two high commissioners from the end of the Vth Dynasty, vizier Akhethotep and his son Ptahhotep. The monument was discovered by Mariette at the time of the excavations which he had undertaken in 1850.
the mastaba of the father of Akhethotep, whose son (co-owner of D64) bears his grandfather's name and for this reason he is usually referred to as PtahhotepAlthough the mastaba D64 is named outside as the "Tomb of Ptahhotep", this is incorrect and results from its early history, when only the chapel of Ptahhotep was open to the public.
includes three decorated spaces: two in the name of vizier Akhethotep, the third in the name of his son Ptahhotep.
a parade of 17 women, each acting as a symbol for one of the estates of Akhethotep. headed by a leader, a scribe and a servant. The women carry produce in baskets on their heads, and bring birds and animals as the tribute of the estates. Because the son receives this tribute it can be inferred that it is presented after the death of Akhethotep.
the name written in front of each woman makes it clear that she represents one of the many estates belonging to Akhethotep. These list are not uncommon, but here we have the added value from the mention of the district in which each estate was situated. It should be noted that this mastaba is particularly valuable by providing no less than three such lists of property.
The figures in the lower register are merely cut out roughly round the drawn outlines; the inside lines, where they still exist, are only in ink.
To the left of the women and on a short register above, is a small varied collection of scenes. At the bottom there is the familiar group (on two sub-registers) in which calves are either tethered or are held fast by young herdsmen. In the upper register, men are emptying wine into large open-mouthed jars, probably for eventual storage in the two long-necked vessels which stand close by.
The latter half of these two scenes has only been executed in ink.
Akhethotep appears to have belonged to a family of high officials of the Vth dynasty,He had under his control a great many estates, distributed widely in both Upper and Lower Egypt.
servants advance carrying birds and bunches of papyrus and lotus blossoms, the produce of the marsh-lands. The fowling scene above the doorway is a reminder of the labour by which the gifts were produced. The first two characters and their hieroglyphs of the lowest register have been fully sculpted while those following are only sculpted in outline .
On the register above, even though the first three characters have been fully sculpted, a single hieroglyph (drawn in black ink) has remained un-cut; compare it with one in a finished state in front of the following character
The scenes of the right-hand side of this wall are divided into four registers, and are described as : "Viewing all the works of the fields in the marsh lands, whatever is good."
. The seated Akhethotep watches over the scenes from the southern end of the wall, clothed in a loose tunic and wearing a long wig.
In the topmost register the men carry large bundles of papyrus. In the two registers below can be seen the returning boats laden with waterfowl and lotus flowers. The lowest of the four registers (i.e. in the foreground) are the cattle returning from the marshes, a calf is carried through the water on the back of a herdsman while the cattle follow him.
Below these scenes is a procession of female figures, representing the southern estates, received by Ptahhotep. The text reads : "The counting of the contributions of the estates belonging to the tomb, which the south brings for per-kheru offerings, by his beloved elder son, the sab-ad-mer
(meaning: inspector of canals) , Ptahhotep.".
At the bottom of this side of the wall, a similar scene and inscription represents the contributions from the north, again received by Ptahhotep. Together they comprise the seventeen family estates.
Like the south part of the wall, the area above is devoted to similar subjects, which depict the labour in the uncultivated lands of the northern estates. The descriptive text states : "Viewing the works of the fields, everything that is good, done in the marshes."
In the topmost register are cattle. A labourer assists at the birth of a calf. Below is shown the familiar process of making small papyrus boats by binding the reeds tightly together. Above the men are coils of rope, and the words "Building a boat in the marshes.".
Underneath, men carry bundles of papyrus and marsh fowl, titled : "Bringing all kinds of good things made in the papyrus marshes by the papyrus gatherers, and all kinds of fowl.".
Similarly in the scene below, "Going forth from the marsh land, and bringing the work of the fields from the papyrus marshes….
The two upper registers contain outdoor scenes. At the top, a herdsman watches over tethered animals, and a comrade puts captured birds into a cage. At the right another man sits in a herdsman's shelter, enjoying the plentiful food piled before him.
Below, on the left, a cow suckles her calf while an old man (perhaps an overseer), leaning on a staff and accompanied by a child, converses with the herdsman. The scene on the right is of a cow being milked. This is also attended by an old man, this time he bends over a stoppered jar.
