From the entrance a shallow step of 0.05m descends to the floor of C4. Both passage thicknesses were decorated in relief (view close-up of east thickness), though of poor quality; again, originally decorated as almost mirror images. Each side is divided into four registers, the bottom three of which show offering bearers walking towards chamber C4. The bottom register shows four men carrying vessels, probably containing oil. The next register shows two men (although they may represent four) carrying a large chest supported on poles. Behind them is a large, wide topped, oil jar. Above this, two more men pull a sledge, on which are three more large vessels, again presumably containing oil. The top register contains the representation of jewellery (pendants and collars) and stands. There is no text on either wall.
The entry from C3 is at the eastern end of the south wall. The north wall has survived to a greater height than the other three. At its highest point it has lost the upper major part of what was probably the top register and also a kheker frieze. As with the previous chambers, the walls were intended for decoration in raised relief, though the state in which it was left some areas are only outlined; the whole is of poor quality. The scenes decorating this chamber resemble those used in chamber A8 of Meryteti's father, and it would appear to have been intended as a storeroom. The theme of each wall is that of bringing and storage of large boxes or crates and both large and small vessels. The actions of each wall is under the supervision of Meryteti.
The south wall : Meryteti is represented towards the centre of the wall, facing east. He is accompanied by his wife (see detailed view). The top of his image is missing, along with any possible columns giving his titles, etc. This missing section also makes it impossible to know what style of wig he is wearing, or whether he has a broad necklace. He does have bracelets on each wrist and he wears a projecting kilt. In his hands he holds the usual staff of office and a sceptre. As on the other walls, he is bare-footed. Nebet wears the tight fitting long dress with shoulder straps and bracelets on her wrists also. She once again wears the short wig. The wall, both in front and behind, is divided into several registers. The bottom three have survived, with only a small trace of a fourth on either side. A narrow band of the wall is damaged (see damage view), but it is still discernible, at the right-hand edge of the registers facing Meryteti, extending to the front of the area occupied by himself and his wife. a) The registers to the left, in front of the deceased: Separating the couple from the registers in front of them, a column of text (the top of which is missing) describes the scene: "… all … royal linen and gold objects, which are given to him from the residence as an offering which the king gives". In front of them the registers are each described in the line of hieroglyphic text above them. This takes the usual form and includes at the end the fact that the items are meant for Meryteti. • The first (bottom) register shows a servant carrying two rolls of cloth and behind him four others carry vases of perfumes. It is interesting to note that, although the text above this register is hardly beyond its outline state, the cartouche of Pepy is in full raised relief (see detailed view). It is possible that the continuation of the horizontal text, into a vertical column, at the end of the register, is an alteration made when Meryteti repossessed the chapel (the quality is certainly different to that of the horizontal text); if so, there could have been five men carrying vases. • The second register shows two great chests of clothes carried by four men. These four could in fact represent eight. In the position of the leading chest, is there evidence of a previous image, a faint outline of a kneeling man (see detail)? • The third register shows represented a ewer and its basin placed on a table, three vases in a crate, then two large necklaces on a stand. b) The registers to the right, behind the deceased: • The first register shows three men pulling a sledge laden with two large vases. • The second register has two (or could it be four) individuals carry a chest of clothes. A second chest stands on the ground behind them. • The third right register shows gold necklaces placed on two tables. The descriptive texts of all three of these registers has been continued behind the content. It is again reasonably certain that this is due to the later changes. This would explain the fact that: the sledge of the bottom row only has two large jars whereas it would normally have three, even when pulled by just two men (see north wall); the chest standing on the floor is much narrower than the one being carried; and that the jewellery on the right-hand stand is squashed tightly up to the column of text. The west wall : (line drawing) Like the south wall, this one has only retained the three lower registers and a small portion of a fourth. At the centre of the wall is a rectangular opening, the only intended opening to the serdab (a hidden chamber in the tomb from which the deceased, in the form of one or more statues, could view the rituals of his cult). Meryteti stands at the south corner, staff of office and sceptre in his hands, watching his approaching servants. He wears a broad necklace, at least one bracelet, a projecting kilt and a sash across his chest. As on the south wall, his head and shoulders are missing. This time he stands alone, facing north. The incomplete column of text