1. Journal of Ancient History 4 (291)
  2. Shafts with Several Burial Chambers: The Problem of Functioning of Giza Necropolis During the Old Kingdom

Shafts with Several Burial Chambers: The Problem of Functioning of Giza Necropolis During the Old Kingdom

Malykh Svetlana E.

During the archaeological investigations of the Old Kingdom Egyptian Giza Necropolis burials of atypical constructions were found occasionally, in particular, shafts with two or three burial chambers. The earlier cases, connected with the Dynasty IV, were probably combinations of offering niches and burial places, while the shafts with several chambers of the Dynasties V and VI were intended for burials completely and attest to the wish to use the remaining free space for cutting family burials in the privileged ancient necropolis. In other cemeteries of the Old Kingdom similar architectural models are rare and can hardly be accounted for by the process of reducing space per person; they should be rather connected with the earlier phenomenon of making a niche for offerings and a burial place in the shafts, a practice which did not become wide-spread in Ancient Egyptian funeral architecture.

Keywords: Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, ancient Egyptian burial construction, mastabas, rock-cut tombs, burial rite
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