registers are actually part of the two outer scenes.

Scene 1:

The deceased and his wife sit side-by-side on a broad seat playing a board game. A man, at a much smaller scale, squats opposite them.

Only the final ‘i’ of his name survives; this could be Mereruka’s son, Meryteti. Below him, three servants approach carrying offerings. In a

separate sub-register, below the couple, eleven servants stand in various poses, facing south. In front of these, more porters bring offerings towards the couple.

Positioned on the left ends of the central registers, more porters bring offerings.

Scene 2:

Mereruka stands facing north. He is accompanied by his wife and his mother. They are viewing the agricultural scenes in front of them. Twelve servants of the Ka stand behind them, the first servant of the second register carries the long pole of a sunshade.

In front of the family group, displayed at the right-hand end of the registers forming the central scenes, are the forward escorts.

In the bottom register a man leads two leashed wolf-hounds; he is also probably part of the forward escort.

In the register above, a man carries a long pole, which, like the one carried by the man who follows the family group, was again supporting a sunshade. He is preceded by two more men.

They, and the pairs of men in the registers immediately above, are more of the forward escort.

Scene 3:

Between the two-family groups are numerous scenes whose topics are borrowed from life in the fields.

Divided into registers, only the bottom three now exist in their entirety. A fourth exists above them, at half of its original height, but enough detail remains to know its content.

Ist register

1. I) A man holds his sandals in his left hand, and a supervisor, in front of him, leans on his stick.

2) Two men pile up the sheaths of corn, whilst two others tidy the area around the completed heap using pitchforks

prongs.

3) Two goatherds make their herd cross a ford.

4) A man forces donkeys to cross through the water.

5) Two drovers supervise their animals during the passage of a ford. The one on the left stands in the water, the other on the bank.

– 6) Two men tidy a heap of wheat by striking it with branches, whilst another tidies the area using a pitchfork with three prongs.

A finished heap has been decorated, and a palm has

7) Two women sift wheat using sieves

2nd register

– 1) Harvesting the fields. The mature harvest has grown to a good height, and labourers cut the ears with the help of large sickles (several sickles have survived and show that they were made of wood, into which embedded flints were).

At this time, the crop was cut high up, leaving the long stems in place.

Towards the right of the scene, a bird is being caught in a net by four hunters. Other birds can be seen walking amongst the tall corn, pecking the fallen grain.

A man plays a long flute setting in the work. Within the texts, the two harvesters on either side of the flute player comment on the good quality of the barley.

A man plays a long flute setting in the work. Within the texts, the two harvesters on either side of the flute player comment on the good quality of the barley.

Further in front of them, a man shouts, “Where are you?” possibly wanting someone to sharpen his sickle. The man cutting barley behind the bird catchers tells them, “Oh men, hurry up”.

The man in the middle of the last two harvesters informs them: “Beer for me, while you cut barley”; but he is spotted by the overseers, who call out: “Winnowing barley”

– 2) At the far left, two harvesters carry small bundles of corn, which they pass to two others who, in turn, pass them to three men packaging them into tight blocks. When finished, they are stored as seen above

3rd register

The transportation of the harvest by donkeys.

• In the first scene, three men stride forcefully towards the action with sticks over
• their shoulder.
• In the second scene, six donkeys arrive, driven by a donkey-drover.
• In the third and sixth scenes, two donkeys carry their burden,
• In the fourth, one is being loaded while the donkey-drover restrains the animal and helps support the load.
• The fifth scene shows three men having to force a stubborn donkey to move. A man standing to the right holds
• In the seventh, five men carry some sheaves on their heads; a single man awaits their arrival to take the sheaves and to place pile.

All of the text in this register relates to transportation using donkeys.