Through the Eras

Architecture and Designtainer holding the mummified lungs, liver, stomach, andintestines—lay buried in a niche either on the south orsoutheast wall. Egyptians employed elaborate measuresto thwart tomb robbers, such as filling the tunnel withrubble after the burial or inserting large blocking stones.These precautions were largely unsuccessful. Nearly allof the Old Kingdom mastabas were robbed in antiquity.FIFTH- AND SIXTH-DYNASTY MASTABAS. The superstructureof Fifth- and Sixth-dynasty mastabas(2500–2170 B.C.E.) was more complex than the earlier,solid-core mastabas. Designers now included interiorchapels in the superstructure. These chapels were oftenL-shaped, though cruciform (cross-shaped) chapels alsoexisted. The overall size of these chapels was only a tinypart of the solid core of the structure. Very wealthy peoplebegan to include interior chapels with multiple roomssometimes connected by columned halls near the end ofthe Fifth Dynasty and beginning of the Sixth Dynasty.More and more, the mastaba began to resemble a nobleman’shouse. Stairs to the roof from the interior ofthe mastaba allowed access to the burial shaft that continuedto be accessed there. The burial shaft extendedthrough the mastaba core then continued into thebedrock. A tunnel led west to the burial chamber. In theburial chambers of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties designersburied the deceased in a pit excavated into thebedrock, and placed a stone lid over the pit after themummy’s burial.THE FALSE DOOR. The structure in mastaba tombsknown as the false door is a stylized model of a door. Itcombines an offering place, door jambs, a lintel, and astela, each carved from stone, though some Thirddynastyexamples are wood. The name of the deceasedwas inscribed on each element, along with his or her titles.If there were two false doors in the western interiorwall of the mastaba, the southern one was inscribed forthe deceased tomb owner while the northern one was inscribedfor his wife. The stela above the false door wasoften decorated with an image of the deceased at thesymbolic funerary meal as well as images of the deceased’sfamily performing rituals that ensured continued life inthe next world. The false door, according to Egyptianbelief, allowed the ka (soul) of the deceased to travel betweenthe world of the living and the world of the deadand deliver food offerings to the deceased, one of theka’s main functions after death.OPPOSING TRENDS. It is striking that Fifth- andSixth-dynasty mastabas are so much bigger and moreelaborate than Fourth-dynasty mastabas. This trend isexactly the opposite of the changes from Fourth to FifthandSixth-dynasty royal pyramids, which became smallerLETTERS TO THE DEADINTRODUCTION: The tomb was a deceased person’s housefor eternity. Not only did the deceased eat, drink,dress, and sleep in the tomb, but also he or shecould receive mail there. The following two letterswere deposited at the tomb of Inherhenmet at Kaw,a site in Middle Egypt. In it, the living son, Shepsi,asks his deceased father, Inherhenmet, and mother,Iy, to intervene in a dispute with his brother, Sebkhotep,who is also dead. According to the texts,this brother had caused the living son to lose hisland on earth. Shepsi suggested that his parentsbring a lawsuit against his brother to restore theland to him, especially considering all the things hehad done for his father, his mother, and even hisdeceased brother. It is unknown how the results ofthe suit would be communicated to Shepsi.It is Shepsi who speaks to his father, Inherhenmet.This is a reminder of your journey to the prison,to the place where Son’s son Hotpui was, when youbrought the foreleg of an ox, and when I came withNewayof, and when you said, “Welcome, you two!Sit and eat meat!” Am I being injured in your presenceby my brother, without having done or saidanything? (And yet) I buried him, I brought him from…, I placed him among the fellow-owners of histomb, although he owed me thirty gallons of barley[and other commodities]. He has done this againstme wrongfully, since you said to me, “All my propertyis vested in you, Shepsi.” Look, all my fieldshave been taken away! … Litigate with him sinceyour scribes are with you in one city …It is Shepsi who speaks to his mother Iy. This isa reminder of the fact that you did say to me, “Bringme quails that I may eat them,” and I brought toyou seven quails, and you ate them. Am I being injuredbefore you, the children being very discontentwith me? Who will then pour water for you [makesacrifices for you]? Oh may you judge between meand Sebkhotep! I brought him from another town …and gave him his burial clothing. Why does he workagainst me without my having said or done anything?SOURCE: “Letter From Shepśi to his father Inherhenmet,”adapted from Alan H. Gardiner and Kurt Sethe, EgyptianLetters to the Dead (London: Egypt Exploration Society,1928): 4–5.Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 35