DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4671#0035
THE FUNERAL OF AN EGYPTIAN.
19
cation and an ostrich feather were offered to it,
and it was draped in the nemes cloth ( ; the kher-heb
read meanwhile the proper passages from the liturgical
roll. After the slaughter of another bull and the pre-
sentation of a number of offerings the funereal cere-
mony was complete.
The form of the Egyptian tomb varied at different
periods. Among the poorest classes it was cus-
tomary to bury the bodies of the dead in graves dug
in the sand, or in shallow holes made in soft lime-
stone, or in caves, where hundreds of bodies were
laid together. In the early dynasties the Egyptians
built their tombs at Sakkarah in the form of heavy
rectangular buildings, the walls of which slanted in-
wards towards their common centre; these structures
vary in size from 170 ft. x 90 feet x 30 ft. to
26 ft. x 20 ft. x 13 ft., and are built of brick and
stone. The name commonly given to a tomb of this
description is mastaba, because it resembles the
"bench" upon which Orientals recline and sleep.
The interior of the mastaba tomb consists of three
parts, the upper chamber, the serdab, and the pit.
In the upper chamber, opposite the door, which is
on the east side, is a stele, at the foot of which is
usually a stone altar with offerings upon it. The
serdab is a hollow, built in the thickness of the wall,
19
cation and an ostrich feather were offered to it,
and it was draped in the nemes cloth ( ; the kher-heb
read meanwhile the proper passages from the liturgical
roll. After the slaughter of another bull and the pre-
sentation of a number of offerings the funereal cere-
mony was complete.
The form of the Egyptian tomb varied at different
periods. Among the poorest classes it was cus-
tomary to bury the bodies of the dead in graves dug
in the sand, or in shallow holes made in soft lime-
stone, or in caves, where hundreds of bodies were
laid together. In the early dynasties the Egyptians
built their tombs at Sakkarah in the form of heavy
rectangular buildings, the walls of which slanted in-
wards towards their common centre; these structures
vary in size from 170 ft. x 90 feet x 30 ft. to
26 ft. x 20 ft. x 13 ft., and are built of brick and
stone. The name commonly given to a tomb of this
description is mastaba, because it resembles the
"bench" upon which Orientals recline and sleep.
The interior of the mastaba tomb consists of three
parts, the upper chamber, the serdab, and the pit.
In the upper chamber, opposite the door, which is
on the east side, is a stele, at the foot of which is
usually a stone altar with offerings upon it. The
serdab is a hollow, built in the thickness of the wall,