|
Who was
Mereruka?
Mereruka was alive during
the time of Teti, and held several important posts and moved
within the royal circles, indeed it appears that Mereruka was
promoted by Teti himself to many of these positions:
Chief Justice and vizier,
Inspector of Priests
attached to the Pyramid of Teti,
Scribe of the Divine
Books,
Chief Lector Priest,
Overseer of the Royal
Record Scribes
The Family of Mereruka
His mother, Nedjetempet,
whose title 'Royal Aquaitance' links her with royalty (possibly
showing her to have been one of a previous king's many granddaughters)
allowed Mereruka to move within the royal court - he was married
to a daughter of Teti, Seshseshat (also known as Waetetkhethor)
- "King's eldest daughter of his body". Mereruka and
Seshseshat had three children, one male, Meryteti, and two females,
Nebetpernesut and Ibneitnub.
Mereruka also had five
sons with an unknown wife - Memi (also known as Pepyankh), Khenti,
Apref, Khenu and Nefer.
|
The Mastaba of Mereruka
This huge Mastaba (located
northwest of the enclosure wall of the pyramid of Teti) was discovered
in 1893 - it was found to contain three tombs:
A - Mereruka,
B - Seshseshat
C - Meryteti:
The tomb
of Mereruka
Scenes in this section
of the Mastaba are of Mereruka hunting along the banks of the
Nile, crocodiles are seen attacking hippopotami, Mereruka's cattle
are shown crossing a marsh evading a watching crocodile.
Another scene introduces
another family member - the brother of Mereruka, Ihy.
|
 |
Craftsmen shown
at work - weighing metal (with the results being recorded by
the scribe Ikhi), six men seated around a furnace use blowpipes
to raise the temperature, molted metal is then poured out - this
is then made into jewellery.
Also shown are images
of the lawcourts to hold sentence over non-payment of tax, the
mayor of one village failed to meet the tax quota and so is tied
naked against a whipping post and beaten.
The Burial
Room
A shaft leads down 14.5
metres to the burial chamber, Mereruka was buried in a limestone
sarcophagus - ancient tomb robbers had heaved the lid forward
and then hacked through Mereruka's mummy in a search for jewels.
The Cult-Chapel
A six-columned hall holds
an enshrined statue of Mereruka standing above an alabaster offering
table (his eyes have been gouged out by robbers):
 |
Also in the cult-chapel are further scenes
of wildlife along the banks of the Nile, an otter killing a fish,
a crocodile and a fish. Next are scenes of Mereruka's coffin
being conveyed to his tomb, including the journey across the
Nile of the funeral procession. Scenes of animal husbandry also
abound - the force feeding of the livestock so that they gain
excess weight, this does not only apply to oxen and antelopes
but also bound hyenas. |
Mereruka's
wife - Seshseshat - shown in minature
scale next to Mereruka's leg.
|
