Editing Mastaba (section)

==Architectural evolution==
[[File:Giza pyramid complex (map).svg|right|thumb|Map of the [[Giza Plateau]], showing the mastabas constructed within the complex]]
The mastaba was the standard type of tomb in pre-dynastic and early dynastic Egypt for both the [[pharaoh]] and the social elite. The ancient  city of [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] was the location chosen for many of the [[cenotaph]]s. The royal cemetery was at [[Saqqara]], overlooking the capital of early times, [[memphis, Egypt|Memphis]].<ref name="Fletcher">{{cite book |last=Fletcher |first=Banister |year=1996 |title=A History of Architecture |edition=20th |location=Oxford |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=978-0750622677 }}</ref>

Mastabas evolved over the early dynastic period (c. 3100–2686 BCE). During the [[First Dynasty of Egypt|1st Dynasty]], a mastaba was constructed simulating house plans of several rooms, a central one containing the sarcophagus and others surrounding it to receive the abundant funerary offerings. The whole was built in a shallow pit above which a brick superstructure covering a broad area. The typical [[2nd Dynasty|2nd]] and [[3rd Dynasty]] (c. 2686–2313) mastabas was the 'stairway mastaba', the tomb chamber of which sank deeper than before and was connected to the top with an inclined shaft and stairs.<ref name="Fletcher"/> Many of the features of mastabas grew into those of the pyramids, indicating their importance as a transitory construction of tombs. This notably includes the exterior appearance of the tombs, as the sloped sides of the mastabas extended to form a pyramid. The first and most striking example of this was [[Pyramid of Djoser|Djoser's step pyramid]], which combined many traditional features of mastabas with a more monumental stone construction.<ref name=":0" />

Even after pyramids became more prevalent for pharaohs in the 3rd and 4th Dynasties, members of the nobility continued to be buried in mastaba tombs. This is especially evident on the [[Giza Plateau]], where at least 150 mastaba tombs have been constructed alongside the pyramids.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Davis|first=Ben|title=The Future of the Past |date=1997|journal=Scientific American|volume=277|issue=2|pages=89–92|jstor=24995879}}</ref>

In the [[4th Dynasty]] (c. 2613 to 2494 BCE), [[rock-cut tombs]] began to appear. These were tombs built into the rock cliffs in [[Upper Egypt]] in an attempt to further thwart grave robbers.<ref>{{cite journal |last=R. |first=L. E. |title=Two Mastaba Chambers |journal=Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin |volume=8 |issue=45 |year=1910 |pages=19–20 |jstor=4423469 }}</ref> Mastabas, then, were developed with the addition of offering chapels and vertical shafts. [[5th Dynasty]] mastabas had elaborate chapels consisting of several rooms, columned halls and '[[serdab]]'. The actual tomb chamber was built below the south-end of mastaba, connected by a slanting passage to a stairway emerging in the center of a columned hall or court.

Mastabas are still well attested in the Middle Kingdom, where they had a revival. They were often solid structures with the decoration only on the outside.<ref>Arnold, D. (2008): ''Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht'', Egyptian Expedition XXVIII, Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York {{ISBN|9781588391940}}, S. 26–30</ref>

By the time of the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] (which began with the [[18th Dynasty]] around 1550 BC), "the mastaba becomes rare, being largely superseded by the independent pyramid chapel above a burial chamber".<ref>{{cite book |last=Badawy |first=Alexander |title=Architecture in Ancient Egypt and the Near East |location=Cambridge |publisher=MIT Press |year=1966 |page=51 }}</ref>