Above and to the right of the doorway are pictured the gifts of food for the deceased, either piled up on tables or in the hands of approaching servants. The text states : "Bringing forward the per-kheru offerings as daily dues of every day.".
The remaining scenes, on the right of the doorway, remain at the drawing stage, which had been executed in red, blue, and green inks. The red ledger lines, which gave the proportions of the figures, are well preserved.
The doorway is framed in red paint all the way to the floor. Broad red and yellow stripes, which encroach on to the course stones at the bottom of the wall, mark the bottom of the display area.
The subject of the west wall is well described by the inscription : "Seeing the presentation of animals of the desert.".
The standing figure of Akhethotep and "his beloved son, Ptahhotep"
are followed by five officials and a second figure of his son. The officials consist of a steward, a chief physician who is named Unnefer, and three scribes.
Being brought towards Akhethotep, for his approval, are : in the two upper registers an oryx, a bubale, a gazelle, and an ibex; in the two lower registers a male ibex and an addax, and another oryx, gazelle and bubale. These are sometimes grouped in short lists of offerings as antelopes. In the middle registers, men present birds and flowers. The sculptor has left the last figure in both of the middle registers uncut.
The uppermost register contains a scene in which shrines, shaped like narrow pylons and crowned with four feathers, are dragged three at a time by as many men. The text reads : "Bringing up the sledges by the servants of the ka.".
In the two middle rows varied gifts are brought by servants, the title being : "Bringing forward the provisions belonging to the daily service.".
The second register is obviously the beginning of the fifth and sixth. Oxen are being caught and bound for slaughter. The scenes in which the slaughtered animals are cut up for consumption are repeated in almost every tomb. Here the accompanying texts are the conversations between the men : "Pull !" "Pull properly !" "Do it well, comrade !" "Take good hold, comrade!"
with the responses "I am doing as you say."
and the like.
The design and decoration of this wall is the counterpart of the west wall of the north annexe, oxen being substituted for the various animals of the desert. Other officials are represented, three of whom are seated scribes of high rank. The whole is described as : "Viewing the cattle of the Thoth festival, brought from the properties of the ka and the estates belonging to the tomb, in the north and south of the country.".
The long-horned cattle, with elaborate green collars, are driven in six groups by their herdsmen, who carry wisps of green grass. The animals in the top register are unadorned. The lower part of the wall has retained most of its colouring, so that the smaller figure of Ptahhotep and his titles could be almost completely restored to the original painted brilliancy. In this figure, the waves or curls of the hair or wig are in different form to normal, the style usually being either horizontal or vertical,
In the extension of the room which forms the upright of the "T ", all the sculpture is concerned with the maintenance and well-being of the ka.
At the far west end of both the north and south walls the deceased is seated before a table of offerings.
The upper registers have suffered most from the ravages of time. The lost portion mainly contained the list of Akhethotep's titles (originally situated above his head), the list of offerings and finally four registers of food and gifts. Some major portions of the incomplete upper registers were located for both walls during the early excavations.
The list of offerings, over the table in front of Akhethotep, consisted of five rows of sixteen columns, thus containing eighty items, as against ninety-six in Ptahhotep's chapel. Beneath the table, in a form which varies only slightly from tomb to tomb, is a pile of massed offerings, and the words : "Funerary offerings : thousands
(meaning many) of bread, beer, oxen, geese, yarn and cloth."
. These are being brought by some fifty officials and unnamed servitors. Ptahhotep (at the front of the bottom register) and the many lector priests appointed to perform with him the necessary rites, are celebrating them at the head of the procession. Behind them follow the well-laden friends and servants . At the top, the registers with varied offerings complete the decoration of the wall.
All the work is beautifully finished and is in excellent preservation, considering the damage to the chamber and original loss of a roof. A little colour remains here and there; the offerings beneath the table have retained the most.
From the point of view of the ka, the false door which forms the west wall of the chamber was the entrance to this, the reception room of his eternal house. Originally, this must have been a magnificent monument, and a great deal of impious energy must have been expended on its mutilation, just to use it as a ready source of building material. The form of the false door is : a central inset section, originally painted to resemble planks of wood, with three door jambs on either side. On each side, these are set back from each other, the outermost being almost as deeply set as the central door. The outer jambs are edged by vertical half-rounded narrow columns.
