Mastaba of Ptahshepses
Mastaba of Ptahshepses (Abusir) · Tomb of Vizier Ptahshepses
Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty·Ancient Egyptian·🇪🇬 Giza Governorate, Abusir, Egypt
About
About Mastaba of Ptahshepses
The mastaba of Ptahshepses at Abusir is the largest and architecturally most complex non-royal tomb of the Old Kingdom. Ptahshepses (fl. c. 2450 BCE), vizier and son-in-law of King Nyuserre Ini and husband of Princess Khamerernebty, built his tomb in several expanding phases east of the royal pyramids, its growth mirroring his rise at court. The multi-room limestone complex includes a columned entrance portico, a great pillared courtyard, an offering chapel with statue niches, serdab, magazines and burial apartments, decorated with exquisite painted reliefs of crafts, agriculture, fishing, offerings and funerary rites — a prime source for Fifth Dynasty daily life and administration.
Builders' marks naming Ptahshepses also date the nearby Lepsius XXIV queen's pyramid to Nyuserre's reign. Excavated by the Czech Institute of Egyptology from 1960 — the mission's first Abusir concession, under Zbynek Zaba — the mastaba also yielded family statues and biographical inscriptions naming Ptahshepses' children.
Why it mattersLargest non-royal tomb of the Old Kingdom; key source for 5th Dynasty administration, crafts and daily life through its relief program and biographical texts.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Full sequence and dating of the tomb's construction phases
- 02Identity of all family members depicted in the reliefs
Theories
- 01Multi-phase expansion mirrors Ptahshepses' rising career to vizier and royal son-in-law
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 2450-2420 BCE (reign of Nyuserre Ini, 5th Dynasty)
- Period
- Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty
- Culture
- Ancient Egyptian
- Builders
- Ptahshepses, vizier of Upper and Lower Egypt
- Purpose
- Tomb complex of Vizier Ptahshepses and family
- Rediscovered
- 1960 (Czech Institute of Egyptology concession under Zbynek Zaba)
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 2450-2420 BCE
Construction in expanding phases during Ptahshepses' career under Nyuserre
1960-
Excavation by the Czech Institute of Egyptology, the mission's first Abusir concession (Zaba, Verner)
1979
Inscribed as part of Memphis and its Necropolis UNESCO World Heritage Site (id 86)
Location
Where it is
29.8966° N · 31.2046° E · 60 m
Gallery