Rashepses was a vizier from the

Fifth Dynasty of Egypt The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...

. Rashepses was vizier under

Djedkare Isesi Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres) was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid- 24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in tu ...

. A letter directed to Rashepses has been preserved. This decree is inscribed in his tomb in

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. ...

. As vizier he was one of the most important Ancient Egyptian officials. In his tomb are many titles recorded. It seems that he was first ''overseer of the scribes of the royal documents'', ''overseer of the two granaries'' and ''overseer of all royal works''. These are all very important titles, making him an influential official at the royal court. At the final stage of his career he became vizier. The vizier title is only preserved in two letters that are copied on the decoration of the tomb. It seems that most of his tomb was finished and after all that, he was promoted.

Burial

Rashepses was buried in Saqqara. It received the number LG16 from the expedition under

Karl Richard Lepsius Karl Richard Lepsius ( la, Carolus Richardius Lepsius) (23 December 181010 July 1884) was a pioneering Prussian Egyptologist, linguist and modern archaeologist. He is widely known for his magnum opus ''Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien'' ...

, that recorded the tomb in the middle of the 19th century. His

mastaba A mastaba (, or ), also mastabah, mastabat or pr- djt (meaning "house of stability", " house of eternity" or "eternal house" in Ancient Egyptian), is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inwar ...

is located north of funerary complex of Djoser among a group of tombs of the Fifth Dynasty, along with his contemporaries

Perneb Perneb is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince and priest, who lived at the beginning of the 2nd Dynasty. Identity Perneb's name is preserved on several clay seals found in the gallery tomb A at Saqqara, which is attributed to two kings (pha ...

and

Raemka Raemka (Raemkai, Remkuy) was an ancient Egyptian prince of the Fifth Dynasty. He was buried in tomb 80 in Saqqara and was possibly a son of Pharaoh Menkauhor Kaiu and Queen Meresankh IV. Raemkaʻs tomb was originally excavated by Auguste Mari ...

. The tomb is decorated with classic images of the presentation of offerings and a set of scenes related to the funerary cult of the vizier. The underground burial chamber is decorated with paintings. Decorated burial chambers are common at the end of the Fifth Dynasty and in the Sixth Dynasty. The burial chamber of Rashepses might be the earliest decorated one.El-Tayeb 2014, pp. 8-9 In the ''

serdab A serdab ( fa, سرداب, d=Sardāb), literally meaning "cold water", which became a loanword in Arabic for 'cellar' is an ancient Egyptian tomb structure that served as a chamber for the Ka statue of a deceased individual. Used during the Old Kin ...

,'' a head of a wooden statue was discovered with the type of headdress which became very popular in the

Sixth dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Pharaohs Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are listed in the table below. Manetho acc ...

. This head is now in the

Imhotep Museum The Imhotep Museum is an archaeological museum located at the foot of the Saqqara necropolis complex, near Memphis in Lower Egypt. History The museum, which was named for the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, was opened on April 26, 2006 by ...

References

Bibliography

* *Hany Abdallah El-Tayeb: ''The burial chamber of Rashepses at Saqqara'', in: '' Egyptian Archaeology'' 44 (Spring 2014), 8-9 Viziers of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt Ancient Egyptian overseers of royal works Ancient Egyptian overseers of the granaries {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub