Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient

et de la Méditerranée

Animate Decoration and Burial Chambers of Private Tombs

during the Old Kingdom. New Evidence from the Tomb of Kairer
at Saqqara
Khaled Dawood

Abstract
From the reign of Ounas onward, decoration of the chamber walls of tombs spread. The usual representations consist of
“still lifes”, paintings of food offerings and tomb furniture. However, 24 of the 121 tombs studied present living scenes
(people or animals). Seven of these belong to the Old Kingdom (Giza, Sheikh Said, Balat and Saqqara), and seventeen
could be dated to the Herakleopolitan period, particularly in the provinces.

Résumé
À partir du règne d’Ounas, l’usage se répand de décorer les parois des chambres funéraires des tombes privées. Les
représentations habituelles consistent en « natures mortes », tableaux d’offrandes alimentaires ou d’équipement funéraire.
Pourtant sur 121 tombes étudiées, 24 présentent des scènes animées (personnages ou animaux). Si sept appartiennent à
l’Ancien Empire (Giza, Sheikh Said, Balat et Saqqara), dix-sept peuvent être datées de l’époque héracléopolitaine,
particulièrement en province.

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Dawood Khaled. Animate Decoration and Burial Chambers of Private Tombs during the Old Kingdom. New Evidence
from the Tomb of Kairer at Saqqara. In: Des Néferkarê aux Montouhotep. Travaux archéologiques en cours sur la fin de
la VIe dynastie et la Première Période Intermédiaire. Actes du colloque CNRS – université Lumière Lyon 2, tenu le 5-7
juillet 2001. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2005. pp. 107-127. (Travaux de la Maison de
l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, 40)

http://www.persee.fr/doc/mom_1955-4982_2005_act_40_1_2395

Document généré le 26/01/2016

 Des Néferkarê aux Montouhotep
TMO 40, Maison de l’Orient, Lyon, 2005

ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS

DURING THE OLD KINGDOM
NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE TOMB OF KAIRER AT SAQQARA

Khaled DAWOOD
CSA/Liverpool University1

ABSTRACT

From the reign of Ounas onward, decoration of the chamber walls of tombs spread. The usual
representations consist of “still lifes”, paintings of food offerings and tomb furniture. However, 24 of the
121 tombs studied present living scenes (people or animals). Seven of these belong to the Old Kingdom
(Giza, Sheikh Said, Balat and Saqqara), and seventeen could be dated to the Herakleopolitan period,
particularly in the provinces.

RÉSUMÉ

À partir du règne d’Ounas, l’usage se répand de décorer les parois des chambres funéraires des
tombes privées. Les représentations habituelles consistent en « natures mortes », tableaux d’offrandes
alimentaires ou d’équipement funéraire. Pourtant sur 121 tombes étudiées, 24 présentent des scènes
animées (personnages ou animaux). Si sept appartiennent à l’Ancien Empire (Giza, Sheikh Said, Balat et
Saqqara), dix-sept peuvent être datées de l’époque héracléopolitaine, particulièrement en province.

According to the Pyramid Texts, the sarcophagus room or burial chamber was the sanctum, the
horizon of the underworld.2 Architecturally, it is one of the two main parts that formed the ancient
Egyptian tomb. Substructure and superstructure were intimately associated, yet they were structurally
separate and did not develop simultaneously: superstructures of different forms concealed the same type
of substructure, while substructures of different types were covered by superstructures of the same form.
In the 1930s it was Reisner who initiated research that examined the typological features of the burial
chambers, particularly at Giza.3 The excavation reports of both Junker4 and Hassan5 provide unsystematic

1. For constructive discussion on a draft of this article, I am very grateful to both Dr. C.J. Eyre (Liverpool University) and
Dr. J. Malek (Griffith Institute). I am also thankful to Kim Taylor and Miroslav Barta (Czech expedition at Abusir).
2. On analysis of the meaning of the duat and the substructure in the Pyramid Texts see N. Beaux, « La douat dans les
Textes des Pyramides. Espace et temps de gestation », BIFAO 94, 1994, p. 1-6; J.P. Allen, “Reading a Pyramid”, in
Hommages Leclant 1, p. 5-28; B. Mathieu, « La signification du serdab dans la pyramide d’Ounas. L’architecture des
appartements funéraires royaux à la lumière des Textes des Pyramides », in Études Lauer, p. 289-304.
3. G.A. Reisner, The Development of the Egyptian tomb down to the Accession of Cheops, Cambridge (Mass.), 1936; id.,
Giza I.
4. Junker, Gîza, vol. I-XII.
5. Selim Hassan, Excavations at Gîza, vol. 1, Oxford, 1932; vol. 2-10, Cairo, 1936-1960; id., Excavations at Saqqara,
1937-1938, 3 vol., Cairo, 1975.
108 K. DAWOOD

observations on the burial chamber location, orientation and architecture. Recent tomb reports, however,
show more interest in producing accurate plans that show the different typological features of burial
chambers.6 Yet there is no comprehensive study of the burial chamber in terms of its typology and
decoration in Old Kingdom cemeteries, not its correlation to the offering chapels and false doors.7
In this article, my aim is to examine the genesis of decoration inside the burial chamber in private
tombs in both the capital and the provincial cemeteries during the Old Kingdom and produce a revised list
of these chambers.8 A critical consideration also will be given to the aspect of animate representations, in
particular where and when this phenomenon appeared and how long it lasted. This study is prompted by
the new iconographic evidence revealed in the burial chamber of Kairer at Saqqara.9

Decoration in Burial Chambers

Bolshakov recently suggested, on the assumption that Saad’s records are accurate, that the ceiling
stelae found in several Second Dynasty tombs excavated at Ezbet el-Walda (Helwan),10 present a
formative stage of a local line of development in the burial chambers.11 Because of the poor recording and
unsystematic survey as well as the poor site publication, it is difficult to draw a rational conclusion. It is
clear that the contemporary cemeteries at Giza and Saqqara, or in the provinces, display no such
tradition.12 During most of the Old Kingdom, it was the superstructure rather than the substructure that
underwent the greatest development, where the decoration, accessible for its role in the funerary cult, was
located. The burial chamber itself hardly went through any process of evolution, except for the local
development at both Medum and Giza during the Fourth Dynasty, which introduced the stone-lined burial

