VIZIER MEREROEKA
VIZIER MEREROEKA was vizier during the reign of Teti (6th dynasty) and married to his daughter Watetchethor.
His mastaba 25 meters x 42.5 meters is one of the largest private tombs from the Old Kingdom.
VIZIER MEREROEKA discovered the tomb near the pyramid of Teti in 1892, with credit to Jacques de Morgan (1857-1924).
The mastaba has 33 spaces of which 21 are for Mereroeka, 5 for his wife Warerchethor and 5 for their son Meryteti.
Almost all rooms are decorated, except for a number of storage areas. From one of the sacrificial chambers a 20-meter path leads deep shaft to the decorated burial chamber containing the enormous sarcophagus of Mereroeka.
The burial chamber was found in 1920, as was the mummy of Merenroeka.
The entrance to the mastaba is formed by a narrow doorway with images on both sides
of Mereroeka and his wife, depicted smaller.
Columns of text contain his name and titles.
Right after the entrance there is an unusual scene.
Mereroeka sits behind an easel and writes the three seasons of the Egyptian year.
In this room there are beautiful reliefs of hunting and fishing in the swamps.
Hippos, crocodiles and all kinds of fish swim in the water.
The next room shows various images of work on the estates.
We see potters and sculptors at work here.
Goldsmiths sit around a fire with blowpipes to melt the gold.
Another image shows Mereroeka as a tax collector.
Officials bow and kneel respectfully with writing utensils while beating a number of defaulting tenants with sticks
A hunting scene shows dogs attacking antelopes and a lion grabbing a bull by its snout.
The rooms deeper in the mastaba adorn various sacrificial scenes, such as rows of antelopes adorned with beautiful large necklaces, poised for sacrifice.
Fish are captured with a dragnet
Two groups of men make frantic attempts to find a teeming one
mass of various types of fish, on board a boat.
Butchers slaughter the cattle, fill the granaries, and press and pound grapes.
In the large mortuary chapel with six columns there is a life-size ka statue of Mereroeka,
ready to receive the offerings. Given the ring in the floor, it’s possible that people actually slaughtered sacrificial animals here.
The wall with the passage to the grave of the son Meryteti shows beautiful images of children playing.
Boys and girls dance and play games. The other walls contain agricultural scenes and scenes of force-feeding hyenas and antelopes.
The west wall depicts a complete fleet of sailing ships spread over five registers.
On the east wall, mowers are at work, bent over the grain, which they cut in half.
In the register at the very bottom, sheep and goats with twisted horns cross a canal.
The tomb also contains a number of domestic scenes.
One of these shows Mereroeka sitting on a bench next to his wife while she plays her harp for him.
The scene next to it shows them together, holding hands, while servants make their bed.
A scene on the opposite wall shows Mereroeka with his wife receiving offerings.
Dancers entertain the couple.
Images in the section dedicated to Watetchethor show her in the company of her children, her three dogs and a tame monkey.
The grave also holds an image of Ihy, Mereruka’s brother, who married Idut II, the sister of Merenruka’s wife.
We see him in the middle of a papyrus boat, while a servant offers him something to drink.
