Athena Review Image Archive ™
Saqqara: Mastaba el Faraun (1843-4)
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Mastaba el Faraun at Saqqara, viewed from the northwest (Denkmaler v.1, 1849)
This lithograph from the German Expedition shows the Mastaba el Faraun ("Bench of the Pharaoh"), which contained the tomb of Shepseskaf, last king of the 4th Dynasty (ca. 2472-2465 BC). The mastaba measures 100 m in length, 74 m in width, and is 18 m high. The structure consists of two levels, the lowest covered in pink granite quarried in nearby Dahshur, and the upper with Tura limestone.
The tomb was first partly excavated by French Archaeologist August Mariette in 1859, when the tomb was thought be that of Unas. Later, more complete excavations of the whole burial complex in 1923 identified the tomb as that of Shapseskaf.
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