Mastaba
The mastaba is a funerary building Egyptian burial for the pharaohs of the first two dynasties .
Externally, a mastaba is a rectangular building with walls of brick or stone cut, first right, then gradually tilted slightly inward as the base of a pyramid. A door provides access to a funeral chapel. The walls of this room, parallel to the external walls of the tomb, may be covered with scenes of everyday life of the deceased. On the wall opposite the door is marked with a false door that leads to the symbolic realm of the dead. This door is designed to facilitate the return of the deceased in the living kingdom. Well, from the top of the mastaba, sinking into the ground to over 20 m deep depending on the size of the dignitary and overlooks the burial chamber where the deceased lies in his coffin.
The mastaba tombs are often family and there are so many wells, and sometimes several cellars in the same wells dug at different depths.
The most famous of these buildings is probably the Mastaba el-Faraoun , royal tomb of the Fourth Dynasty , whose appearance (in the shape of a sarcophagus) contrasted with the tradition of the pyramidal shape of this period.
Summary |
Origin
The mastaba is a change in burial mounds ( tumuli ) high above the pit where the deceased were deposited and burials in the Predynastic period. This mound, which represents the primeval mound from which the sun was born according to mythology of Heliopolis , was to be surrounded by a ring of stone. The infrastructure housed the remains of the character while the superstructure was designed to worship .
The Archaic period
The Royal burials
The royal tombs of Umm el-Qa'ab have continuity in the evolution of pre-dynastic graves on the site . At the beginning of the first dynasty , the tombs of the infrastructure is gaining in volume. In the sense that the number of rooms and underground magazines believes, and the depth and number of subsidiary tombs . The reconstructions of this type of tomb based on numerous conjectures, difficult to verify at present. In fact, looting operated during the Antiquity , and the operation of brick by sebakhin , caused the total disappearance of the superstructure. However, the devices cover burial chambers show that the latter should be dominated by a mound underground , probably symbolizing the primordial hill or a "springboard" for Pharaoh to access the sky , . The superstructure was a mass of sand and gravel, covered by a layer of mud bricks . The expression used to designate this building is so "mound" rectangular rather than "mastaba" paneled, although their respective comprehensive plan can not distinguish them.
All the sovereigns of the first dynasty were buried at Umm el-Qa'ab while those of the Second dynasty chose it as the burial site of Saqqara. It was not until the end of the last dynasty to the traditional choice of Umm el-Qa'ab again be chosen first by Peribsen , then by Kha. The latter's successor, Djoser , will return to Saqqara for there to build his monumental tomb complex.
| Location | Image | Burial | Dynasty | Sovereign | Base Dimensions | Appendices (Graves subsidiary stores) | Notes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Tomb B0/1/2 | Dynasty 0 (?) | Iry-Hor | 15.0 m 5.0 m | 2 stores | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Tomb B7 / 9 | Dynasty 0 (?) | Ka | 16.0 m 5.0 m | Store | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Tomb B17/18 | First dynasty | Narmer | 10.0 m 3.1 m | Store | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Tomb B10/15/19, 13/14, B16 | First dynasty | Hor-Aha | 104.0 m 16.0 m | 38 (34 tombs (?) And 4 stores (?)) | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Tomb 0 | First dynasty | Djer | 70.0 m 40.0 m | 318 tombs and 16 shops | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Tomb Z | First dynasty | Djet | 71.0 m 35.0 m | 204 tombs and 19 shops | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Y falls | First dynasty | Merneith | 34.0 m 26.0 m | 41 graves and 8 stores | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab |  | T Grave | First dynasty | Den | 54.0 m 40.0 m | 142 tombs and 11 shops | |||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | X falls | First dynasty | Adjibi | 32.0 m 23.0 m | 64 graves and a store | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | U grave | First dynasty | Semerkhet | 26.0 m 18.0 m | 67 tombs and 2 stores | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Q falls | First dynasty | Qaa | 30.0 m 20.0 m | 21 graves and 18 stores | ||||||||||||||
| Saqqara | - | Second Dynasty | Hetepsekhemwy | ? | - | ||||||||||||||
| Saqqara | - | Second Dynasty | Ninetjer | ? | - | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | P falls | Second Dynasty | Peribsen | 18.0 m 15.0 m | 7 stores | ||||||||||||||
| Umm el-Qa'ab | Tomb V | Second Dynasty | Kha | 70.0 m 18.0 m | 57 stores | ||||||||||||||
The tomb "Royal" Naqada
One of the oldest mastabas we know about is at Naqada in Upper Egypt. The latter, discovered by Jacques de Morgan , dates from the very beginning of the first dynasty and represents, according to Jean-Philippe Lauer , the prototype of the large tombs with steps . Its attribution remains highly controversial. It was first proposed, from fragments of inscriptions recorded on the site, it was the tomb of the legendary king Menes , first identified in Hor-Aha , then Narmer . The unusual dimensions of the building came to reinforce the idea that it was a royal.
However, following recent excavations in the field, one of the first theories to see the tomb of Queen Neith-Hotep was given to the agenda. The presence of a majority of luxury items engraved with his name prove that the queen enjoyed a grave dimensions more ambitious than his king, located in Umm el-Qa'ab .
