Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (10.1998(1999))

_ WEST SAQQARA_

EGYPT

Cl: The words sb3 Hr hnty pt should
belong to the title cd-mr sbl Hr hnty pt,
which appears in the chapel, following the
sequence: iry-pct - hity-c - smr wcty - try
nfr-hit - imy ib nb.f - hry sSt3. The same
title is mentioned on the southern "jamb" of
the fagade. There it follows the titles of the
vizier: iry-pct h3ty-c t3ty sib tity.
Fl: The sign pr could be a determinative
of the word st in the phrase (...) n nswt m

st.f nb, which occurs accompanying vari-
ous titles of the tomb owner.8) However, in
these cases the word St is written without a
determinative.
2: The sign r should belong to the phrase
\imihw h]r, resembling column Cl; seen
below it traces of the hammered out word
nswt.9'1
G: Traces of the sign mr and the title smr
wcty can be seen.

CONCLUSION:

It seems that nearly all the titles of Meref-
nebef (mentioned in the inscription on the
stele) were in his times (i. e., in the late
Old Kingdom) merely honorific in
nature.10 11 12-1 The surviving part of the stele
does not bear any administrative or court
titles which could be associated with any
real function in the service of a king.
The fragmentary and selective sequence
of titles observed on the stele cannot be
precisely dated.n) The only certain dating
element is a pair of wfh-eyes in the mid-
dle part of the stele, unknown before the

end of the sixth dynasty.121 The false-door
stele of Meref-nebef most probably
belonged to the small cult-chapel added to
the eastern wall of the tomb superstruc-
ture.13) This, as well as the paleography
and style of the relief, indicates that the
stele is relatively late and should be dated
to the end of the sixth dynasty.
The vizier named Meref-nebef is not
known from historical records. The tomb
and the stele found by the Polish-Egyptian
Mission have provided the first evidence of
this dignitary.

8) e.g. hry sSt3 nswt m st.f nb, smr wcty imy ib n nsw m st.f nb.
9> In many places of the tomb the word nswt in the phrase im3hw hr nswt is hammered out for unknown reasons. In one
case (on the southern side of the chapel's entrance), it was replaced with the word smit (desert, i.e., necropolis), see
Mysliwiec, Nowe oblicza, op. cit., fig. 34. This phrase was used almost exclusively by the family and the nearest attendants
of the king (cf. G. Lapp, Die Opferformel des Alten Reiches (=SDAIK 21) (Mainz 1986), p. 212, § 362.
10) Strudwick, op. cit., p. 312.
11) E. g. according to K. Baer, Rank and Title in the Old Kingdom (Chicago I960).
12) S. Wiebach, op. cit., pp. 160-163.
The chapel was excavated in the 1998 campaign, see report by K. Mysliwiec in this volume.

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