Editing Mastaba

{{Short description|Type of tomb in ancient Egypt}}
[[File:Mastaba-faraoun-3.jpg|right|thumb|Example of a mastaba, the [[Mastabat al-Fir'aun]] of [[Shepseskaf]]]]
A '''mastaba''' ({{IPAc-en|'|m|æ|s|t|ə|b|ə}} {{respell|MASS|tə|bə}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/mastaba?showCookiePolicy=true|title=Mastaba: definition|publisher=Collins Dictionary|access-date=23 October 2014|date=n.d.}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|'|m|ɑː|s|t|ɑː|b|ɑː}} {{respell|MAHSS|tah|bah}} or {{IPAc-en|m|ɑː|'|s|t|ɑː|b|ɑː}} {{respell|mahss|TAH|bah}}), also '''mastabah''' or '''mastabat''') is a type of [[ancient Egyptian tomb]] in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of [[mudbrick]]s or [[limestone]]. These edifices marked the burial sites of many eminent Egyptians during Egypt's [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]] and [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]]. Non-royal use of mastabas continued for over a thousand years.

The word ''mastaba'' comes from the Arabic word {{lang|ar|مصطبة}} (maṣṭaba) "stone bench".<ref name="Bench">{{cite web|title=Mastaba Tomb of Perneb|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/543937|website=Met Museum|access-date=22 October 2016}}</ref> The [[Ancient Egyptian]] name was '''[[Pr (hieroglyph)|pr]]-[[Djed|Djt]]''', meaning "house of stability", "[[House of Eternity (Ancient Egypt)|house of eternity]]", or "eternal house".

==History==
The [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs|afterlife]] was centralized in the [[Ancient Egyptian religion|religion of ancient Egyptians]]. [[Ancient Egyptian architecture|Their architecture]] reflects this, most prominently by the enormous amounts of time and labor involved in building tombs.<ref name="Hamlin">{{cite book |last= Hamlin |first= Talbot |title= Architecture through the Ages |location= New York |publisher= Putnam |year= 1954 |page= 30 }}</ref> Ancient Egyptians believed that the needs from the world of the living would be continued in the afterlife; it was therefore necessary to build tombs that would fulfill them, and be sturdy enough to last for an eternity. These needs would also have to be attend to by the living.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Teeter |first=Emily |title=Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139230483 |location=New York |pages=146–163 |language=en}}</ref>

Starting in the [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic]] era (before 3100 BCE) and continuing into later dynasties, the ancient Egyptians developed increasingly complex and effective methods for preserving and protecting the bodies of the dead. They first buried their dead in pit graves dug from the sand with the body placed on a mat, usually along with some items believed to help them in the afterlife. The first tomb structure the Egyptians developed was the ''mastaba,'' composed of earthen bricks made from soil along the Nile. It provided better protection from scavenging animals and grave robbers. The origins of the mastaba can be seen in [[Tarkhan (Egypt)|Tarkhan]], where tombs would be split into two distinct portions. One side would contain a body, oriented in a north-south position, and the other would be open for the living to deliver offerings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Snape |first=Steven |title=Ancient Egyptian Tombs : The Culture of Life and Death |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |isbn=9781444393729 |location=Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom |language=en}}</ref> As the remains were not in contact with the dry desert sand, natural [[mummy|mummification]] could not take place; therefore the Egyptians devised a system of artificial mummification.<ref>{{cite book |title= Ancient Egypt and the Near East |location= Cambridge |publisher= MIT Press |year= 1966 |page= 7 }}</ref> Until at least the Old Period or First Intermediate Period, only high officials and royalty were buried in these mastabas.<ref>
{{cite web
|last= BBC|title= mastabas
|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/pyramid_gallery_02.shtml
|publisher= BBC|access-date= 29 May 2013
}}
</ref>

==Structure==
[[File:Mastaba schematics.svg|right|thumb|Structure of a mastaba]]
The term ''mastaba'' comes from the [[Arabic]] word for "a bench of mud".<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Alan Gardiner |last=Gardiner |first=A. |year=1964 |title=Egypt of the Pharahos |page=57 n7 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> When seen from a distance, a flat-topped mastaba does resemble a bench. Historians speculate that the Egyptians may have borrowed architectural ideas from Mesopotamia, since at the time they were both building similar structures.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gascone|first=Bamber|title=History of architecture|url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=arb|publisher=History of the world|access-date=29 May 2011}}</ref>

The above-ground structure of a mastaba is rectangular in shape with inward-sloping sides and a flat roof. The exterior building materials were initially bricks made of the sun-dried mud readily available from the Nile River. Even after more durable materials such as stone came into use, the majority were built from [[mudbrick]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last=R. |first=C. L. |title=A Model of the Mastaba-Tomb of Userkaf-Ankh |journal=Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin |volume=8 |year=1913 |issue=6 |pages=125–130 |jstor=3252928 |doi=10.2307/3252928 }}</ref> Monumental mastabas, such as those at [[Saqqara]], were often constructed out of limestone.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Cooke |first=Ashley |title=The Architecture of Mastaba Tombs in the unas Cemetery |date=2020 |publisher=Sidestone Press |isbn=9789088908965 |language=en}}</ref> Mastabas were often about four times as long as they were wide, and many rose to at least {{convert|30|ft|-1|disp=flip}} in height. They were oriented north–south, which the Egyptians believed was essential for access to the afterlife. The roofs of the mastabas were of slatted wood or slabs of limestone, with skylights illuminating the tomb.<ref name=":1" /> The above-ground structure had space for a small offering chapel equipped with a [[False door#Ancient Egypt|false door]]. Priests and family members brought food and other offerings for the soul, or ''[[Ba (Egyptian soul)|ba]]'', of the deceased, which had to be maintained in order to continue to exist in the [[afterlife]]. The construction of mastabas was standardized, with several treatments being common for masonry.<ref name=":1" />

