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Tomb types: mastaba

Most Egyptian tombs probably once had some kind of structure or marker on the surface, but most are today destroyed. Egyptologists use the Arabic word 'mastaba', meaning 'bench', for the massive rectangular structures found above many tombs in Saqqara, Gizeh and other places. They often have rooms for offerings inside which are decorated with reliefs or paintings. Usually one or more shafts lead from the mastaba core to the burial chambers of the tomb owner and his family.

 

 

Examples for mastabas

Gizeh (First Dynasty) / Tarkhan (First Dynasty) / Saqqara (Third Dynasty) / Meydum (Fourth Dynasty)

more about mastabas | see other tomb types