He mastaba of Mereruka in the Teti Cemetery at Saqqara is one of the most important tombs of the Old Kingdom due to its size and unusual layout.1 In its final stage the tomb consists of three major parts with separate cult chambers for Mereruka and his wife Waatetkhethor, and a section later used by their son Meri-Teti.2 he mastaba is of vital importance due to its high number of decorated chambers and innumerable themes and motifs, some depicted here for the very first time. In particular, the huge variety of topics and themes within the chambers dedicated to Mereruka can only be described as outstanding, especially when compared to the other sections of the mastaba and neighbouring tombs in Saqqara. Altogether sixteen of the thirty-two chambers3 (Fig. 1) were decorated with relief and paintings, although only the relief survives in large part today. In general, a study on tomb decoration must take into account the fact that the modern state of preservation is rarely identical with its ancient condition and the loss of paint brings with it a profound change of information. Until now general evaluations concerning relief as well as painting techniques and style are rarely to be found
1 PM III2, 525—537, map LII, plan LVI; P. Duell et al., he Mastaba of Mereruka (2 vols, OIP 31 and 39; Chicago 1938); N. Kanawati and M. Abder-Raziq, Mereruka and his Family, Part I. he Tomb of Meryteti (ACE Reports 21; Oxford 2004); N. Kanawati and M. Abder-Raziq, Mereruka and his Family, Part II. he Tomb of Waatetkhethor (ACE Reports 26; Oxford 2008).
2 Meri-Teti is generally identified as the owner of area C in most publications; Kanawati and Abder-Raziq, Meryteti, 11. Nevertheless there are still questions about the original ownership of this additional part of the tomb. A more probable candidate is Memi, the eldest son of Mereruka; G. Pieke, ‘Memi, der “alteste Sohn” des Mereruka’, GM 216 (2008), 105-108.
3 For the numbering system, see PM III2, 2, plan LVI.
In scholarly publications.717 Instead the usual focus is on a semantic content of the tomb decoration and social rank of the tomb owner. However, a detailed recording of relief and paintings might not only lead to a better understanding of working techniques, the positions of the artists or even the possibilities for individual choices within the tight framework of Old Kingdom tomb decoration, but also to a great deal of further information about the impact of the images themselves.
World History