6. E.g. Altenmüller, Mehu; W. Davies et al., Saqqara Tombs I. The Mastabas of Mereri and Wernu, London, 1984;
A. Lloyd et al., Saqqara Tombs II. The Mastabas of Meru, Semdenti, Khui and Others, London, 1990; Naguib
Kanawati, El-Hawawish. The Cemetery of Akhmim, 10 vol., Sydney, 1980-1992; id., Excavations at Saqqara.
North-West of Teti’s Pyramid, 2 vol., Sydney, 1984-1988; id., The Tombs of El-Hagarsa, 3 vol., Sydney, 1993-1995;
id., Deshasha. The Tombs of Inti, Shedu and Others, Sydney, 1993; N. Kanawati et al., The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara,
5 vol., Sydney, 1996-2000; N. Kanawati, Tombs at Giza I. Kaiemankh (G4561) and Seshemnefer I (G4940),
Warminster, 2001; A. McFarlane, The Unis Cemetery at Saqqara I. The tomb of Irukaptah, Warminster, 2000;
A.M. Roth, A Cemetery of Palace Attendants Including G2084-2099, G2230+2231 and G2240, Boston, 1995;
W.K. Simpson, The Mastabas of Qar and Idu: G7101 and 7102, Boston, 1976; id., The Mastabas of Kawab,
Khafkhufu I and II, Boston, 1978; id., Mastabas of the Western Cemetery I, Boston, 1980; K. Weeks, Mastabas of
Cemetery G6000: Including G6010 (Neferbauptah); G6020 (Iymery); G6030 (Itj); G6040 (Shepseskafankh), Boston,
1990; E. Brovarski, Giza Mastabas 7: The Senedjemib Complex, Part 1, Boston, 2001; P. Munro, Das Unas-Friedhof
Nord-West 1: topographisch-historische Einleitung, Mainz, 1993.
7. See A.O. Bolshakov, Iz istorii éguipetskoï idéologuiï starovo tsartstva, VDI 2 (160), 1982, p. 97-101 (in Russian); id.,
Man and his Double in Egyptian Ideology of the Old Kingdom, ÄAT 37, 1997, p. 121-122.
8. BC 47 in Bolshakov list (Man and his Double, p. 113-117) should be deleted, as there was no decoration found in this
room (Junker, Gîza VIII, p. 29).
9. Khaled Dawood et al., The Mastaba of Kairer at Saqqara (forthcoming).
10. Zaki Y. Saad, The Royal Excavations at Helwan 1945-1947, Cairo, 1951; id., Ceiling Stelae in Second Dynasty Tombs,
SASAE 21, Cairo, 1957; H. Müller-Karpe, Handbuch der Vorgeschichte II. Jungsteinzeit, München, 1968, Taf. 53;
G. Haeny, in Fs. Ricke, p. 143-164; W. Wood, “The Archaic Stone Tombs at Helwan”, JEA 73, 1987, p. 59-70;
T. Wilkinson, “A Reexamination of the Early Dynastic Necropolis at Helwan”, MDAIK 52, 1996, p. 337-354; see also
J. Kahl, « Zur Datierung der frühen Grabplatten mit Opfertischszene », SAK 24, 1997, p. 139-145. Currently Macquarie
University is working in this cemetery.
11. Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 112.
12. See W.M.F. Petrie, Giza and Rifeh, London, 1907, p. 7-8 (p. 14-15); P. Montet, « Tombeaux de la 1re et de la
IVe dynasties à Abou-Roach », Kêmi 7, 1938, p. 15-28, p. 32-38, p. 53-54; id., « Tombeaux de la 1r e et de la
IVe dynasties à Abou-Roach. Deuxième partie : inventaire des objets », Kêmi 8, 1946, p. 195-212; see also e.g.
el-Raqaqna (PM V, p. 36; Vandier, Manuel II, p. 257; Reisner, Development of Egyptian Tomb, p. 177-179),
Nag’el-Mesa’id (ibid., p. 371-377), Naga-ed-Deir (Reisner, The Early Dynastic Cemeteries of Naga-ed-Dêr, 2 vol.,
Leipzig, 1908-1909, passim; id., Development of Egyptian Tomb, passim), Saqqara (Reisner, Development of Egyptian
Tomb, p. 136-146, p. 154-172), Abusir (Ali Radwan, « Ein Treppengrab der 1. Dynastie aus Abusir », MDAIK 47, 1991,
p. 305-308; see also D. Jeffreys and A. Tavares, “The Historic Landscape of Early Dynastic Memphis”, MDAIK 50,
1994, p. 143-173).
ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 109

chamber. However, when burial chambers in private tombs showed any architectural development, it
always followed its royal counterpart.13 Generally speaking, burial chambers, essentially the container
that housed coffins or the sarcophagi with the body of the deceased, were roughly cut in the bedrock,
having irregular forms, sometimes square, sometimes rectangular and sometimes even circular.14 At the
very end of the Fifth Dynasty, ideological and religious development resulted in the introduction of the
Pyramid Texts and decoration inside the royal burial chamber.15 This practice first appeared in the
substructure of the pyramid of King Unis. Therefore, it was not a coincidence that the practice of applying
decoration to the walls of the burial chamber in private tombs was conceived in the same period.16
However, the decoration in burial chambers of private tombs is predominantly iconic (figurative) and
differs from the royal counterpart, particularly in its setting and appearance, although it may have been
the result of the same ideological rationale17 and adhered to the same rules.
One of the earliest known examples of a decorated burial chamber in private tombs probably
belongs to Snƒm-µb/Ónty.18 Lepsius did not record this decoration,19 which might explain its omission
from the Topographical Bibliography;20 however, according to Reisner and Smith,21 an offering list was
inscribed on the walls of this burial chamber. In his long autobiography Snƒm-µb/Ónty speaks of carrying
out works for the king Djedkare Izezi whom he served and during whose reign he died.22 The carrier of
Snƒm-µb/Ónty may be dated to the reign of Isesi,23 but not his tomb.24 As a matter of fact, his son Snƒm-
µb/M̵ had the responsability of building and decorating this tomb after his father’s death.25 He boasts of
obtaining several authorisations and some tomb equipment from an unnamed king,26 who Strudwick
argues may have been Unis because of the occurrence of the cartouche of this king in the gap left by

13. For instance the stone-lined burial chamber was introduced in private tombs at Medum during the reign of Snefru. Such
a technique was already known in royal architecture as early as the reign of Khasekhmewy (Reisner, Giza I, p. 85-86;
id., Development of Egyptian Tomb, p. 206-216, fig. 100-106). In general, this type of crypt ceased at Giza about the
end of the reign of Cheops. However, it occurs in isolated examples during the reign of Chephren (see Reisner, Giza I,
p. 103-106). Other sites show sporadic appearances of this tradition during Dyns. V and VI, particularly in large
mastabas (see e.g. Duell, Mereruka, II, Chicago, 1938, pl. 201-208; Firth-Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemetery I, p. 21;
N. Kanawati, The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara II, The Tomb of Ankhmahor, Warminster, 1997, p. 25; T.G. James, and
M.R. Apted, The Mastaba of Khentika Called Ikhekhi, London, 1953, p. 32-33). By the end of the Dyn. VI this
stone-lined burial chamber seems to be a favoured design, particularly in tombs from Pepy II’s reign (see Jéquier,
Tombeaux, passim; id., La pyramide d’Aba, p. 22-24; id., « Tombes de particuliers de l’époque de Pepi II », ASAE 35,
1935, p. 149; id., Pepi II, vol. 3, p. 52-53, 58-59, 63-65, 75-76; CG 1572).
14. See Reisner, Development of Egyptian Tomb, and Giza I, passim.
15. See Mercer, Pyr.; Pritchard, ANET, p. 32-33 (selections); Faulkner, Pyr.; M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A
Book of Readings, 1: The Old and Middle Kingdoms, Berkeley, 1973, p. 29-50 (selections); J. Leclant, in Hommage à
J.-F. Champollion, BdE 64/2, p. 37-52 with references: id., in Bulletin de la classe des lettres et des sciences morales et
politiques, Académie Royale de Belgique, 5e sér., LXXI, 1985, p. 295-305; also see a comprehensive list of references
in E. Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, translated by D. Lorton, Cornell, 1999, p. 159-162.
16. Junker, Gîza IV, p. 43-45. A small number of wooden coffins have survived. Some of these coffins display decoration
with offering list, false doors and offering items on their inner sides. It is difficult to determine whether this
development in wooden coffins had a direct impact on the application of decoration on the walls of the burial chambers,
or whether both coffins and burial chambers received decoration simultaneously. Lapp cites 8 wooden coffins with
decorated inner sides, of Dynasty VI date (Lapp, Särge, p. 32-35), only one of which was found in a burial chamber
with decorated walls (ibid., M13 bc). One might suggest that decorated wooden coffins were perhaps less cost
alternatives to decorated burial chambers.
17. See ibid., § 1.
18. Brovarski, Senedjemib Complex I, p. 79-81.
19. LD II, 76-78a-b; Lepsius, Erg., Taf. 17-21, 22b, 23c.
20. PM III2, p. 85-87; Smith, Sculpture, p. 201; Baer, Rank and Title, p. 126 (455).
21. Reisner, Giza II, 1955, p. 57.
22. Urk. I, p. 59-67; Baer, Rank and Title, p. 126 (455).
23. Ibid.; Strudwick, Administration, p. 132-133 (120); M. Baud, Famille royale, p. 573 (215).
24. For the history of excavation of this tomb and other family members, see Brovarski, in l’Égyptologie en 1979. Axes
prioritaires de recherches II, Paris, 1982, p. 115-121 and references there; id., Senedjemib Complex I, 2001.
25. Urk. I, p. 64, 3. The construction of the tomb took a period of fifteen months.
26. Urk. I, p. 65-66.
110 K. DAWOOD

Lepsius above the head of the figure of M̵.27 Essentially, this must imply that Snƒm-µb/Ónty died at the
earliest at the very end of the reign of Isesi,28 who reigned for 28 years according to Turin Canon.29
M̵ boasts that the construction of his father’s tomb took him a year and half to complete, an
unexpectedly short time for a mastaba measuring about 23 x 16 m.30 This leads to the conclusion that the
tomb of Snƒm-µb/Ónty was built, decorated and fully equipped during the reign of Unis,31 when the
ideological practice of applying decorations on the walls of the royal burial chamber was conceived.
Consequently the tomb of Snƒm-µb/Ónty is the earliest securely dated example with a decorated
burial chamber.

