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 CHAMBER C5 - SERDAB 

Its only opening is in the adjoining wall with chamber C4. This measures 0.40m high and 0.10m wide, standing 1.24m clear of the floor. The chamber is 2.20m north-south and 1.50m east-west. It was constructed from roughly cut limestone blocks and is totally undecorated.

If the serdab had originally contained any statuary, none was found in modern times. Had any existed, it would have been either put in place after its completion, but before any ceiling was added; or before the adjoining wall with C4 was put in place. As has already been mentioned, the slit in the C4/C5 wall was created after the completion of this wall, and even after the decoration was well advanced.

 BURIAL CHAMBER AND ITS SHAFT 

The access shaft and burial chamber itself are located to the west of chambers C2, C3 and C5.
The shaft was cut into the bedrock to a depth of 14.80m, in a square section of 2.80m. In the shaft, at the north-east corner, foot and hand-holds were cut down the north and east walls, at an average of 0.4m from the corner. At the bottom, the burial chamber was cut in a southerly direction to produce a rough rectangular shaped chamber with an average dimension of 6.25m north-south and 4.60m east-west, with a height of 2.80m. At the eastern side, a ledge was cut to a depth of a further 0.7m at a height of 1.6m from the floor; this was to assist in sliding the lid clear of the sarcophagus chest section, once it was in place.

The sarcophagus and its lid, made from a monolithic piece of limestone, was lowered down the shaft and placed in front of the shelf so that its long side was in-line with the false door of chamber C4 above. The lid could then be placed on top but moved to clear the area to receive the deceased.

After the placing of the sarcophagus, the lower 6.00m of the shaft, on the north and east walls, was lined to a thickness of 1.75m, forming an L-shaped in-fill. This was created from rough limestone blocks, mortared together with mud. The width of the shaft, at its lower level, was now reduced to 1.05m square. Next, the floor of the burial chamber and the new lower shaft area was raised with more limestone, to a depth of 1.40m. The new level was then covered with a paving slabs. The opening to the burial chamber had now been reduced to 1.05m wide and 1.40m high, the burial chamber also being now reduced to this same height. The chest of the sarcophagus was now just clear of the new floor level by 0.20m.

At some stage the shaft, cut originally at ground level, was raised to the final height of the mastaba. This was achieved by using large rectangular limestone blocks, 0.80m thick. This extension created the west and south sides, the north and east being part of the main structure.

 THE SARCOPHAGUS 

The sarcophagus and its lid, as already stated, is made from a monolithic piece of limestone. The chest section measures 3.15m long, 1.60m wide and 1.55m high. Its internal space is 2.35m long, 0.60m wide and 0.70m deep. The lid is 0.60m thick. The in-filling of the lower part of the chamber left only small part of the chest section visible. A small space, which was filled with rubble, remained between the chest and shelf, against which it stands.

The decoration is restricted to the lid. There is clear evidence of alterations having been made.

On the north end, nearest the entry, the original inscription was removed and "Pepyankh" was cut into the top left-hand corner (see detailed view).

On the eastern side, nearest the shelf, the original inscription was also removed and a new text put in its place: "The inspector of priests of the pyramid of Pepy, Meryteti". Of this new text, only the cartouche of Pepy is inscribed, the remainder was produced in black ink (see detailed view and line drawing).

The changes were, as before, the result of the double change of ownership.

 FINDS 

The only finds come from the burial chamber, which was found to have been plundered in antiquity. Together with twelve pottery vessels and a mud jar seal, some skeletal remains were discovered. Several of the vessels were actually found complete. There are several distinct shapes, and most include either markings or decoration. All of the thirteen finds have been given the identification of "MER2004" (referring to the mastaba of Mereruka and year of excavation) followed by a sequential number.

Three large pots, MER2004:1, :2 and :12, are of the same style and approximately the same size; MER2004:2 is the tallest at 26.5cm., although 2004:1 is still missing part of its base; none are actually complete. MER2004:2 has a maximum width of 20.7cm. Each are made of Nile silt, fired to a light brown, to which has been added a red slip on the outer surface and the inside of the neck. They all have a series of rings around the upper part, created when being turned.

Five other jars are of a similar shape an size to each other, MER2004:3, :5, :6, :7 and :8. All of these are complete, although MER2004:6 has a small break on the rim. These have all been finished with a creamy-pink slip and also have a series of rings around the upper body. All the jars are between 20.0 and 21.8 cm in height and between 13.0 and 16.5cm at the widest part. By far the largest is MER2004:3.

The tall flask 2004:11 is of a different design to all of the rest; with a height of 26.0cm, its maximum width is only 10cm. Although this vessel has some small cracks, it is complete. This vessel has a powdery white finish.

Find MER2004:4 is the jar seal, which is roughly circular, with a 6.5cm diameter, has been hand-formed with a domed upper surface.

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Bibliography

• DARESSY, G : Le Mastaba de Mera in 'Mémoires présentés à l'Institut Égyptien, vol.3, pp.521-74; Cairo, 1898.
• DUELL, P : The Mastaba of Mereruka; University of Chicago Press, 1936.
• NIMS, C F : Some Notes on the Family of Mereruka, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Dec., 1938), pp. 638-647.
• PORTER, B and MOSS, R : Topographical bibliography of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, reliefs and paintings, volume III, part 2, pp.536-537 and fig.LVI; Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, second edition, 2003.
• KANAWATI, N and ABDER-RAZIQ, M : Mereruka and his family, Part I, The Tomb of Meryteti : Report 21; Australian Centre for Egyptology, 2004.
• KANAWATI, N : The Living and the Dead in Old Kingdom Tomb Scenes : DigiZeitschriften, Volume 9 (extract); 1981.
• KANAWATI, N : Conspiracies in the Egyptian Palace - Unis to Pepy I : Routledge, London and New York; 2003.
• MastaBase CD-Rom : Leiden Mastaba Project, Peeters Publishers, Leuven; 2008.


Original pages created by Jon Hirst
Photographs provided by:
Christian Mariais, Verety Endal, Jon Hirst and the ACE Publication
Line drawings created, or adapted from the ACE Publication, by Jon Hirst
© OsirisNet 2008