Serdab

The Serdab ( Arabic سرداب Sirdāb , DMG Sirdāb 'underground vault, cellar', ancient Egyptian: pr-tw.t , " statue house ") is part of many private graves of the ancient Egyptian third to sixth dynasties . Similar to the false door it should serve to secure the deceased's continued existence by the here Ka - statue kept the grave Lord, and he is often found behind the false door. The Serdab is not a basic component of the graves, but can only be found in the graves of (higher-ranking) administrative officials and members of the royal family (princes and princesses) - and it probably expresses their social positions in this way.

Occurrence

Serdab in grave A2 of Pepi-anch in Meir

Statue shrine of Djoser at his pyramid in Saqqara

The Serdab does not exist in royal tombs - with the exception that there is a similar room in the north temple of the pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara with its seated statue, which is now in Cairo - but this is probably also a statue shrine .

Even if the serdab was mostly used in mastabas , it can also be found in some rock tombs . This grave component is mainly found in the necropolises of Giza (over 400 graves) and Saqqara , but it is also found in those of Abusir , Dahshur , Meidum , Abu Roasch , Deschascha , Meir , Qau al-Kabir , Abydos , Dendera , Elkab , Edfu and Aswan (Qubbet Abu al-Hawa). However, the distribution outside the Memphite necropolis is essentially limited to the sixth dynasty.

description

The serdab is an above or below ground, closed space within the grave. Only holes or slits in the masonry connect the Serdab with the entrance room or with the cult chamber , on the west or south wall of which it is located. When the Serdab was created, it was usually not a planned integral part of the grave, but was added.

In addition to statues, statues of servants who are preparing food, models, steles , vessels and sacrificial tables and / or sacrificial basins and other objects are also housed in the Serdab . As a rule, the serdab is not decorated; there are only about eight exceptions, limited to the sixth dynasty.

function

The holes or slits have an important function: the ka , the soul of the deceased, should be able to penetrate through them or the statue can participate in the cult events in the sacrificial room. The Serdab thus has both a protective and a cult function for the Ka statue.

literature

Aylward Manley Blackman : The Ka-house and the serdab. In: Journal of Egyptian Archeology. Vol. 3, 1916, ISSN 0307-5133 , pp. 250-254, a table.
Edward Brovarski: Serdab. In: Wolfgang Helck et al. (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie. 7 volumes. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , here especially Vol. 5, Sp. 874-879.
Katja Lehmann: The Serdab in the private graves of the old empire. 3 volumes. Heidelberg 2000 (Heidelberg, Univ., Diss., 2001).

Web links

Katja Lehmann The Serdab in the private graves of the Old Kingdom, Heidelberg 2000 , (dissertation available online)

Individual evidence

^ Rainer Hannig : Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian - German. (2800-950 BC). The language of the pharaohs (= Hannig-Lexica. Vol. 1 = Cultural history of the ancient world. Vol. 64). Marburg Edition, 4th revised edition. von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 299; attested for at least the sixth dynasty.

[1] Rainer Hannig : Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian - German. (2800-950 BC). The language of the pharaohs (= Hannig-Lexica. Vol. 1 = Cultural history of the ancient world. Vol. 64). Marburg Edition, 4th revised edition. von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 299; attested for at least the sixth dynasty.