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A type of Egyptian burial site with several rooms, a chapel and a 20 m-deep shaft dug into the rock.
Derived from the Arabic word mastab meaning "bench", the mastaba designates a type of Egyptian burial site, the finest examples of which can be found here at Saqqarah. The mastabas you'll visit here are all based on the same design. They are massive constructions designed to remind the deceased of the home he or she lived in during his or her lifetime. The entrance, surmounted by a stylized roll of fabric (the blind that was supposed to protect the dwelling from the heat), opens onto an antechamber. The walls are engraved with the deceased's past functions, honorific titles and ritual texts. These carved reliefs are among the most accomplished ever found in ancient Egypt.
There may then be one or more rooms, decorated with the major themes of daily life: meals, hunting or fishing parties, herds, butchery scenes, agricultural themes, offerings... Unadorned rooms are generally reserved for objects and furniture.
The last room is the chapel, often fitted with a serdab, where the statue of the deceased stands. On the west wall, a false door symbolizes the contact between the two worlds, and was intended to enable the deceased to be in contact with the world of the living, responsible for watching over offerings and prayers.
A well, dug into the rock to a depth of 20 m, gives access to the vault just beneath the chapel. Once the body had been embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus, the well was immediately filled in to protect it from looting.
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