A preliminary list of private tombs with decorated burial chambers during the Old Kingdom down to
the Middle Kingdom has been drawn up (Appendix below, p. 117-122), including those that have animate
decoration.32 The lists cover both the capital (SBC, Saqqara Burial Chambers, and GBC, Giza Burial
Chambers) and provincial cemeteries (PBC, Provincial Burial Chambers).
The tables present a list of 121 decorated burial chambers.33 The tombs of Snƒm-µb/Ónty and
S‡m-nfr IV34 at Giza and of Ny-©n≈-b“ and ÓÌy35 at Saqqara mark the introduction of this practice in the
Memphite necropolis in private tombs during the reign of Unis. This shows clearly that only those of the
highest office were allowed such a privilege. This continued to be the case during the reigns of
Unis’immediate successors.36 From the reigns of Pepy I and Merenre I onward, burial chamber
decoration became a more widespread practice: the majority of cases belong to the reign of Pepy II, the
later part of the Old Kingdom, and the Herakleopolitan Period. In the provincial cemeteries, the practice
may have been introduced at the earliest at the end of Pepy I’s reign or early in the reign of Pepy II
(PBC 1). Again the majority of Old Kingdom examples belong to the reign of Pepy II and end of Dyn. VI
(PBC 1-16). The rest (PBC 17-37) is dated to the Herakleopolitan Period, Dyn. XI, and the Middle
Kingdom.37
Decorated burial chambers are either limestone-lined or have their walls smoothed and plastered.
The decorations were mostly painted, although both carving and painting techniques were sometimes
used together, as in SBC 9. Generally speaking, scenes in burial chambers display offering lists, food,
drink and burial equipment. Initially, there was no standardised form or regularity in their orientation and
arrangement, apart from the offering list, which was usually placed on the east wall, facing the
sarcophagus.38 During the reign of Pepy II, and at the end of the Old Kingdom, the decorative scheme in
burial chambers is more developed and the regularity and composition of the component elements more

27. Lepsius, Erg., Taf. XVIII; Strudwick, Administration, p. 133, n. 4.

28. There are two letters from King Ózzµ to Snƒm-µb/Ónty, one of which dated either to year 16 or 26, cf. Urk. I, p. 63,16 (f).
29. Gardiner, RCT, col. III: 24 (fr. 34a).
30. Baer, Rank and Title, p. 126 (455).
31. Snƒm-µb/MÌy is generally dated to middle reign of Unis, see Strudwick, Administration, p. 133-134 (121); Baer, Rank
and Title, p. 126-127 (456-456a).
32. The asterisks indicate the burial chambers which display animate decorations.
33. I am grateful to Miroslav Barta (Czech expedition at Abusir) who informed me that his team has found, in one of the
burial chambers, a limestone replica of a false door. The false door replica was situated in front of the limestone
sarcophagus (a photograph of which was published in KMT 1, 2000, p. 25). The burial chamber dates to mid-Dynasty
VI and belonged to one of the sons of the vizier Qar. The false door was decorated with incised inscriptions and
offering formulas. More information on this excavation will be published in the forthcoming report.
34. See GBC 1-2.
35. See list below no.SBC 1-2. For the date of Nj-©n≈-b“ see Strudwick, Administration, p. 102 (70); for ÓÌy, ibid. p. 63
(15).
36. See von Bissing, Gem-ni-kai II, pl. 5; Duell, Mereruka II, pl. 200ff.; James, Khentika, pl. 34ff.; Kanawati, The
Teti Cemetery at Saqqara 5. The Tomb of Hesi, Warminster, 2000, p. 16, n. 33.
37. Representation of animate decorations appear also on sarcophagi and coffins placed within the burial chambers, see
Winlock, Excavations at Deir el Bahri, pl. 8-10; see also Lapp, Särge, passim.
38. For a different arrangement, see Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 117-118.
ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 111

standardised (Fig. 1).39 Brovarski is currently studying these regularities which will produce at least some
sort of chronological sequence for the manner and style of decoration, particularly in the so-called
“tombes en four”, mostly dated to the reign of Pepy II and later.40 Whatever the ideological reasons41
which resulted in the evolution of this practice,42 it was probably intentionally composed with a format
completely different from that of the royal counterpart. Yet as was the case in the royal tomb, only
inanimate objects were drawn on the walls of the burial chambers. Strict rules of suppression and
modification of hieroglyphs were imperative: a practice that was intended to eliminate the figures of men
and animals considered potentially harmful to the deceased in inscriptions adjacent to the burial.43
These strict rules of avoiding representation of living creatures were sporadically disregarded. Out
of 121 decorated burial chambers, 24 present animate decorations. Six of these belong to the Old
Kingdom (GBC 3, 4, 5; SBC 9; PBC 2, 5). The other 17 examples are dated to the Herakleopolitan Period
and the Eleventh Dynasty (SBC 64-69; PBC 18-22, 24, 29-32, 35-37) (chart 1).
Ani.d.GBC Ani.d.PBC
2% 10%

Ani.d.SBC
4%

d.SBC
d.PBC 52%
26%

d.GBC
6%

Bolshakov argues that relegating such animate scenes to the substructure meant ideologically to
maintain a reliable food supply and to create in the burial chamber a world analogous to the world of the
offering chapel in the superstructure. He also claims that this new materialisation was so attractive that
only the impoverishment of tombs in the second half of Dyn.VI did not allow this type of decoration to
become predominant,44 a conclusion rightly refuted by Kanawati.45 However, it is more likely that the

39. Brovarski, in For his ka, p. 27-28.

40. Fischer, in Études Lauer, p. 179-182; E. Brovarski, “The late Old Kingdom at South-Saqqara”, above, p. 31-71.
41. Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 117-120; Montet, Scènes, p. 407; Kanawati, Tombs at Giza I, p. 18-21. I briefly
hinted above that a cognate ideology gave impetus to the evolution of decorating the burial chamber in both royal and
private tombs. Although the setting of this ideology is different, yet some, if not all, of the selected subject matter which
decorated the walls of burial chambers in private tombs were semantic representations in parallel with spells and verses
that were inscribed on the walls of the royal tombs. For instance, one of the predominantly and widely represented
scenes is food and offerings, which demonstrates the almost traumatic anxiety about food, a thesis which was
exhaustively expressed in the Pyramid Texts as well as in the Coffin Texts later on. This correspondence became
apparent at the end of Dyn. VI when private individuals went as far as to identify themselves with Osiris, reminiscent of
PT 219, in which the king was identified with Osiris. For the identification of private individuals with Osiris, see
Fischer, “A Stela of the Herakleopolitan Period at Saqqara: the Osiris Ótµ” , ZÄS 90, 1963, p. 35-41; see also
Khaled Dawood, The Inscribed Stelae of the Herakleopolitan Period from the Memphite Necropolis, Ph.D Liverpool
University, 1998, p. 235-274 and references there.
42. Perhaps the earliest association of figuration with burial chambers is the Reserve Heads that were introduced during the
Fourth Dynasty. See R. Tefnin, Art et Magie au temps des pyramides. L’énigme des têtes dites « de remplacement »
MonAeg 5, 1991; id., « Prothèse et mutilation. L’énigme des têtes de remplacement », BSFE 120, 1991, p. 25-37;
H. Schmidt, « Zur Determination und Ikonographie der sogennanten Ersatzköpfe : m’k nfr sƒm n rmÚ » SAK 18, 1991,
p. 331-348 and references there; see also Bolshakov, “New Observations on the Functions of the So-called Reserve
Heads”, in Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists, Cambridge, 3-9 September 1995. Abstracts of Papers,
Oxford, 1995, p. 21-23; see also J. Assmann, “Preservation and Presentation of Self in Ancient Egyptian Portraiture”, in
Studies Simpson I, p. 56-65; F. Junge, « Hem-iunu, Anch-ha-ef und die sog. “Ersatzköpfe” », in Kunst des Alten
Reiches, p. 97-101.
43. Firth-Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemetery I, p. 172-174; P. Lacau, « Suppressions et modifications de signes dans les textes
funéraires », ZÄS 51, 1913, p. 1-64; id., « Suppression des noms divins dans les textes de la chambre funéraire »,
ASAE 26, 1926, p. 69-81; Brovarski, in For his Ka, p. 28-29; Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 118; B. Mathieu,
« Modifications de texte dans la pyramide d’Ounas », BIFAO 96, 1996, p. 289-311.
44. Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 119-120.
45. Kanawati, Tombs at Giza I, p. 19-21.
112 K. DAWOOD

