THE LOWER (WEST) PART OF THE COMPLEX

Situated below the rocky ledge on which the mastaba stood, the western section consists of the main (west) chapel, flanked to the south by a second unfinished one. Both have in front of them, on two different levels, a courtyard.

The two courtyards

The lower courtyard N°1 is immediately in front of the chapels. This too is divided in two parts (1a and 1b) by a wall which runs east-west, created from the natural rock at the time of creating the courtyard (). However the wall doesn't reach the rock face containing the facades of the chapels, from which it remains separated by about sixty centimetres. The two halves of this courtyard are also at different levels, the lower northern one is directly in front of the main facade, and the upper southern one is in front of the incomplete south chapel. Courtyard N°1a, to the north of the wall, measures 7.60 x 3.00m. On the other side of the wall, courtyard N°1b measures 2.20 x 3.00m; two irregular steps connect the two areas.
Behind (west) and 1.70 and 1.35m above courtyard N°1 spreads courtyard N°2, which measures 10.25 x 3.25m.
Remarkably, the two courtyards are only connected by a flight of five irregular steps located in the southwest corner of courtyard N°1b, whereas one would have expected a straightforward and direct communication.

The incomplete chapel

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To the south of the chapel of Merefnebef is the partly cut entrance of a second chapel, which faces courtyard N°1b. In its present state, the opening measures 1.80m wide by 0.51m of depth; if it had been completed it would have been 2.13m high. The work of excavation is very incomplete, and no decoration or text has been applied. It is likely that this chapel was destined for the funerary cult of the vizier or one of his family members.

The main chapel

This was excavated into the west facing cliff, its floor being situated 5.80m below that of the mastaba area which overhangs it.
A narrow opening is situated the middle of the wall and gives entry to a transverse chapel with a north-south axis, whose walls are decorated entirely with painted reliefs.

It is this chamber which is going to be described in details in what follows.

THE (EAST) FACADE

THE FACADE

The facade of the chapel presents itself as an inset rectangular niche, 5.89m long, 2.96m high and with a depth varying from 0.76 to 1.15m, cut into the cliff face. The original, now protruding, cliff face delimits the new rectangular surface. The overhang at the top has been transformed into an outer lintel, whilst the edges form two lateral jambs. The ceiling of the niche is painted in dark red, in order to imitate the prestigious but inaccessible granite ().

FRAMING OF THE EAST WALL

This is all part of the original cliff face but was still used to support decoration.

F1 : the "outer lintel"

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In disrepair, it is decorated of an inscription in sunken relief : "Hereditary prince, count, chief Nekhbite, privy to secrets of the king in his every cult-place, sole companion, director of the palace, privy to the secrets of the House of the Morning, Merefnebef".

F2 : the south jamb, outer face

This is 1.49m wide in its upper part, and 1.70m at its base, with a height of 2.12m. The decoration is divided in two parts. At the top, four columns of inscriptions; below, a representation, badly preserved, of the vizier walking toward the entry of his chapel.

F3 : the north jamb, outer face

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This measures 1.10m wide, with a height of 3.11m. Merefnebef, a long staff in his left hand, faces the entry. He wears a long streaky wig which falls onto his shoulders, and a great necklace of which some parts are visible.
The details of the sunken reliefs which have been preserved, the vizier's features and the plumage of a bird, reveal the skill of the craftsmen.

F4 and F5 : the internal faces of the outer jambs

These delimit, to the north and south, the inset wall, creating the rectangluar niche-like facade. Both have the same decoration which includes a large representation, in deep sunken relief, of Merefnebef exiting from the tomb. The naked torso is represented according to the Egyptian rules of "aspective", that of being partially face-on and partly side view. The near arm hangs down, while the far arm is bent at 90° and carries a long staff. This gives an unnatural aspect to the figure of the north wall, the position of the fingers being reversed. In both cases the vizier wears a short curly wig, a necklace and bracelets, and a long skirt fastened high on his stomach. The accompanying inscription on both walls is also identical and contains the names and titles of Merefnebef.

THE EAST WALL

Please refer to document for locations.
The wall measures 5.75m long and 2.87m high. It is decorated in its entirety, with reliefs arranged in three registers, one above (on the long internal lintel) and two each side of the central entry ().

F6 : the "inner lintel"

This is a large rectangle of 5.70m long by 0.46m in height, occupying the whole upper part of the wall. It includes 4 long lines of inscription (to be read from south to north), each of which ends with one of the names of the deceased. At the northern end is a "vignette" of the deceased, preceded by two vertical columns of text. Traces of a thick layer of greenish-bluish paint are preserved inside some of the hieroglyphs.

Line 1 : "An offering which the king gives and an offering which Anubis gives, Foremost-of-the-Divine Booth, Who-is-in-embalming-place, Who-is-upon-his-hill, Lord of the Sacred Land and Sepa, that he may be buried in the necropolis in the Western Desert, after he has become exceedingly old, in peace, in peace by the great god (as) one who caused peace, one who lived in a state of reverence, one who spoke that which is good and thought of (his) burial, the Osiris, who is in the king's heart in his every place, whose great name is Merefnebef."

