Mastaba of Mereruka

Mereruka was vizier under King Teti at the beginning of the Sixth Dynasty and also married a royal daughter, placing him among the most powerful officials of his time. His mastaba stands north of Teti’s pyramid and is one of the largest private tombs in the Saqqara necropolis. The complex contains more than thirty rooms, including suites associated with his wife and son. Its reliefs are exceptionally valuable for their detailed scenes of Old Kingdom life: herding cattle, fishing, fowling, hunting hippopotami, preparing food and caring for animals. The monument also includes unusual imagery such as representations of the three seasons of the ancient Egyptian calendar. The offering area and false-door zone formed the ritual focus of the tomb, and a life-size statue of Mereruka appears to step forward to receive offerings from the living.