new phenomenon reflects a change in appearance rather than dogma. It is also likely, as suggested to me
by Jaromir Malek, that animate decoration of burial chambers did not become predominant because the
emphasis shifted to coffins46 and wooden models of daily life.47
It is difficult to tell if the change was the result of a relaxation of rules as suggested by Bolshakov,48
or simply that some of these burial chambers were used occasionnally as an extension or even a substitute
for the chapel in the superstructure, as claimed by Kanawati.49 The simple notion of substitution does not
sound convincing, particularly since five of the burial chambers in question have decorated
superstructures. Neither can it be simply an extension of the superstructure, as suggested also by
Kanawati. It is clear that these animate decorations correspond to the art repertoire employed in the
superstructure, but they seem to be carefully selected and modified representations to suit the realm of the
sarcophagus. As rightly suggested by Junker,50 it seems that the introduction of animate decoration was a
development of an existing tradition, rather than an innovation that made a sudden appearance, as implied
by Kanawati.
The phenomenon of animate decoration is found in three tombs from Giza: two are located in the
West Field (GBC 4, 5) and the third in the Central Field (GBC 3). One exemple is from Sheikh Said
(PBC 2), one from Balat (PBC 5) and one from Saqqara (SBC 9). Without an absolute dating for these
occurrences, it is difficult to establish whether the custom originated at Giza or at Saqqara. Before we
analyse the dating issues of these tombs and their burial chambers, here is a brief account of animate
scenes that appeared in these burial chambers, starting with K“.(µ)-m-¢n≈ (GBC 4) (Fig. 2-4), because of
the exceptional variation of the subject matter that is represented on the walls of his burial chamber.51 On
the east wall, there are an offering-list, priests performing a ritual before the offering table, and offering
bearers. On the west wall are agricultural scenes, cattle tending, granaries and storehouses, as well as
scenes depicting the tomb owner “rattling papyrus for Hathor” in the marshes of the Delta. The north wall
shows a funerary procession, food preparation, poultry, cattle and cooking. On the south wall are scenes
of funerary rituals, butchery, furniture, musicians and dancers. One has to admit that this burial chamber,
with its variety of subject matter, is distinctly different from the other burial chambers with animate
decoration. However, the scenes, although corresponding to the offering chapel decorations, are
purposely selected, modified and arranged52 to fit the substructure and its ideology. Evidently, some of
these scenes correspond to illustrate some of the verses inscribed on the walls of the substructures of royal
pyramids.53 Also, the orientation of the subject matter clearly correlates to the location of the
sarcophagus, as is presumably the case of the Pyramid Texts in the royal burial chambers.54

46. See Lapp, Särge, passim.

47. See H.D. Schneider, Shabtis. An Introduction to the History of Ancient Egyptian Statuettes with Catalogue of Collection
of Shabtis in the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden I, Leiden, 1977, p. 20-24 and references there;
A. Eggebrecht, in LÄ I, col. 1080-1083 and references there; H.E. Winlock, Models of Daily Life in Ancient Egypt,
Cambridge (Mass.), 1955.
48. Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 118.
49. Naguib Kanawati, “The Living and the Dead in Old Kingdom Tomb Scenes”, SAK 9, 1981, p. 225; id., The Tomb and
its Significance in Ancient Egypt, Cairo, 1988, p. 137-138.
50. Junker, Gîza IV, p. 43-45; see also Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 120, n. 14.
51. See recently Kanawati, Tombs at Giza I, 1-50, Taf. 1-17, 25-37.
52. Junker, Gîza IV, p. 49-50.
53. E.g. the ritualistic nature and the association between z‡‡ w“ƒ and journey to the west scenes is emphasised by Harpur
(“z‡‡ w“ƒ Scenes of the Old Kingdom”, GM 38, 1980, p. 58-59) and Fischer (The Tomb of Ip, p. 13). The first subject
in particular corresponds to PT § 388a. Similar correlation can be seen between the scenes of milking and a cow giving
birth and Pyr. § 89a and § 1029 and so on.
54. See for discussion on the order of the spells of the Pyramid Texts, S. Schott, Bemerkungen zum ägyptischen
Pyramidenkult, BeiträgeBf 5/2, 1952; J. Spiegel, Das Auferstehungsritual der Unas Pyramide, ÄgAbh 23, 1971;
H. Altenmüller, Die Texte zum Begräbnisritual in den Pyramiden des Alten Reiches, ÄgAbh 24, Wiesbaden, 1972;
W. Barta, Die Bedeutung der Pyramidentexte fûr den verstorbenen König, MÄS 39, 1981; J. Osing, « Zur Disposition
der Pyramidentexte des Unas », MDAIK 42, 1986, p. 131-144; J. Allen, “Reading a Pyramid”, in Hommages Leclant I,
p. 5–28; G. Englund, « La lumière et la répartition des textes dans la Pyramide », in Hommages Leclant I, p. 169-180.
ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 113

The tomb of K“.(µ)-≈r-ptÌ (GBC 5) (Fig. 5) displays the traditional offering list on the east wall.
Next to the offering menu are an offering formula, and the titles and name of the deceased, who is shown
seated before an offering table.55 The burial chamber of R¢-wr III (GBC 3) shows the offering menu on
the east wall. Underneath the table are three registers which show offering bearers, butchers and butchery
scenes. In the tomb of Înnt (PBC 2) at Sheikh Said, the offering menu appears on the east wall. At the
end of the offering list, there are three columns of inscriptions, displaying Înnt’s titles and name,
followed by a representation of Înnt seated before an offering table, reminiscent of the scene in GBC 5.
At the mastaba of Khentika in Balat (PBC 5), too little of the original decoration is preserved to allow the
reconstruction of the general pattern.
The burial chamber of K“.(µ)-µrr (SBC 9) (Fig. 6-7) is so far the only known example at Saqqara
during the Old Kingdom. Cecil Firth discovered his mastaba when he was clearing the area south of the
southern temenos wall of the Step Pyramid complex, in order to provide a dumping-ground for the debris
for his excavation. In early 1937, Lauer excavated the shaft and the burial chamber. This is cut in poor
quality rock, with evidence of repairs made at the time of its construction. The natural rock of the north,
east and south walls was smoothed, plastered and decorated with a very shallow incised relief, then
painted. At the southern end of the west wall, the limestone wall around the entrance of the burial
chamber was painted and carved with shallow incised relief.
At the northern end of this room is another small room or niche that houses the large monolithic
limestone sarcophagus. To the west of the sarcophagus is a shelf on which the sarcophagus lid now
rests.56 The decoration on the north, south and west walls is conventional, following the pattern of
decoration which appeared in earlier decorated burial chambers. On the south wall, there are four registers
with rows of clothing chests. Faint and broken inscriptions (in black ink) above each register indicate
their contents. Above the uppermost register is a horizontal line of incised inscription. The opposite north
wall displays rows of oil jars on sledges, continued into the north end of the west wall. The southern end
of this wall shows conventional scenes of offering heaps. The decoration on the east wall is divided into
three sections. The southern end section displays four registers of offering bearers. The middle section
shows heaps of offerings. The northern section depicts the traditional offering menu. Underneath the
offering list is a register displaying butchery scenes, which were overpainted by heaps of offerings. The
finding of animate decoration in this burial chamber overrules Fischer’s implication that the burial
chambers, with the exception of GBC 3, 4 and 5, are not known to have contained animate
representations before the advent of Dyn. XI either at Memphis itself or in the provinces.57

Dating of the phenomenon

Dating these tombs would verify whether the introduction of animate decoration in burial chambers
was sudden and experimental, or whether it was the culmination of burial chamber decoration or possibly
an erratic phenomenon that made sporadic appearances over a long period. Before analysing the date of
these tombs and their burial chambers, one has to appreciate that the evidence is too limited for a definite
conclusion.
GBC 3 (R¢-wr III)
Reisner dates this tomb to late Dyn. IV or Dyn. V (for reasons that are not entirely clear).58 Both
Junker59 and Baer60 date it to Dyn. VI, based on the burial chamber orientation and its correlation with the