Line 2 : "An offering which the king gives and Osiris, Lord of Busiris, (namely that) an invocation offering may come forth for him on the Opening of the Year Festival, on the Festival of Thot, on the Beginning of the Year Festival, on the Wag Festival, on the Great Festival, on the (Festival of) Burning, on the Beginning of the Month and the Beginning of Half Month Festival, on the Sadj Festival, on every festival, every day, in eternity, for the the great god, by Ptah Who-is-south-of-his-wall, and by Sokaris, whose beautiful name is Fefi."

Line 3 : "As for all people who will enter this tomb in a state of impurity- after they have eaten the abominations which the glorious spirit who has gone to the necropolis abominates, without removing their impurity, as they (should) purify themselves for the temple of god, their impediment which is very evil will be caused by the great god because of this. Also, all glorious and noble rituals have been performed for me. His great name is Unas-ankh."

Line 4 : "[…] which are done for the excellent one who is among the glorious spirits, through the duty of the excellent lector priest, who knows the rituals truly, truly. Moreover, I am initiated in secrets of every god. Moreover, I know all the things through which the glorious spirit who has gone to the necropolis becomes glorious as honoured one of the great god and by the king. Moreover, I know all the things through which he ascends to the great god. Sole companion, privy to the secrets, whose great name is Merefnebef."

F6 : the "vignette"

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Situated on the left (north), this includes a representation of Merefnebef in the company of a woman whose representation is almost completely obliterated, and of his son Manefer, whose figure seems to have been chiselled out deliberately. In front of the characters are two vertical lines of inscription containing some of the deceased's titles :

Line 1 : "Under-supervisor of the god's servants of the Meret-Teti temple, honoured by Ptah Who-is-south-of-his-wall, whose great name is sole companion Merefnebef."

Line 2 : "Guardian of the pyramid of Teti 'The places-of-Teti-are-enduring', honoured by the great god, whose fair name is companion, director of the palace, he who is in the heart of the king, Fefi."
The signs, which appear to have been originally blue on a white base, are an imitation (by their form also), of the texts which can be found in the pyramid of Unas, which is near, and which had been finished a short time before Merefnebef excavated his tomb. There is certainly a willingness of the deceased to appropriate a royal attribute.

F7 A-B : the inscriptions of the middle register

The middle register measures 0.72m high. It is comprised of inscriptions which extend north and south from the upper part of the entrance. The decoration is in raised relief on a fine white plaster layer, but some parts were simply painted directly on the facade. The inscriptions, initially sketched in red, were polychromatic (), on a blue base (which has since turned to the grey).

1) - the southern inscription (F7A)

This measures 2.575m. Its many colours are nearly lost today. It consists of 26 columns, which read from right of left.
" (1) I am an effective spirit equipped [with all the things more than the other effective spirits], (2) revered by the king and venerated by him. (3) I was a lector priest excellent of knowing all the magic rituals (lit. all the magic things) (4) more than the other people. Never was (5) any trustworthy magic hidden from me. The one who was as a privy to the secrets (6) of the king in all affairs that he loved, […] who has made (7) success secretly inside and outside the endowment by means of every command. (8) The one who was as a true privy to the secrets of the king. (9) Oh! Passing ones, [living ones]! (10) As for all the people who shall do an evil thing (11) against this tomb, against the invocation offering of round loaf of bread, beer and tall loaf of bread, against ka-servant, (12) I will bring for him the end of this in their presence (13) The fear will not be cast in me in this (case), so that (14) the survivors may see (it) and may fear the effective spirits (15), which shall revive in this entire land. (16-26) I have gone from my town and I have descended from my nome, (after) I had achieved greatness and had attained old age, (after) I had performed ma-at which the god loves, (after) I had propitiated [the god] with (everything) that he loves, by having performed ma-at and the invocation offering of beer, round and tall loaves of bread for the effective spirits, (after) I had respected my father and had been amiable to my mother, (after) I had buried the one who had no son, (after) I had ferried the one who had no ferry, (after) I had rescued], the weak from [the stronger], (after) I had given the property of the father [to the son. For the people passing by them] should say it: ["Look, the one loved of the gods is revered with them"]."

2) - the northern inscription (F7B)

This measures 2.608m. and includes 25 columns, The many colours here have survived a little better ( and ). The text reads from the left of right.
" (1-8) He is beloved of the king, the one who loves his life, the one who loves prosperity, the one who loves that he may be on the earth like Re on the horizon, the one whose servants do not make a burial inside this tomb, the one who does not bury any people inside this tomb, neither his children nor his brother nor his ka-servant. (8) As for the one who will act (badly) in spite of this, I have restrained them from this as the one living for the king, (10) he is his opponent, he is his contestant, (11) the one who conspires against him. I will be (12) judged with him because of this by [the Majesty] of the great god. As for this tomb for eternity, I have made it on account of being provided with all the things by the king. The king has namely given me place for it in a clean area (16) in the sacred land in the district […] enclosure of Osiris. His Majesty wished I would ascend to the god with respect to everything. His Majesty wished, I would become effective by the god with respect to everything, His Majesty wished I would be ennobled by the great god with respect to everything, because I was ennobled by the king with respect to everything. As for this tomb for eternity, I have made it to firm my body in the estate [when I was] as a king's dignitary. It is by the scribes that it (the tomb) [was made] pleasing to his heart, it is by the craftsmen that it was made, [it is by] the craftsmen that this tomb was made […] good burial for the courtier, director of the Palace, Mer[efnebef]."