in front of him (the top section is missing) is interrupted by the rectangular opening to the serdab, which would indicate that this was created after the column was inscribed. Yet, the horizontal descriptive text of the first register appears to be complete, suggesting that was completed after its introduction. Thus the decoration of this wall would appear to have been in progress whilst it was being created. The two upper of the three registers are not in as complete a condition as those of the south wall. The first register shows the transportation of two chests of clothes by four (maybe eight) men. A third chest stands on the ground in front of them. Only the text for this first register is complete enough to be read in full: "Bringing the best of clothes for the hereditary prince, Meri, his son, the sole companion, the lector priest, the inspector of the priests of the pyramid of Pepy (I), Meryteti". The second register, to the right of the serdab opening, definitely has twelve men (they are shown in pairs) pulling a sledge, on which stand three large vessels. The third register shows a servant holding two rolls of material. He is followed by six others carrying jars. Behind them stands a large chest; this has been almost removed to make way for the additional text. The text gives no indication as to the content of either the jars or the chest. Of the fourth register, all that remains are the feet of two men, and the end of the vertical text at the end of the register. The descriptive texts of the lower two registers only extend above the scene. However, once again, those of the two registers above them have been continued behind the image content. This was obviously done after the creation of the images of the third row, because, as mentioned above the chest has been almost removed to make way for the inscription. The texts of the two bottom registers have however been modified, but without the need to extend the text downwards. The north wall : (line drawing) This wall has been retained to a much greater height than the others of this chamber. Meryteti has survived to his full height, with six full registers (and part of a seventh) in front of him, and four full registers (and part of a fifth behind). The right-hand edge of the wall has a very pronounced slope, the east wall sloping backwards at the top (see far room through entrances from C1 to C4 (via C3)). This, as mentioned previously, is due to the east wall being basically the outer wall of Kagemni's mastaba; and that in this chamber the slope is more pronounced than in the others. The deceased, his name and titles in front of him: "The king's son, the count, the sole companion, Meryteti", stands with his sceptre in one hand and his long staff of office in the other. His wife squats next to him holding his leg and holding a flower to her nose. She is identified as: "The royal acquaintance, the priestess of Hathor, lady of the shrine of the sycamore, his wife, his beloved, the honoured one, Nebet". Dressed in her usual long slim dress with shoulder straps and wearing bracelets and a broad necklace, this time she has a long wig which hangs down over her shoulders. a) The registers to the right, in front of the deceased: Two columns of text (the second being much shorter than the other) separates Meryteti from the registers in front of him, the beginning of each is missing: "… valuables of clothes, sTi-Hb-oil, Hknu-oil, sfT-oil, the best of all ointments, royal linen, gold objects, which are given for him from the residence as an offering which the king gives, … his eldest [son], his beloved, the count, the sole companion, Meryteti.". To the right of this text are six full registers (and the small lower part of a seventh, a the top). • The first (bottom) register: here eight individuals are shown; the first brings two rolls of material, behind him seven others bring the seven sacred oils. A servant who follows, holds the carrying pole of the chest behind him. Presumably another man was supposed to be holding the rear end of the pole, but was removed to make room for the column of text which extends the scene description; his front leg still remains. There is evidence that the chest may have been shown standing on the floor at one stage. • Second register: four chests are each carried by two (four) men. The end man/men has been removed to insert the column of text. The last chest has been redrawn to give the appearance of standing on the ground, however, the carrying pole is still held by the man or men left standing in front (see detail). • Third register: starting at the left-hand side, a ewer in a basin stands on a small table. This is followed by a crate holding three spouted vessels, then seven men carrying more large vessels. Finally, there is a large chest standing on the floor. • Fourth register: three sledges, with three large vases each (the last sledge has lost its rear vase), are each pulled by two men. A man kneels at the side of the first sledge, probably lubricating the runners. The next two registers are very much destroyed at the right-hand end, thus only about half of each exists. This also applies to their descriptive texts. • Fifth register: the first man holds a censor. He is followed currently by four men carrying jars; the jar of a fifth still exists. A total foot count (ignoring the two pairs at the end) would indicate that there were originally seven, just as in the bottom register; so once again the seven sacred oils. The two pairs of feet at the end, and the spacing between them, would indicate that they belong to two men carrying a