55. Junker, Gîza VIII, Taf. 21.

56. For similar design of burial chambers from the early Sixth Dynasty see Firth-Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries I,
fig. 12, 15; Naguib Kanawati, Aly Hassan, The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara I, pl. 37 and II, p. 25.
57. Fischer, The Tomb of Ip, p. 34-35 and references there.
58. Reisner, Giza I, p. 152 (5).
59. Junker, Gîza VIII, p. 7.
60. Baer, Rank and Title, p. 98 (299) (VI B-C, E, G).
114 K. DAWOOD

sloping shaft, as well as the application of decoration on its walls. Strudwick dates this tomb from late
Dyn.V to early Dyn.VI on the basis of burial chamber decoration,61 a date which is also adopted by
Harpur.62 According to the decoration of the burial chamber, Bolshakov places GBC 3 at the end of Teti’s
reign or early in the reign of Pepy I.63 Kanawati, on the other hand, prefers an earlier date; mindful of his
date for GBC 4, he suggests a date in Isesi’s reign.64 Admittedly, there is very little evidence for dating
this tomb, but a date in late Dyn. V/early Dyn.VI would be plausible. Early Dyn. VI is probably to be
favoured, particularly considering the design of the shaft and its correlation with the burial chamber, the
title sequence and of course the occurrence of animate decoration in the burial chamber.
GBC 4 (K“.(µ)-m-¢n≈)
Both Kanawati and Claude Sourdive date this tomb to the reign of Isesi.65 Harpur, based on style of
relief and scene contents development, dates it to V.9-VI.1 with preference towards a VI.1 date (of
Teti).66 Junker dates the tomb to Dyn. VI,67 as do Baer and Strudwick,68 while Bolshakov prefers a date in
late Dyn. VI.69 Although Kanawati tries hard to place this tomb in the reign of Isesi, most of the evidence
he uses, either in tomb design or stylistic features, can hardly be considered decisive criteria. Stylistic
features in particular can not be confined to a single period. On the basis of the decoration of the burial
chamber alone, it is difficult to date this tomb before the reign of Unis. One of the iconographic features
that might place the tomb at an even later date is the appearance of a particular type of granary. On the
west wall of this burial chamber two types of granary construction are shown.70 The bottom type of small
domed structures with knobbed tops, is known from granary scenes from Dynasties IV-VI.71 The silos on
the upper register show big-vaulted structures with the façade flanked by uprights of peculiar form.72
Preliminary investigation indicates that this type of construction did not appear in tomb scenes before the
early part of the Sixth Dynasty. Perhaps its earliest appearance is in the tombs of Mereruka,73 a n d
Kagemni.74 Also the early-decorated burial chamber does not show any representation of granaries, as
shown by a preliminary survey.75 Interestingly, the granaries having vaulted structure with the façade
flanked by uprights appear in the burial chambers of Mereruka,76 Kagemni 77 and Ankhmahor 78 from the

61. Strudwick, Administration, p. 114-115 (92).

62. Harpur, Decoration, p. 268 (154).
63. Bolshakov, Man and His Double, p. 119.
64. Kanawati, Tombs at Giza I, p. 20, n. 63.
65. Ibid., p. 20; id., SAK 9, 1981, p. 225; id., Egyptian Administration of the Old Kingdom, Warminster, 1977, p. 155,
No.336; id., The Tomb and its Significance, p. 137-138; C. Sourdive, La Main dans l’Égypte pharaonique. Recherches
de morphologie structurale sur les objets égyptiens comportant une main, Berne, 1994, p. 138 (028).
66. Harpur, Decoration, p. 7, n. 7, p. 195 (V.9-VI.1), p. 270 (255).
67. Junker, Gîza IV, p. 1-4, p. 43-45; id., Gîza VIII, p. 3, p. 117.
68. Baer, Rank and Title, p. 141 (520) (VI B, E-G); Strudwick, Administration, p. 154 (mid-Dyn. VI).
69. Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 119.
70. On different types of granary structures, see Junker, Gîza IV, p. 67-68; Fischer, “Old Kingdom Inscriptions in the Yale
Gallery”, MIO 7, 1959/1960, p. 308, n. 18 and references there.
71. E.g. Reisner, Giza I, pl. 57a; Steindorff, Grab des Ti, pl. 84. Another type of granary structure from the same periods is
known as the knobbed-domed storehouse. It is described by Fischer (MIO 7, 1959/1960, p. 308, n. 18)) as a “round-
topped” structure (cf. W.K. Simpson, The Offering Chapel of Kayemnofret in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, Boston,
1992, pl. F; LD II, pl. 103; Deshasheh, pl. 23; Altenmüller, Mehu, pl. 43a).
72. Best represented by Emery’s “model estate” (Great Tombs of the First Dynasty II, pl. 57-66).
73. Duell, Mereruka II, pl. 116.
74. von Bissing, Gem-ni-ka, II, Taf. VIII-IX; Wresz., Atlas III, p. 64-65. In the tomb of Khentika, room one, on the north
wall, is a representation of domed structures with knobbed tops, with its façade flanked by uprights, see James,
Khentika, pl. IX.
75. As far as one can tell, none of the tombs of ÓÌy, Nj-©n≈-b“, Snƒm-µb/Ónty and S‡m-nfr IV show any representations of
granaries.
76. Duell, Mereruka, II, pl. 208.
77. Firth-Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemetery II, pl. 5.
78. Kanawati, The Tomb of Ankhmahor, pl. 63.
ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 115

early Sixth Dynasty. They also appear in the burial chamber of Mehu79 and Khentika80 and in most tombs
from the reign of Pepy II and later.81 This peculiarity, and other iconographic features, suggest a date in
the early part of Dyn. VI, probably not earlier than the reign of Teti, perhaps contemporary or later than
the Mereruka and Kagemni tombs in the Teti Cemeteries at Saqqara.
GBC 5 (K“.(µ)-≈r-ptÌ/Ftk-t“)
Junker sees the decoration in the burial chamber as an indication of a later date and places the tomb
at the end of the Old Kingdom,82 a date also favoured by Baer.83 Strudwick argues for a date in middle
Dyn. VI,84 while Harpur on the ground of scene development and style places the tomb in early to middle
Dyn. VI.85 Cherpion dates the tomb to Isesi’s reign,86 and Kanawati also prefers a date in the reign of
Isesi or early reign of Unis.87 An early date for this tomb is hard to justify, as is also a much later date. As
noted by Kanawati, the banded frieze used on the two sides of the offering table and offering menu
representation is known from Dyn. VI tombs,88 as are the tomb design, stylistic features and title
sequence. All are in agreement with both Harpur and Strudwick in dating the tomb to early-mid Sixth
Dynasty.

PBC 2 (Înnt)
Bolshakov places this tomb in reign of Teti, on the basis of the close similarity between the table
scene here and that of Ankhmahor.89 This uncertain date is accepted by Kanawati.90 Harpur simply places
the tomb in Dyn. VI.91 However, the palaeographic features on both the false door and the offering list92
show some later features: the writing of the t“ sign with two pellets underneath, the abbreviation of
µm“≈wt93 and the general layout of the false door. The false door and its inscription in particular are
similar to that of Mrw/Bbµ (tomb no.20)94 which is dated by Harpur to VI.5, mid reign of Pepy II.95
Perhaps a similar date could be suggested for the tomb of Înnt.

PBC 5 (⁄nty-k“)
This mastaba, recently published, has been dated to the middle of the reign of Pepy II on fairly firm
archaeological evidence.96

79. Altenmüller, Mehu, Taf. 98 (3).

80. James, Khentika, pl. XXXIV.
81. E.g. Jéquier, Tombeaux, fig. 16, 51, 69, 83, 117, 136, 140, pl. VII, XIV; Capart, Chambre funéraire, pl. III; Meir IV,
pl. XVIII (2-3), XXIII (3), XXV (2).
82. Junker, Giza VIII, p. 3-4.
83. Baer, Rank and Title, p. 148 (544): end of reign of Pepy II (VI G).
84. Strudwick, Administration, p. 154 (150).
85. Harpur, Decoration, p. 97 (Teti to Merenre).
86. N. Cherpion, Mastabas et Hypogées d’Ancien Empire. Le problème de la datation, Bruxelles, 1989, p. 151-152,
169, 174.
87. Kanawati, Tombs at Giza I, p. 20.
88. Ibid.
89. Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 119.
90. Kanawati, Tombs at Giza I, p. 21.
91. Harpur, Decoration, p. 280 (637).
92. Sheikh Saïd, pl. 25-26.
93. See Dawood, The Inscribed Stelae of the Herakeopolitan Period from the Memphite Necropolis, p. 293 and reference
there; Fischer, Dendera, p. 120; id., Egyptian Studies I: Varia, New-York, MMA, 1976, p. 51-53; id., Varia Nova, p. 26,
n. 78-84.
94. Sheikh Saïd, pl. 19.
95. Harpur, Decoration, p. 280 (638).
96. Balat V, p. 271-275.
116 K. DAWOOD

