The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara 5: Tomb of Hesi

The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara #5

by Naguib Kanawati

The tomb of Hesi was discovered in the early 1980s but remained unpublished. Although formed of a portico and one-roomed chapel, the walls are full of scenes and inscriptions executed in high quality relief, on a small scale to allow for the inclusion of a variety of themes on rather limited wall space. Included in the traditional subjects depicted in the tomb are some unusual motifs. Similarly, the incscriptions, including Hesi's biography, contain some unconventional expressions. The name and figures of Hesi have been deliberately chiselled out from the tomb decoration as, happened to many tomb owners who lived in the turbulent period from the end of Teti's reign to the beginning of that of Pepy I.

100 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2000