Interior, MASTABA OF MERERUKA

Saqqara Dynasty V, c. 2500 B.C. The mastaba is a tomb for court functionaries. Ordinarily a burial chamber is cut into rock below ground level. Built above the chamber is a simple rectangular flat-topped brick structure with sloping sides. By the fifth dynasty the tomb chamber develops into a network of corridors and rooms. In the chapel of the Mastaba of Mereruka, a statue of the nobleman stands in a false door. He also is represented in the painted wall reliefs.