SBC 9 (K“.(µ)-µrr)
Malek in Topographical Bibliography dates this tomb to the reign of Unis or Dyn. VI.97 Lapp
suggests a date in Dyn. VI,98 while Harpur, on stylistic and scene development grounds, dates his tomb to
the reign of Pepy I.99 Detailed study of the tomb design, its scene development and relief style, as well as
the palaeographic features of its inscriptions and the decoration of the burial chamber with human figures,
suggest a date in the reign of Pepy I-Merenre I.100

The variation in the dates given highlight the problem of dating and undoubtedly exposes biased
attitudes towards dating criteria: a “favouritism of evidence”, a trap into which we get drawn, no matter
how careful we are. Yet it might be safe to state that there is no concrete evidence that would suggest that
the crypt of private tombs was decorated before the introduction of the Pyramid Texts in the royal burial
chamber in the pyramid of Unis, the last king of Dyn. V. This should be the dating post quem, on which
dating of decorated burial chambers in private tombs is based. On this basis alone, it is hard to accept
Kanawati’s early date for GBC 3, 4, 5. Dating these tombs to the mid to late Sixth Dynasty is definitely
biased by the occurrence of animate decoration in the burial chamber. Although this phenomenon
provides strong argument, its infrequent appearance makes it difficult to use as a demonstrative dating
criterion, particularly when other dating elements in some of these tombs strongly point to a different
date. The fact that these tombs belong to different periods questions Kanawati’s tempting assumption that
this phenomenon was a short-lived tradition. It also would strongly question Bolshakov’s hypothesis on
the development of this phenomenon.101 He argues that the introduction of animate decoration in the
burial chamber was probably prompted by what he calls the “depersonalised” table scene in Ankhmahor
(SBC 8) (Fig. 8) from Teti’s reign,102 and suggests that Înnt (PBC 2), which he dates to early Dyn. VI,
was the first to introduce this innovation. He further places GBC 5 and SBC 9 in the second stage of the
development of this phenomenon. He also suggests that the inverted reproduction of the chapel decoration
in GBC 4 represents the end result of this innovation at the end of Dyn. VI.
The selected and modified animate murals in these burial chambers suggest that this phenomenon is
the development of an existing tradition.103 Also, it is probably wise, on the grounds of the different
datings suggested by the variety of dating criteria, to suggest that this phenomenon appeared sporadically.
It was introduced in early Dyn. VI (GBC 3, 4). Then it reappeared possibly during the reign of Pepy I
(GBC 5 and SBC 9) and Pepy II (PBC 2, PBC 5). The practice was more common during the
Herakleopolitan Period and Dyn. XI, particularly in provincial cemeteries. Interestingly, this practice also
appears on the walls of sarcophagi dated to the Herakleopolitan Period and the Middle Kingdom at
Thebes,104 Gebelein,105 Mo’alla106 and Harageh.107 As for the Memphite necropolis, except for the
Kom el-Fakhry tombs, burial chambers continued to lack representations of living creatures.

97. PM III2, p. 631.

98. Lapp, Särge, p. 306-307 (Sq.97).
99. Harpur, Decoration, p. 197-198, p. 276 (520).
100. See Dawood, The Mastaba of Kairer (forthcoming).
101. Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 119.
102. Kanawati, The Tomb of Ankhmahor, p. 18 and references there.
103. Junker, Gîza IV, p. 43-45; Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 119-120, n. 14.
104. A daily-life scene appears on the sarcophagi of the royal princesses of the early Eleventh Dynasty, shortly before the
unification, see Winlock, Excavations at Deir el Bahri, pl. 8; Lapp, Särge, Abb. 164-169, 171-172, Taf. 35 (a-d).
105. Ibid., Abb. 198, 202-204, Taf. 39 (c).
106. Ibid., Abb. 199.
107. Harageh, e.g. pl. 65, 67, 77.
 ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 117

Decorated burial chambers from Saqqara necropolis

Name Date Reference Location

1 Ny-©n≈-b“ Unis PM III2, 629 Unis Pyr. Cemetery
2 ÓÌy Unis-Teti PM III2, 619 Unis Pyr. Cemetery
3 PtÌ-Ìtp/Óyn-©n≈108 Late Dyn.V-Dyn.VI PM III2, 607-9 West of the Step Pyr.
4 K“.(µ)-gm.n.(µ)/Mmµ Teti PM III2, 525 Teti Pyr. Cemetery
5 Mrr-w-k“.(µ)/Mrµ Teti PM III2, 534 Teti Pyr. Cemetery
6 ⁄ntµ-k“.(µ)/Ó≈≈µ Teti-Pepy I PM III2, 511 Teti Pyr. Cemetery
7 ⁄ntµ-k“.(µ)/Ó≈≈µ Teti-Pepy I PM III2, 511 Teti Pyr. Cemetery109
8 ¢n≈-m-©-Îr Teti-Pepy I PM III2, 515 Teti Pyr. Cemetery
9 *K“.(µ)-µrr110 Mid Pepy I PM III2, 31 Unis Pyr. Cemetery
10 MÌw Pepy I-Merenre I PM III2, 619 Unis Pyr. Cemetery111
11 Ónw-Mnw Pepy I or later Not in PM Teti Pyr. Cemetery112
12 Ó“rtµ Merenre I or later PM III2, 674 North-West of Merenre I
13 ÓÌy Merenre I or later PM III2, 673 Between Merenre I & Isesi
14 Nbw Merenre I or later PM III2, 673 North-West of Merenre I
15 Îm-Ónpw/Îmµ Mid Pepy II Not in PM South-East of Pepy I113
16 Nfr-k“-r©-n≈t/⁄tw-Ìtp Mid Pepy II PM III2, 680 North-East of Pepy II
17 Ωn©µ Mid. Pepy II PM III2, 678 North-East of Pepy II
18 Ttµ Mid Pepy II PM III2, 684 East of Pepy II
19 Mry-r©/Ppy-µ“m Mid Pepy II PM III2, 683 East of Pepy II
20 Ppµ Mid Pepy II PM III2, 677 North-East of Pepy II
21 Sbk-Ìtp Mid Pepy II PM III2, 685 East of Pepy II
22 Sntµ Mid Pepy II PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II
23 Ó‡Úµ/*Tµ Mid Pepy II PM III2, 60910 West of the Step Pyr.
24 Ódµ/Tpµ-m-k“w Mid Pepy II PM III2, 680 East of Pepy II

108. Hassan, Excavations at Saqqara II, p. 102, decoration of offerings and offering list.
109. This secondary burial chamber possibly belongs to a certain Khentika who was “Sole Companion, Overseer of Linen”,
cf. James, Khentika, pl. xl. It is probably later in date; however, the chronological gap between this secondary burial
chamber and the main one can be few generations apart. See Fischer, Varia Nova, p. 1-6.
110. The decoration in the burial chamber is not mentioned by PM, see J.-P. Lauer, « Note sur divers travaux effectués à
Saqqarah en 1936 et 1937 », ASAE 37, 1937, p. 109; Khaled Dawood, The Mastaba of Kairer (forthcoming).
111. PM does not mention this, see A.S.M. Hussein, “The Reparation of the Mastaba of Mehu (1940)”, ASAE 42, 1943, p. 420;
Altenmüller, Mehu, p. 23-24, 208-218, Taf. 98-99.
112. To be published by Naguib Kanawati.
113. J. Leclant, « Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1975-1976 », Orientalia 46, 1977, p. 244, fig. 11-12.
 118 K. DAWOOD

Name Date Reference Location

25 ∫nmw Mid-Late Pepy II PM III2, 686-7 West of Pepy II
26 D‡rµ Late Pepy II PM III2, 673 North-West of Merenre I
27 Ppy-©n≈w/S“Úw Late Pepy II PM III2, 672 East of Isesi
28 ”≈µ (usurped by Bµw) Late Pepy II PM III2, 677 North-East of Pepy II
29 Mhµ Late Pepy II PM III2, 682 East of Pepy II
30 PtÌ-©n≈w/Ótµ Late Pepy II PM III2, 682 East of Pepy II
31 Ótµ/⁄nt-k“w.s Late Pepy II PM III2, 675 Ibi
32 Ny-n.µ-Ppy/ Nnµ/Nnkµ Late Pepy II PM III2, 686 West of Pepy II
33 Dgm/Mrµ-Ppy Late Pepy II PM III2, 679 North-East of Pepy II
34 Nfr-≈w Late Pepy II PM III2, 673 Between Merenre I & Isesi
35 R©-Ìr-k“.µ/Ópµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 679 North-East of Pepy II
36 ⁄wµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 626 Unis Pyr. Cemetery114
37 W“‡-ptÌ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 680 East of Pepy II
38 W“ƒµt Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 683 East of Pepy II
39 St-µbtµ/Bbµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 688 East of Mastabat Faraoun
40 Nbw.f-©n≈w Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 679-680 North-East of Pepy II
41 Mrrµ Late Dyn VI PM III2, 607 West of the Step Pyr.
42 Snµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II
43 Nst-mrwt Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II
44 Pnw Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II