Her superstructure is the archetype of this style of architecture. A large rectangular mass, measuring 43.40 m by 26.70 m, was limited by a thick brick wall of 4.20 m, and decorated with indentations . The core of this solid was partitioned through shear walls, the latter creating five rooms, including the burial chamber, located at the center of the tomb . This mastaba itself was surrounded by a small wall of mud bricks . It seems that there was no alternative burial, so common in contemporary funerary.
Large paneled mastabas
Not long ago, it was understood that only two significant archaeological sites held by the great mastaba type " Nagada ", ie Umm el-Qa'ab and Saqqara . But recently, studies have revealed that Giza , Helwan , Abu Rawash and Tarkhan were also privileged places of burial, the high number of burials and architectural richness demonstrated.
Egyptologists agree today to award the graves of Abydos to the pharaohs of I st and second dynasties (in part for the latter) . However, sites such as Giza , Helwan , Abu Rawash , Tarkhan especially Saqqara is revealed mortuary buildings whose architectural richness that often surpasses the royal tombs of Upper Egypt. These monuments are mastabas paneled (or mastaba with niches or mastaba facade decorated palace) built for the Egyptian elite.
Particular care was given to the decoration of their superstructures. Of imposing size, they were trimmed under the first dynasty , rich decorations in front of the palace. This architectural element acquired a special symbolic value as the pre-dynastic. It is also consistently shown Serekh (from the time Naqada II ) , thereby proving that it represented a major royal symbol.
The primary meaning of this type of decoration is lost in the early stages of pre-dynastic Egyptian culture and no agreement has yet been reached on this point. In Egyptian or Mesopotamian , this architecture is certainly associated with a strong desire to show its closeness to the royal power and its place atop the hierarchy .
The name "palace facade decoration is very questionable since Nothing remains of the palaces of the time. So nobody knows what their appearance. However, it is very doubtful that their walls were pierced with multiple doors really like the paneled speakers . The symbolism of this motif should probably not have the same meaning as it was in a civilian or funeral. In a grave, false doors may be permitted to ka of the sovereign power out to enjoy the offerings made by priests. While they prevented access to the living in the grave. Nevertheless, the profusion of patterns (false doors, mats, mats), colors and niches displaying the wealth of the owner. Large mastabas paneled, perched on top of hills on the edge of the valley, gateway to the city of Memphis , had to impose royal authority, whose head was still in Abydos .
The mastaba of the first dynasty , like the royal tombs of that time were lined with small graves whose number varied depending on the size of the owner of the mastaba and the time when it was built. It was very early suggested that these burials had received the bodies of slaves (or animal) sacrificed shortly after the death of the officer or ruler, would have servants who, in this way, could continue to serve their master in the beyond. This theory has long been considered most relevant by the Egyptological community. Only in recent decades, it is increasingly questioned. And the idea of a sacrifice, the reality is attested to Predynastic times, must be more nuanced and involve a few special cases . The practice of these burials disappeared gradually disappear by the end of the first dynasty.
The Second Dynasty marks a step in the evolution of large tombs. The palace facade decoration disappears gradually replaced by a simple "false door niche." Underground development, meanwhile, are increasingly complex and prefigure those of the funerary complex of Djoser.
The Third Dynasty
The Old Kingdom
The royal tombs of the first dynasty were surrounded by subsidiary graves of servants, but this practice disappeared with the Second Dynasty. It was during the Fourth Dynasty that this practice was renewed. The pyramid Meydum is the center of a vast complex comprising many mastabas displaying traditional architectural features, but also some innovations that will be found in private tombs of the Old Kingdom. Thus the great pharaohs of this dynasty, surrounded themselves with senior dignitaries officiated during their earthly life, and they made sure their services to their heavenly existence. Mastabas M17, M16 ( Nefermaat and M15 ( Rahotep ) of the necropolis Meydum are among the largest ever built by the ancient Egyptians. They also revealed a highly refined art and paintings of the most remarkable Egypt we have inherited ( Geese Meydum ).
The necropolis of senior officials of the funerary complex of Khufu is without a doubt the largest private mastaba cemeteries erected to serve as a ruler in the afterlife.
The Mastaba M16 Nefermaat
The mastaba at Giza
The funerary complex of Khufu is being itself the center of a vast necropolis (one of the largest in the Lower Egypt ) and composed of mastaba tombs belonging to senior officials and members of the royal family contemporary reign of Khufu and others a little later in the Fourth to the Sixth Dynasty. The mastaba, a contemporary of Khufu , follows a standard describing a substructure composed of a vertical shaft leading to a burial chamber and a rectangular superstructure of limestone which was built in a place of worship marked by a funeral false door protected a funeral chapel . The tombs of this period are characterized by a very sober decoration, breaking the link with the tradition of ornamental previous reign. However, the iconographic repertoire will grow over time and pass representations of scenes from the funeral meal Fourth Dynasty to the scenes of the daily life of the Sixth Dynasty , richer and more personalized whose development will require increased surfaces to decorate and therefore the number of funeral halls. Sculptures typical of the reign of Khufu and the necropolis has been discovered in many mastaba. These heads of reserves. Made of plaster, they each have a strong individuality and purpose, perhaps ritual, is still poorly understood. There are three main groups in this cemetery, the cemetery, the cemetery south (or G1S) and the cemetery west . Cemeteries east and west were largely studied by the Egyptologist George Andrew Reisner.
