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432:(c. 2686–2313) mastabas was the 'stairway mastaba', the tomb chamber of which sank deeper than before and was connected to the top with an inclined shaft and stairs. Many of the features of mastabas grew into those of the pyramids, indicating their importance as a transitory construction of tombs. This notably includes the exterior appearance of the tombs, as the sloped sides of the mastabas extended to form a pyramid. The first and most striking example of this was
1490:
317:, were often constructed out of limestone. Mastabas were often about four times as long as they were wide, and many rose to at least 10 metres (30 ft) in height. They were oriented north–south, which the Egyptians believed was essential for access to the afterlife. The roofs of the mastabas were of slatted wood or slabs of limestone, with skylights illuminating the tomb. The above-ground structure had space for a small offering chapel equipped with a
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354:(سرداب), from the Persian word for "cellar", was used to store anything that may have been considered essential for the comfort of the deceased in the afterlife, such as beer, grain, clothes and precious items. The mastaba housed a statue of the deceased that was hidden within the masonry for its protection. High up the walls of the
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The above-ground structure of a mastaba is rectangular in shape with inward-sloping sides and a flat roof. The exterior building materials were initially bricks made of the sun-dried mud readily available from the Nile River. Even after more durable materials such as stone came into use, the majority
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reflects this, most prominently by the enormous amounts of time and labor involved in building tombs. Ancient
Egyptians believed that the needs from the world of the living would be continued in the afterlife; it was therefore necessary to build tombs that would fulfill them, and be sturdy enough to
371:
of the owner. More elaborate mastabas would feature open courtyards, which would be used to house more statues and allow the dead to perform rites. Over time, the courtyards grew into magnificent columned halls, which served the same purposes. These halls would typically be the largest room in the
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had to return to its body or it would die. These openings "were not meant for viewing the statue but rather for allowing the fragrance of burning incense, and possibly the spells spoken in rituals, to reach the statue". The statues were nearly always oriented in one direction, facing the opening.
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era (before 3100 BCE) and continuing into later dynasties, the ancient
Egyptians developed increasingly complex and effective methods for preserving and protecting the bodies of the dead. They first buried their dead in pit graves dug from the sand with the body placed on a mat, usually along with
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Mastabas were highly decorated, both with paintings on the walls and ceilings, and carvings of organic elements such as palm trees out of limestone. Due to the spiritual significance of the color, it was preferable to construct mastabas from white limestone. If this was not available, the yellow
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would use to maintain the mortuary cult of the mastaba's owner. Generally, there would be five of these storerooms, used by the living to store equipment needed for performing rites; unlike the serdab, they were not meant to be used by the deceased. These lacked any form of decoration, again
347:
with a house in the afterlife, and they were laid out accordingly. Some would be used to house families, rather than individuals, with several burial shafts acting as "rooms". The burial chambers were cut deep, into the bedrock, and were lined with wood. A second hidden chamber called a
424:, a mastaba was constructed simulating house plans of several rooms, a central one containing the sarcophagus and others surrounding it to receive the abundant funerary offerings. The whole was built in a shallow pit above which a brick superstructure covering a broad area. The typical
275:, where tombs would be split into two distinct portions. One side would contain a body, oriented in a north-south position, and the other would be open for the living to deliver offerings. As the remains were not in contact with the dry desert sand, natural
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word for "a bench of mud". When seen from a distance, a flat-topped mastaba does resemble a bench. Historians speculate that the
Egyptians may have borrowed architectural ideas from Mesopotamia, since at the time they were both building similar structures.
377:
distinguishing their function from that of the rest of the tomb. Due to the great expense of adding a complex of storerooms, these were only constructed in the largest of mastabas, for the royal family and viziers.
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could not take place; therefore the
Egyptians devised a system of artificial mummification. Until at least the Old Period or First Intermediate Period, only high officials and royalty were buried in these mastabas.