45 Ωy Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 682 East of Pepy II

46 Sbkw I Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 682-83 East of Pepy II

47 Sbkw II Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 682-83 East of Pepy II

48 ⁄©-b“w-ßnm/Bµw Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 684 East of Pepy II

49 ⁄w.(µ)-b“w Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 685 South-West of Pepy II

50 Nmtµ-m-ƒr.f Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 687 West of Pepy II
51 Ωm“µt Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 682 East of Pepy II
52 Ny-Ìb-sd-Nfr-k“-r© Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 683 East of Pepy II
53 Nb.µ-pw-Ppy/Snµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II
54 Înnµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II
55 Ódµ Late Dyn. VI Not in PM North of Pepy I115

114. C. Firth, “Report on the Excavations of the Department of Antiquities at Saqqara (November 1929-April 1930)”, ASAE 30,
1930, p. 187.
115. Personal communication from Magdi El-Ghandour, Saqqara.
 ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 119

Name Date Reference Location

56 ¢n≈-n.s-Ppy Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II
57 N≈≈wt Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 681 East of Pepy II
58 S©n≈w-n-ptÌ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 672 East-North-East of Isesi
59 Órµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 689 Near Khenzer
60 Mrw/Bbµ Late Dyn. VI PM III2, 694 precise location unknown
61 Ónt.f Late Dyn. VI-HP PM III2, 686 East of Pepy II
62 Wnµs-Ì“-µ‡t.f Late Dyn. VI-HP PM III2, 616 Unis Pyr. Cemetery116
63 ©nw Late Dyn. VI-HP PM III2, 685 East of Pepy II
64 ©n≈-n.µ-n-Mry-r© Late Dyn. VI-HP PM III2, 750 precise location unknown117
65 ¢n≈-n.s-Ppy Late Dyn. VI-HP PM III2, 751 precise location unknown118
66 *Ómpy HP PM III2, 852 Memphis119
67 *Ómpy HP PM III2, 852 Memphis120
68 *N N HP PM III2, 852 Memphis121
69 *N N HP PM III2, 852 Memphis122
70 *N N HP PM III2, 852 Memphis123
71 Sk-ws≈t HP PM III2, 548 Teti Pyr. Cemetery124
72 Ópµ MK PM III2, 560 Teti Pyr. Cemetery125
73 Ó̵ MK PM III2, 551 Teti Pyr. Cemetery126
74 Ÿ“ MK PM III2, 562 Teti Pyr. Cemetery127
75 S“-Ìt-Ìr MK PM III2, 701 Teti Pyr. Cemetery128
76 S“-µst MK PM III2, 898 Dahshur129

116. Fischer, ZÄS 90, 1963, Taf. VII.

117. Berlin (East) 7730. Aeg. Inschr. I, p. 3; Ausf. Verz, p. 44; Sethe, Pyramidentexte I, p. VIII, n. 1: Pyramid Texts.
118. Berlin (East) 7495 (Now lost). Aeg. Inschr. I, p. 3; Sethe, Pyramidentexte I, p. VIII, n. 1: Pyramid Texts.
119. C. Lilyquist, “Early Middle Kingdom Tombs at Mitrahina”, JARCE 11, 1974, p. 28 (1).
120. Ibid., p. 28 (2).
121. Ibid., p. 28 (3).
122. Ibid., p. 28 (4).
123. Ibid., p. 28 (5).
124 It is not mentioned by PM. Cf. Gunn, Notebook, p. 17; CT V, VI (Sq1sq).
125 Quibell, Excav. Saqq. 1905-1906, p. 5, pl. 22 (2).
126. Firth-Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemetery I, p. 286-288; Gunn MSS XVIII. 5 (2,3).
127. Quibell, Excav. Saqq. 1906-1907, p. 19-20, 77, pl. 30 (3).
128. Gunn, Notebook, p. 16; CT V, VI (Sq2sq).
129. Dahchour II, p. 78-85: Pyramid Texts on the walls of the burial chamber.
 120 K. DAWOOD

Decorated burial chambers from Giza Necropolis

Name Date Reference Location

1 Snƒm-µb/Ónty 130 Unis PM III2, 85-87 West Field
2 S‡m-nfr IV131 Unis-Teti PM III2, 226 Cemetery GIS
3 *R©-wr III132 Dyn. VI PM III2, 242 Central Field
4 *K“.(µ)-m-©n≈ 133 Dyn. VI PM III2, 132-133 West Field
5 *K“.(µ)-≈r-ptÌ/Ftk-t“134 Teti-Pepy I PM III2, 166-167 West Field
6 Mry-r©-nfr/Q“r 135 Pepy I or later PM III2, 185. East Field
7 N≈tµ Pepy I or later Not in PM East Field136
8 S‡m-nfr/Ófµ137 Dyn. VI PM III2, 239 Central Field

Decorated Burial Chambers in Provincial Cemeteries

Name Date Reference Location

1 Óww Pepy I-Pepy II138 PM V, 72 Abydos139
2 *Înnt (f) Pepy II or later140 PM IV, 191 Sheikh Said141
3 Ódw I Pepy II PM V, 111 Dendara142
4 Ÿ”wtµ Mid Pepy II PM V, 121 Qasr wa Es-Saiyad143
5 *⁄nty-k“ Mid-Pepy II Balat V Balat
6 Mn-©n≈-Ppy/Mnµ Late Pepy II PM V, 110 Dendara144
7 Ppy-©n≈-Ìry-µb/Înnµ Late Pepy II PM IV, 255 (D2) Meir145

130. Baer, Rank and Title, p. 126 (455); Smith, Sculpture, p. 201; Strudwick, Administration, p. 154. The simple offering list
painted on the walls of the burial chamber is not recorded by Lepsius, which might explain their omission from PM III2,
p. 87; E. Brovarski, The Senedjemib Complex I, p. 79-81, pl. 53 (a-b).
131. Junker, Gîza XI, p. 114-116, Abb. 52, Taf. 16 (a), Abb. 53.
132. Hassan, Gîza V, p. 296-297.
133. Junker, Gîza IV, p. 43-96, Taf. 2-17.
134. Id., Gîza VIII, p. 117-121, Abb. 56, Taf. 21.
135 G 7101 M, Simpson, Qar and Idu, p. 11-12, fig. 7.
136. G 7101 B, ibid., p. 12, fig. 9 (b).
137. Hassan, Gîza VII, fig. 53, pl. 32.
138. For an extensive discussion of his date see Brovarski, in For His Ka, p. 24-39 and references there.
139. LD Text II, p. 176; LD I, Bl. 65 (bottom right).
140. Harpur, Decoration, p. 280 (637); Bolshakov, Man and his Double, p. 119.
141. Sheikh Saïd, p. 30-31, pl. 26.
142. Petrie, Dendereh, p. 45, pl. 5A. For the date of this official see Fischer, Dendera, p. 187.
143. Säve-Söderbergh, Hamra Dom, p. 54-56, pl. 33-43. It is not mentioned in PM.
144. Petrie, Dendereh, p. 44, pl. 3; for the date, see Fischer, Dendera, p. 187.
145. Meir IV, p. 46-52, pl. 18 (2), 19 (2), 21 (2), 23 (3). For date, see Harpur, Decoration, p. 280 (650).
 ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 121