 | Click on a thumbnail to enlarge |
Royal sarcophagus shaped mastaba ( Menkaure ( Fourth Dynasty )
Mastaba of the cemetery east of the pyramid of Cheops ( IV Dynasty )
View of the mastaba of Khoufoukhaf to Giza ( Fourth Dynasty )
Mastaba of Idu at Giza ( Fourth Dynasty )
The Mastaba el-Faraoun
The Mastaba el-Faraoun is the name given by the Egyptians to contemporary tomb Chepseskaf last ruler of the Fourth Dynasty. This tomb is a milestone in the construction of royal tombs of the Old Kingdom. Indeed, since the third dynasty pharaoh each will build a burial complex whose main monument was a pyramid that reached with the Fourth Dynasty of colossal proportions and geometric perfection that commands admiration since ancient times.
Not only Chepseskaf breaks with the choice of his predecessors to build the tomb complex in front of Heliopolis by establishing his own in Saqqara , but more so the break appears to be complete by the construction of either a pyramid but of a gigantic mastaba which nevertheless is included in a funerary complex.
This is variously interpreted by Egyptologists. Some theories lean towards a complex unfinished because of the brevity of his reign which would explain why most of the elements of the complex are made of mud bricks. Others argue for a questioning of dogma Heliopolis, the choice of the shape of the monument, which is akin to a reproduction of the original shrine of Buto is a gigantic sarcophagus showing a willingness to approach the king of the myth Osiris.
Anyway this tomb to the beaten track is a work typical of the Fourth Dynasty by the arrangement of funeral royal apartments, the choice of building materials and coating the monument or the plan of the complex funeral as a whole.
The Middle Kingdom
The chapel of the tomb of the noble Akhethotep , whose ruins are still visible on the plateau of Saqqara is reconstituted at the Louvre.
| Drawing for viewing inside a mastaba chapel, well, vault, grave goods and tomb |
Functions
The mastaba is both a burial for the deceased's mortal coil and place of residence of his ka. It is for this reason that the shape of the tomb is reminiscent of a palace.
From the pyramids mastabas
With the beginning of the Third Dynasty (c. -2700 to -2600), became the mastabas step pyramids, made of several successive stages with the overall shape of a gigantic staircase rising to the sky. The first and most famous of these step pyramids is the Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara , which was the architect Imhotep. It wanted to build a pyramid rising like a gigantic stairway to the sky to symbolize the ascent of the deceased's "underworld" to "heaven".
The next step in the evolution of step pyramids were build by King Sneferu of a pyramid called the rhomboid site Daschour. The rhomboidal pyramid is an intermediate step between step pyramids and a href = "% C3% Pyramide_ A0_faces_lisses" title = "Pyramid with smooth surfaces"> pyramids with flat sides. The rhomboidal pyramid is a pyramid whose faces are smooth piecewise slope whose inclination is different. The fact that the slope is not uniform throughout the pyramid, but rhomboid , comes from what the architects behind this pyramid believed that the initial slope was too steep and more fragile construction, they transformed it therefore following the format described above.
This type of pyramid is the final step leading to the final stage of the evolution of the pyramids of Egypt to the pyramids with flat sides of the Fourth Dynasty (c. -2573 to -2454), the most famous pyramids are found of Khufu , Khafre and Menkaure at Giza in Cairo.
Notes
Related articles
- Mastaba Khentika
- The construction of a mastaba in UAE is a project of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
External Links
- The mastaba of Akhethotep
- (In) Pyramids and Mastaba (single and two stage) under the Third and Fourth Dynasties
Notes
- The Mastaba el-Faraoun , royal tomb dating from the IVth dynasty , remains an exception.
- It seems that the Arabic word, ultimately, a loan to the Aramaic miubb, which would in turn borrowed from the ancient Greek emetic, "bed of grass," or stpos "trunk".
- Michel Baud , p.137.
- a and b Eva-Maria Engel , p.32.
- Eva-Maria Engel , p.33.
- Dreyer , p.101.
- This type of staircase announces the pyramid and appears more clearly in the reign of Den ( Second Dynasty ).
- Eva-Maria Engel , p.35.
- a and b Lauer , p.18-19
- a , b , c and d Lauer , p.20-22
- Tine Bagh , p.603.
- Midant-Reynes , p.224-236.
- Stan Hendrickx , p.64.
- Alejandro Jimnez-Serrano , p.24.
- Alejandro Jimnez-Serrano , p.34-35.
- Alejandro Jimnez-Serrano , p.26-27.
- Alejandro Jimnez-Serrano , p.26.
- Emily Voodoo , p.26.
- Zahi Hawass , Treasures of the Pyramids, 2003, p.194
- They represent the limits of the concessions granted to various research missions
Bibliography
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