F8 : the lower register

Measuring 1.29m high, it is composed of eight panels, four on each side of the entry, each showing a representation of the vizier walking towards the entrance of the chapel. For example, zone F13 ().

The constant elements in the representations of each figure are : a short kilt with a belt sloping towards the front, a broad necklace and a short rectangular beard, a xrp-sceptre held in the far hand (passing illogically behind the character on the figures of the left), and a long staff held in the outstretched near hand. A proof of the incomplete character of the work of the sculptor and the painter is in the third character of the sequence of the south side (F9) : the character has been covered with a thick layer of plaster, whose surface has been smoothed.

THE ENTRANCE PASSAGEWAY

The two sides of the small entry passageway are decorated with 1.69m high reliefs, leaving a narrow undecorated framing border which was covered with plaster. Each sides decorated zone is divided in two panels.
The ceiling, like the underside of the outer facade, has been painted dark red. The floor was originally plastered and painted white.
gives an idea of the state of the passageway at the time of its discovery.

1) - the top panel

Both sides are identical and measure 1.32m in height. Figures and inscriptions are in raised relief, then covered in painted plaster. The deceased is shown leaving the inner chamber towards the outside of the tomb (). He is accompanied by one his wives and two of his sons.
The figures and their legends of three of the sons have been deliberately chiselled out, undoubtedly after their father's death.
The only untouched son has the name Fefi (the same as that of his father's "beautiful name"). He is on the south wall, the one standing in front of his father's staff, facing him. While nearby, also holding the staff, but chiselled out, was the "eldest son" (Manefer) ( and ). It is possible to suppose that the young Fefi was responsible for the destruction of the reliefs depicting his brothers and thus their eviction from the tomb.

In front of and above the characters are ten columns of text mentioning their names and titles. Thus, on the north side are, Merefnebef, Meresankh and the two sons Mem the Elder and Manefer; on the south, Merefnebef, Sesheshet and the two sons Fefi and Manefer.
The two women have a long tripartite wig, and long tight dresses with two broad straps covering the breasts.
Sesheshet, who here has the title of "his wife", is represented several times in the tomb. Meresankh, however, is only represented here and only with the title "Honoured by Anubis", which probably indicates that she had died when the scene was created. As everywhere else in the chapel, male bodies are painted red, and that of females yellow. The clothes of both males and females are always white.
Merefnebef is represented in the same way as on the facade, in a combination of frontal and lateral views; his head is shaved, and he doesn't have an artificial beard. He wears a long skirt, held by a belt of the same material and fastened at the front; he wears sandals on his feet. This type of representation of the vizier is found only here. In contrast, elsewhere in the tomb, he always wears a wig (either long or short), a beard, and a short kilt.
Why therefore this exception? It could be bound to the location of the scenes : that of leaving his tomb. Perhaps he wanted to appear in a special state of purity on his "exit" from the other world.

2) - the bottom panel

( (north) and (south)).

At the time of their discovery, the boat scenes were covered entirely with a thick layer of white plaster, maybe because of their sacred character, as found in other contexts. In order to uncover the original reliefs, the conservators have carefully removed the layer of plaster and reinforced the texture of the underlying stone.

The two craft head toward the east, towards the interior of the chapel, the rowers are to rest. They are close to landing in front of a porter, who is overladen with offerings and who waits for them. The size of the porters of the two walls is considerably larger than that of the crew, probably emphasising their importance. They may symbolise the wealth of the estates providing food for the cult of the deceased. The most interesting scene is on the north wall (), concentrated on the rear cabin, where at least six men face the deceased's statue. Five among them are bowing forward and hands raised, probably performing a cult ritual. A sixth man, who could be a priest, stands next to the statue. Behind the statue, another character makes a typical gesture of a mourner. Some features of the statue (bulging figure with short-shaven hair) suggest that it belongs to the type of funerary statue (supposed by some scholars to be a genuine "portrait") well-known in the Old Kingdom.
The location of these scenes of navigation represents a real innovation, following a recent trend (at this time!) at the turn of the 5th and the 6th Dynasty. Indeed, until this time these scenes were placed in the upper register, above or close to the entry. Perhaps a reminder of the place chosen for genuine boats in this period's largest mastabas, which the owners had themselves borrowed from the king.
Here, a semantic continuity exists between the upper and lower register of every wall. Indeed, the artists having placed the representations of the master and his family at the top didn't judge it necessary to repeat them in the boat below, where only a cult statue is present. Thus are interwoven, in a very original way, imagery signifying genuine transportation (the cargo of the boats) and the religious aspect, since these scenes may even be an echo of the religious imagery of the day and night journeys of the sun god.