Chapter 4 (part 15)

Maspero, Recueil de Travaux , t. iii., p. 78. 3. See Recueil de Travaux , t. iii., pp. 177-224; t. iv., pp. 41-78. 4. In 1881 Dr. Brugsch described two pyramids of the VIth dynasty inscribed with religious texts similar to those found in the pyramid of Unas, and translated certain passages (Aeg. Zeitschrift, Bd., xix., pp. 1-15); see also Birch in Trans. Son Bibl. Arch., 1881, p. iii ff. 5 The pyramid which bore among the Arabs the name of Mastabat el-Far'ûn , or "Pharaoh's Bench," was excavated by Mariette in 1858, and, because he found the name of Unas painted on certain blocks of stone, he concluded that it was the tomb of Unas. M. Maspero's excavations have, as Dr. Lepsius observes ( Aeg. Zeitschrift , Bd. XIX., p. 15), set the matter right.] {p. xxiii} The Book of the Dead in the VIth dynasty Evidence of the text of the pyramid of Teta; Continuing his excavations at Sakkâra, M. Maspero opened the pyramid Of Teta,[1] king of Egypt about B.C. 3300, which Vyse thought[2] had never been entered, and of which, in his day, the masonry on one side only could be seen. Here again it was found that thieves had already been at work, and that they had smashed in pieces walls, floors, and many other parts of the chambers in their frantic search for treasure. As in the case of the pyramid of Unas, certain chambers, etc., of this tomb were found covered with inscriptions in hieroglyphics, but of a smaller size.[3] A brief examination of the text showed it to be formed of a series of extracts from the Book of the Dead, some of which were identical with those in the pyramid of Unas. Thus was brought to light a Book of the Dead of the time of the first king 4 of the VIth dynasty. and of the pyramid of Pepi I., Mer-en-Ra, and Pepi II. The pyramid of Pepi I., king of Egypt about B.C. 3233, was next opened.[5] It is situated in the central group at Sakkâra, and is commonly known as the pyramid of Shêkh Abu-Mansûr.[6] Certain chambers and other parts of the tomb were found to be covered with hieroglyphic texts, which not only repeated in part those which had been found in the pyramids of Unas and Teta, but also contained a considerable number of additional sections of the Book of the Dead.[7] In the same neighbourhood M. Maspero, cleared out the pyramid of Mer-en-Ra, the fourth king of the VIth dynasty, about B.C. 3200;[8] and the pyramid of Pepi II., the fifth king of the VIth dynasty, about B.C. 3166.[9] [1. The mummy of the king had been taken out of the sarcophagus through a hole which the thieves had made in it; it was broken by them in pieces, and the only remains of it found by M. Maspero consisted of an arm and shoulder. Parts of the wooden coffin are preserved in the Gizeh Museum. 2. The Pyramids of Gizeh , vol. iii., p. 39. 3. They were copied in 1882, and published by M. Maspero in Recueil de Travaux , t. v., pp. 1-59. 4.