chest. • Sixth register: the first man holds an oil jar. He is followed by pairs of men carrying tables on which are placed large jewellery items. • The remains of the seventh register shows that it originally contained, at the beginning, several men pulling a sledge on which were placed at least two large vases. The descriptive texts of all of the complete registers have been continued behind the content. Once again this was obviously done after the creation of the images (see line drawing) and this is apparent from several indicators. On the left-hand side, the missing ends of two tables (registers one and three) and a possible missing jar in the fourth register. On the right-hand side: the leg of the missing porter in the bottom right register can still be seen and the totally missing porter in the one above and a missing large jar in the fourth register. Nothing much is to be gained from providing the translations of the texts to all of these registers. The change, in each case, gave the new text: "the inspector of the pyramid of Pepy (I), the king's son, the count, Meryteti", with the exception of the bottom register on the right, which omits "the king's son". b) The registers to the left, behind the deceased: On the left, four full registers remain (and the small lower part of a fifth). It is apparent that the imagery originally extended to the edge of the wall, later to have been replaced by extending the horizontal lines of texts. • The first (bottom) register shows three vases on a stand and a sledge with two vases drawn by three men. The sledge probably, originally, had three vases. • The second register has two servants carrying a chest with clothes, a third holds a large vase. A possible fourth man has been removed. • The third register shows four large necklaces spread on two tables. • The fourth register has a sledge with three large vases being pulled by four men. Four vases probably existed originally. • The remains of the fifth register shows what was originally four pairs of legs. The spacing between them indicates that they were probably carrying large chests, prossibly of clothes. The east wall : (line drawing) This wall leans steeply backwards and at an ever increasing angle from south to north. With the north being shorter than the south, it has a very unnatural appearance. Like the south and west walls, this one has only retained the three lower registers and the lower portion of a fourth. Also, as on the other walls, with the addition of the continued vertical column of text at the end (south) of the registers, the last characters have been removed. This is most obvious on the lowest register, but not so obvious on the ones above. Meryteti stands at the north end of the wall, his figure having survived to almost shoulder height. In his left hand he holds his staff of office and in his right he holds the sceptre. He wears bracelets on his wrists, a broad necklace and a projecting kilt. For the only occasion in the total mastaba complex, he wears the panther skin (associated with the Sem-priest), the fastenings of which hang from his left shoulder and the tail hangs down between his legs. At a much reduced scale, his son stands in front of him (see detailed view). He wears a shoulder-length wig, broad necklace, a sash across his chest and a projecting kilt. The text, in two lines above him and a single column in front, states: "His eldest son, his beloved, the lector priest, he who is privy to the secret of the house of the morning, Ihy, the honoured one before the great god, Ihyemsaef". This is the only occurrence where both of his names occur together. The column of text, the top section of which is missing, which separates Meryteti from the registers of servants in front of him, states: "… all [ointments], royal linen and gold objects, which are given to him from the residence, as an offering which the king gives". The descriptive texts above the three fully surviving registers, and which extend downwards at the end, are almost identical. The one of second register is shorter and misses two of the Meryteti's titles. Strangely, they all start with: "Bringing the best of clothes", even though only the bottom register contains the required chests for their transportation. This apparent anomaly is explained by what is transported by the men of the second and third registers. The texts all continue with some of Meryteti's titles and finish with his name. First register: three chests of clothes are carried on poles towards the tomb owner. Due to the many times mentioned reason, the last man (or pair of men) is missing from the rear. Second register begins with a man carrying an extremely large crate with two spouted jars, which is an amazing feat of strength (see detailed view). This total image extends into the register above, causing the shortening of the descriptive line of text. He is followed by, what is now, eight men with empty hands. Around their necks they wear a long ribbon which hangs down their chest. These straps (according to Kanawati) "are among the precious possessions transported to and stored at the tombs of some higher officials". Third register: begins with the upper part of the image from the register below. This is again followed by eight men with the straps around their necks, as in the register below. The remains of the fourth register shows that it was probably a repeat of the first register, shown by the spacing of the legs and the remains of the lower parts of the chest legs.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
)
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}