Name Date Reference Location

8 Ît-µ©Ì (f) Late Pepy II PM IV, 255 (D2) Meir146
9 Ódw/Snnµ Late Pepy II PM V, 119 Qasr wa Es-Saiyad147
10 Mrw Late OK PM IV, 61 Heliopolis148
11 ⁄w.µ.n-Ìr/⁄wµ Late OK PM IV, 62 Heliopolis149
12 Sbkµ Late OK PM IV, 61 Heliopolis150
13 Sbkµ/Bµ Late OK PM IV, 61 Heliopolis151
14 Ódµ Late OK Weill, Dara, 99-107, Dara
pl. 57, 69
15 Ó‡t.f-Tti Late OK ASAE 10, 1910, Mendes
28; JARCE 4, 1965, 35
16 N N (IMB 17) Late OK JARCE 4, 1965, 36, Mendes
pl. 20 (11)
17 S“t-nt-Ppy (f) Late OK-HP JARCE 4, 1965, 36, Mendes
pl. 20 (12); 6, 1967,
26, pl. 14(23), 17
18 * BÚw HP Orientalia 62/3, 1993, Balat152
258-259, pl. 42, fig. 49
19 *Nfr-µrwt HP Or. Ant. 13, 1974, 161-197 Herakleopolis153
20 *S“-kt HP Or. Ant. 13, 1974, 161-197 Herakleopolis154
21 Îry-‡.f-n≈t HP Orientalia 38, 1969, 259 Herakleopolis155
22 *Wƒ“t-Ìtp HP BSFE 150, 2001, 14-21 Herakleopolis156

146. Meir IV, pl. 18 (1, 3), 19 (1), 21 (1), 25 (2).

147. Säve-Söderbergh, Hamra Dom, p. 35. It is not mentioned in PM.
148. G. Daressy, « La nécropole des Grands Prêtres d’Héliopolis sous l'Ancien Empire.-§ I. Inscriptions », ASAE 16, 1916,
p. 195-7; A. Barsanti, « La nécropole des Grands Prêtres d’Héliopolis sous l’Ancien Empire.-§ II. Rapports sur le
déblaiement », ASAE 16, 1916, p. 213-215, fig. 1-2; M.I. Moursi, Die Hohenpriester des Sonnengottes von der Frühzeit
Ägyptens bis zum Ende des Neue Reiches, MÄS 26, 1972, p. 34, § 17.
149. Daressy, op. cit., p. 209-211; Barsanti, op. cit., p. 219-220, fig. 5.
150. Daressy, op. cit., p. 198-203; Barsanti, op. cit., p. 215-217, fig. 3; Moursi, op. cit., p. 34-5, §18.
151. Daressy, op. cit., p. 204-208; Barsanti, op. cit., p. 217-219, fig. 4; Moursi, op. cit., p. 35-36, §19.
152. Thanks to Laure Pantalacci who brought this reference to my attention. A few more tombs display this practice in the oasis.
153. A. Roccati, « I Testi de Sarcofagi di Eracleopolis », Oriens Antiquus 13, 1974, p. 161-197; J. López, « Rapport préliminaire
sur les fouilles d'Hérakléopolis », Oriens Antiquus 14, 1975, p. 57-78.
154. Roccati, loc. cit.; López, op. cit., p. 58-67, fig. 1(N), 2-4.
155. Leclant, « Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan », Or 38, 1969, p. 259; López, op. cit., p. 62-64.
156. M.-C. Pérez-Die, « Fouilles à Ehnasya el-Medina (Hérakléopolis Magna). Résultats récents, campagne 2000 », BSFE 150,
2001, p. 14-21, and infra, in the same volume.
 122 K. DAWOOD

Name Date Reference Location

23 Ósµ HP Tell Edfou 1939, 46-50, Edfu
fig. 32
24 *Ó p HP-11th Dyn. The Tomb of Ip, New York, El-Saff
1996, 33-35, pl. 7
25 Nfrw (f) 11th Dyn. PM I, 392 Thebes157
26 Bbµ 11th Dyn. Dendereh, 56, pl. 37 Dendara158
27 Îr-Ìtp 11th Dyn. PM I, 389 Thebes159
28 ∫tµ 11th Dyn. PM I, 387 Thebes160
29 *Kmsµt (f) 11th Dyn. PM I, 386 Thebes161
30 *W≈-Ìtp 11th Dyn. PM IV, 105 Harageh162
31 *Îry-‡.f-n≈t 11th Dyn. PM IV, 105 Harageh163
32 *Sbk-Ìtp 11th Dyn. Not in PM Kom Ombo164
33 S-n-wsrt-©n≈ MK PM IV, 85 Lisht165
34 Nh“ MK PM IV, 68 Qatta166
35 *⁄sw-wr MK PM IV, 51-52 Kom el-Hisn167
36 *S“t-Ìt-Ìr MK PM IV, 49 El-Barnûgi168
37 *N N (East tomb) MK PM IV, 49 El-Barnûgi169

157. N. Davies, BMMA, Feb. 1928, p. 4-5, fig. 2-3; L.K. Sabbahy, “©n≈-n.s-Ppy, ©n≈-n.s-Mry-R© I and II, and the Title
w“ƒ sƒtt”, GM 72, 1984, p. 36, pl. 1; H.G. Fischer, “Sunshades in the Marketplace”, in Ancient Egypt in the MMJ 1-11
(1968-1976), New York, 1977, p. 68, fig. 5; C. Lilyquist, Ancient Egyptian Mirrors from the Earliest Times through the
Middle Kingdom, MÄS 27, 1979, p. 62, fig. 133.
158. Fischer, Dendera, p. 182, n. 759. Inscriptions include name, titles, and funerary texts; Schenkel, Memphis, Herakleopolis,
Theben, p. 36, 286.
159. CG 28023: Lacau, Sarcophages I, p. 42; J. Capart, Chambre funéraire de la VIe dynastie aux Musées Royaux du
Cinquantenaire, Bruxelles, 1906, fig. 5; Maspero, Trois années de fouilles, p. 134, pl. XI-XVIII.
160. H.E. Winlock, BMMA, pt II, Dec. 1923, p. 19, fig. 12; id., Excavations at Deir el Bahri 1911-1931, New York, 1942, pl. 16.
161. Naville, Deir El-Bahari III, pl. 2-3; B. Jaros-Deckert et al., Grabung im Asasif 1963-1970 V. Das Grab des Inj-jtj.f. Die
Wandmalereien der XI. Dynastie, AV 12, 1984, p. 114, pl. 9c.
162. Harageh, p. 22-23, pl. 67.
163. Ibid., p. 20-22, pl. 68.
164. S. Wenig, « Ein Grabkammer des Mittleren Reiches aus Kom Ombo », in Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Forschungen und
Berichte 10, 1968, p. 71-94.
165. W.C. Hayes, The Texts in the Mastabeh of Sen-Wosret-ankh at Lisht, MMA Egyptian Expedition 12, New York, 1937, p. 137:
Pyramid Texts.
166. É. Chassinat et al., Fouilles de Qattah, MIFAO 14, 1906, p. 53-70: Pyramid Texts.
167. C.C. Edgar in G. Maspero (ed.), Le musée Égyptien. Recueil de monuments et de notices sur les fouilles d’Égypte III, Cairo,
1915, p. 54-61, fig. 1-5, pl. 34-36; D.P. Silverman, The Tomb Chamber of ⁄sw the Elder: The Inscribed Material at Kom el-
Hisn. Part 1: Illustrations, ARCE Reports 10, Winona Lake, 1988: animate decoration and Pyramid Texts.
168. West tomb; Edgar, in Le musée Égyptien II, Cairo, 1907, p. 109-118, fig. 1, 5, 7-12: animate decoration.
169. East tomb; Edgar, op. cit., p. 109-118, fig. 2, 13-18: animate decoration.
 ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM

Fig. 1 - Burial chamber of Ppµ, east and west walls. (Jéquier, Tombeaux, pl. XIV).
123
124 K. DAWOOD

Fig. 2 - View of the burial chamber of K“.(µ)-m-©n≈, from the entrance. (Junker, Gîza IV, Taf. II).

Fig. 3 - North wall, east side, K“.(µ)-m-©n≈’s burial chamber. (Junker, Gîza IV, Taf. VII).
ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM 125

Fig. 4 - West wall z‡‡-w“ƒ scene, K“.(µ)-m-©n≈’s burial chamber. (Junker, Gîza IV, Taf. XI).

Fig. 5 - East wall, K“.(µ)-≈r-ptÌ’s burial chamber. (Junker, Gîza VIII, Taf. XXI).
126 K. DAWOOD

Fig. 6 - Offering bearers, east wall, K“.(µ)-µrr’s burial chamber.

Fig. 7 - Offering bearers, east wall,

K“.(µ)-µrr’s burial chamber.
 ANIMATE DECORATION AND BURIAL CHAMBERS OF PRIVATE TOMBS DURING THE OLD KINGDOM

Fig. 8 - North wall, Ankhmahor’s burial chamber. (Kanawati, The tomb of Ankhmahor, pl. 68).
127