At the base of the false door is a simple low offering table, for the placement of cult offerings, cut from the same stone used for the lower part of the wall
The inscription on the jambs end with the name and a standing figure of the deceased and are identical on both sides. The inscriptions are of the usual formula :
"May the king and Anubis grant an invocation offerings of bread and beer to him in the necropolis as daily rations every day."
" (May Anubis, lord of the) sacred land grant his burial in the necropolis, and a very happy old age as to one who is deserving."
" (May Osiris, lord of) Busiris grant his burial in the necropolis city in the western desert."
Akhethotep is described here as "deserving before the great god (Osiris)."
The colours of the stela false door, which were without doubt numerous and often vivid, have deteriorated with exposure.
Mastaba D64 : the decorated areas belonging to Ptahhotep
This name was carried by several high officials of the Vth Dynasty, who mostly reached the position of vizier, making of them the most important characters in Egypt, after the king. Ptahhotep shares with his father Akhethotep, who was also a vizier, - a double mastaba, of which he occupies only a modest part. Was he himself a vizier ? Even though the title doesn't appear positively in his chapel, it nevertheless appears on his sarcophagus.
In his chapel, Ptahhotep is represented in the company of his two "eldest" sons, of which one carries the name of his father Ptahhotep and the other that of his grandfather Akhethotep. Both held important functions during the reign of Unas, successor of Djedkare-lsesi, and last king of the Vth Dynasty.
On the two inside thickness walls of the entrance, in four symmetrical registers, appears the transportation of the offerings. The "servants of the ka" bring the necessary elements for provision of the table of offerings, represented on the west wall of the chamber. The majority of the products result from breeding - cattle and birds.
On the east (left) wall, the top register contains oxen. On the three registers below there are miscellaneous offerings brought by "ka-servants"
The west (right) wall contains similar content on the lower three registers, but probably the most interesting element, appears in the upper register. In this can be found the most representative inhabitants of the farmyard, of which every species is indicated by name. Appearing successively from top to bottom and from left to right, whose names are found in the hieroglyphic writing: some geese with white foreheads (tjerep), some ducks (pekhet), some pigeons (menut), some common grey geese (ra), some pintail ducks (set) and some other geese (ser).
The different representations decorating the upper part of the north wall in its eastern section illustrate the early activities of Ptahhotep: decorated with toiletry and musical episodes, and the attentive listening to the principle official reports submitted to his authority.
Enthroned on his splendid seat, Ptahhotep receives official reports from an official at the front of the third register, while around him servants fuss with his outward appearance: one adjusts his wig and beard, another brings linen and a third, a pedicure expert, smears his feet with a fragrant ointment. From behind him, another brings him a box with legs. Below him a pet handler retains three sloughi and a monkey (which still retains some of its blue colour) on leashes .
On the top register is a harpist accompanied by another person clapping time, or clicking his fingers. Behind them four dwarfs check their master's jewelled collars and ornaments for his adornment.
The two middle registers each present a succession of six civil servants knelt in attitudes of respectful submissiveness.
On the lowest register are three more musicians - a harpist, a chantress and a flutist
In front of them a favoured person helps himself from an large pile of provisions; he is the chief stone-mason, Sethef, probably the builder of the tomb.
Lower part of the north wall
Situated to the left of the doorway when viewing it, and distributed on four registers, the scenes again illustrate the contribution of the offerings and the ritual carving of the livestock into pieces
The top register contains "Bringing things to the superintendent of the pyramid city… Ptahhotep.".
The second register: "Bringing tribute, sprouting things and all good things by the ka-servants, …".
The third and fourth register contains the cutting up of livestock. These two registers contain the conversations, between the characters, in the hieroglyphic text above them.
On the third register, the fifth man, who holds the leg of the second ox, extends his hand to the "chief wab-priest of Pharaoh, the physician Akhatarna, saying, "See this blood!"
. The priest replies, "This is pure.".
On the fourth register, the two men on the left speedily cut the foreleg of an ox, whereas their companion exclaims proudly: "see this heart !"
. On the right, a final participant advances, carrying a large container. He orders the butchers, who busy themselves: "Give me this blood !".
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