439:
Even after pyramids became more prevalent for pharaohs in the 3rd and 4th
Dynasties, members of the nobility continued to be buried in mastaba tombs. This is especially evident on the
271:
composed of earthen bricks made from soil along the Nile. It provided better protection from scavenging animals and grave robbers. The origins of the mastaba can be seen in
466:'. The actual tomb chamber was built below the south-end of mastaba, connected by a slanting passage to a stairway emerging in the center of a columned hall or court.
335:
limestone or mudbrick of the tomb would be whitewashed and plastered. Mastabas for royalty were especially extravagant on the exterior, meant to resemble a palace.
469:
Mastabas are still well attested in the Middle
Kingdom, where they had a revival. They were often solid structures with the decoration only on the outside.
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1162:
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in an attempt to further thwart grave robbers. Mastabas, then, were developed with the addition of offering chapels and vertical shafts.
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mastaba, and they could be used for sacrifices of livestock. Larger mastabas also included a network of storerooms, which the presiding
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around 1550 BC), "the mastaba becomes rare, being largely superseded by the independent pyramid chapel above a burial chamber".
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some items believed to help them in the afterlife. The first tomb structure the
Egyptians developed was the
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331:. The construction of mastabas was standardized, with several treatments being common for masonry.
17:
436:, which combined many traditional features of mastabas with a more monumental stone construction.
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in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of
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The mastaba was the standard type of tomb in pre-dynastic and early dynastic Egypt for both the
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The
Peasant House: Contemporary Meanings, Syntactic Qualities and Rehabilitation Challenges.
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to leave and return to the body (represented by the statue); Ancient
Egyptians believed the
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as raised, indoor or outdoor "unsoiled" area in traditional
Palestinian architecture
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327:, of the deceased, which had to be maintained in order to continue to exist in the
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last for an eternity. These needs would also have to be attended to by the living.
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138:
95:
52:
199:. These edifices marked the burial sites of many eminent Egyptians during Egypt's
443:, where at least 150 mastaba tombs have been constructed alongside the pyramids.
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226:
688:. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
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mastabas had elaborate chapels consisting of several rooms, columned halls and '
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451:
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Mastabas evolved over the early dynastic period (c. 3100-2686 BCE). During the
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321:. Priests and family members brought food and other offerings for the soul, or
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The serdab could also feature inscriptions, such as the testament and
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30:
1325:
1072:, Egyptian Expedition XXVIII, Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York
958:"Penmeru Revisited—Giza Mastaba G 2197 (Giza Archives Gleanings V)"
406:
310:
192:
207:. Non-royal use of mastabas continued for over a thousand years.
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787:
R., C. L. (1913). "A Model of the Mastaba-Tomb of Userkaf-Ankh".
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began to appear. These were tombs built into the rock cliffs in
656:. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press. pp. 146–163.
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933:
When the Pyramids were Built: Egyptian Art of the Old Kingdom
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1108:, Graz University of Technology 2010. Accesses 24 Feb 2021.
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Ancient Egyptian Tombs : The Culture of Life and Death
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61:
833:
The Architecture of Mastaba Tombs in the unas Cemetery
393:, showing the mastabas constructed within the complex
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85:
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935:. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 12.
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753:. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 57 n7.
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101:
98:
58:
55:
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994:(20th ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
962:Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt
881:Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
1092:Architecture in Ancient Egypt and the Near East
343:A mastaba was essentially meant to provide the
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1015:Davis, Ben (1997). "The Future of the Past".
215:
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983:
401:and the social elite. The ancient city of
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1042:R., L. E. (1910). "Two Mastaba Chambers".
413:, overlooking the capital of early times,
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1070:Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht
955:
358:were small openings that would allow the
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989:
980:
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712:. Cambridge: MIT Press. 1966. p. 7.
405:was the location chosen for many of the
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313:. Monumental mastabas, such as those at
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908:. Rosicrucian Museum. Archived from
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679:
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654:Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt
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1094:. Cambridge: MIT Press. p. 51.
789:Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
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216:
24:
1041:
815:
786:
25:
1581:
1247:Ancient Egyptian race controversy
903:
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234:, meaning "house of stability", "
1550:Types of monuments and memorials
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1560:Burial monuments and structures
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906:"Burial practices, and Mummies"
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710:Ancient Egypt and the Near East
641:. New York: Putnam. p. 30.
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13:
1:
1565:Ancient Egyptian architecture
956:Manuelian, Peter Der (2009).
639:Architecture through the Ages
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252:religion of ancient Egyptians
220:(maṣṭaba) "stone bench". The
27:Type of tomb in ancient Egypt
1044:Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin
831:Cooke, Ashley (2020-05-04).
684:Snape, Steven (2011-02-14).
652:Teeter, Emily (2011-06-13).
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409:. The royal cemetery was at
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7:
1432:Egypt–Mesopotamia relations
1252:Population history of Egypt
990:Fletcher, Banister (1996).
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483:
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214:comes from the Arabic word
10:
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1090:Badawy, Alexander (1966).
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34:Example of a mastaba, the
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992:A History of Architecture
931:Arnold, Dorothea (1999).
766:"History of architecture"
593:. Collins Dictionary. n.d
562:Architecture of Palestine
1484:Ancient Egypt portal
613:"Mastaba Tomb of Perneb"
520:
883:. New York: Routledge.
637:Hamlin, Talbot (1954).
450:(c. 2613 to 2494 BCE),
381:Architectural evolution
250:was centralized in the
238:", or "eternal house".
768:. History of the world
505:Mastaba of Seshemnefer
476:(which began with the
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293:
292:Structure of a mastaba
42:
1158:Glossary of artifacts
751:Egypt of the Pharahos
591:"Mastaba: definition"
434:Djoser's step pyramid
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291:
201:Early Dynastic Period
189:ancient Egyptian tomb
33:
879:Bard, K. A. (1999).
539:Mastaba of Neferefre
500:Mastaba of Kaninisut
1570:Egyptian inventions
1304:Cursive hieroglyphs
1068:Arnold, D. (2008):
1017:Scientific American
835:. Sidestone Press.
533:Mastabat al-Fir'aun
472:By the time of the
36:Mastabat al-Fir'aun
1277:Funerary practices
976:– via JSTOR.
495:Mastaba of Hesy-Re
395:
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256:Their architecture
43:
1532:
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1287:Great Royal Wives
1257:Prehistoric Egypt
764:Gascone, Bamber.
236:house of eternity
16:(Redirected from
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1338:Mathematics
1299:Hieroglyphs
1213:Portraiture
1181:Agriculture
1168:Main topics
541:(Neferefre)
474:New Kingdom
460:5th Dynasty
456:Upper Egypt
448:4th Dynasty
430:3rd Dynasty
422:1st Dynasty
389:Map of the
264:Predynastic
205:Old Kingdom
1539:Categories
1454:Egyptology
1422:Technology
1385:Philosophy
1333:Literature
1225:Chronology
1080:, S. 26-30
858:"Mastabas"
725:"mastabas"
622:22 October
617:Met Museum
597:23 October
577:References
319:false door
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1282:Geography
1272:Dynasties
1220:Astronomy
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407:cenotaphs
329:afterlife
311:mudbricks
296:The term
284:Structure
248:afterlife
224:name was
210:The word
197:limestone
193:mudbricks
1545:Mastabas
1494:Category
1415:District
1410:Capitals
1395:Religion
1378:Titulary
1368:Pharaohs
1348:Military
1343:Medicine
1326:Hieratic
1316:Language
1242:Clothing
1196:Obelisks
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1514:Outline
1504:Commons
1464:Museums
1400:Scribes
1390:Pottery
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1311:History
1262:Cuisine
1191:Revival
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809:3252928
570:mastaba
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411:Saqqara
399:pharaoh
315:Saqqara
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1235:List
1074:ISBN
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937:ISBN
918:2013
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