Mastabas were highly decorated, both with paintings on the walls and ceilings, and carvings of organic elements such as palm trees out of limestone. Due to the spiritual significance of the color, it was preferable to construct mastabas from white limestone. If this was not available, the yellow limestone or mudbrick of the tomb would be whitewashed and plastered.<ref name=":1" /> Mastabas for royalty were especially extravagant on the exterior, meant to resemble a palace.<ref name=":0" />

== Interior ==
A mastaba was essentially meant to provide the ''ba'' with a house in the afterlife, and they were laid out accordingly. Some would be used to house families, rather than individuals, with several burial shafts acting as "rooms".<ref name=":0" /> The burial chambers were cut deep, into the bedrock, and were lined with wood.<ref>{{cite web|last=BBC|title=Mastabas|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/pyramid_gallery_02.shtml|publisher=bbc|access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref>  A second hidden chamber called a ''[[serdab]]'' (سرداب), from the Persian word for "cellar",<ref>{{cite book | last = Bard | first = K. A. | title = Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt | publisher = Routledge | location = New York | year = 1999 |isbn=978-0415185899}}</ref> was used to store anything that may have been considered essential for the comfort of the deceased in the afterlife, such as beer, grain, clothes and precious items.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=Ralph|title=Burial practices, and Mummies|url=http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/burialpracticesgallery|publisher=Rosicrucian Museum|access-date=29 May 2013|archive-date=13 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313100323/http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/burialpracticesgallery|url-status=dead}}</ref> The mastaba housed a statue of the deceased that was hidden within the masonry for its protection. High up the walls of the ''serdab'' were small openings that would allow the ''ba'' to leave and return to the body (represented by the statue); Ancient Egyptians believed the ''ba'' had to return to its body or it would die.  These openings "were not meant for viewing the statue but rather for allowing the fragrance of burning incense, and possibly the spells spoken in rituals, to reach the statue".<ref>{{cite book |last=Arnold |first=Dorothea |title=When the Pyramids were Built: Egyptian Art of the Old Kingdom |location=New York |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=1999 |page=12 |isbn=978-0870999086 }}</ref> The statues were nearly always oriented in one direction, facing the opening. The serdab could also feature inscriptions, such as the testament and [[mortuary cult]] of the owner.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Manuelian |first=Peter Der |date=2009 |title=Penmeru Revisited—Giza Mastaba G 2197 (Giza Archives Gleanings V) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25735445 |journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt |volume=45 |pages=3–48 |jstor=25735445 }}</ref> More elaborate mastabas would feature open courtyards, which would be used to house more statues and allow the dead to perform rites. Over time, the courtyards grew into magnificent columned halls, which served the same purposes. These halls would typically be the largest room in the mastaba, and they could be used for sacrifices of livestock. Larger mastabas also included a network of storerooms, which the presiding [[phyle]] would use to maintain the mortuary cult of the mastaba's owner. Generally, there would be five of these storerooms, used by the living to store equipment needed for performing rites; unlike the serdab, they were not meant to be used by the deceased. These lacked any form of decoration, again distinguishing their function from that of the rest of the tomb. Due to the great expense of adding a complex of storerooms, these were only constructed in the largest of mastabas, for the royal family and viziers.<ref name=":1" />

==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>

==Examples==
===Non-royal===
* [[Mastaba of Hesy-Re]]
* [[Mastaba of Kaninisut]]
* [[Mastaba of Seshemnefer]]
* [[Mastaba S3503]]
* [[Mastaba S3504]]

===Royal===
* [[Buried Pyramid|Buried Mastaba]] (Sekhemkhet)
* [[Mastabat al-Fir'aun]] (Shepseskaf)
* [[Pyramid of Neferefre|Mastaba of Neferefre]] (Neferefre)

==See also==
{{Commons category|Mastabas}}
* [[Cemetery GIS]]
* [[Meidum]]
* [[Architecture of Palestine]]: ''mastabeh'' or ''mastaba'' as raised, indoor or outdoor "unsoiled" area in traditional Palestinian architecture<ref>Awad, Shaden, ''The Peasant House: Contemporary Meanings, Syntactic Qualities and Rehabilitation Challenges.'', Graz University of Technology 2010. Accesses 24 Feb 2021.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ancient Egypt topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mastabas|*]]
[[Category:Types of monuments and memorials]]
[[Category:Ancient Egypt]]
[[Category:Burial monuments and structures]]
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian architecture]]
[[Category:Egyptian inventions]]