Ranefer (or Ranofer) was a

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

during the 4th Dynasty (

Old Kingdom of Egypt In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty ...

). His name, Ranefer, comes from the Egyptian god Ra and the Ancient Egyptian word nefer (''nfr''), meaning "beauty." Ranefer, who had the title ''King’s Son'', was a son of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Sneferu Sneferu or Soris (c. 2600 BC) was an ancient Egyptian monarch and the first pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, during the earlier half of the Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). He introduced major innovations in the design and constructio ...

, who was the first ruler of the Fourth Dynasty. Ranefer’s mother was Sneferu’s wife or concubine; her name is unknown. Ranefer’s elder brothers were Nefermaat I and

Rahotep Sekhemre Wahkhau Rahotep was an Egyptian pharaoh who reigned during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was ruled by multiple kings. The Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker believe that Rahotep was the first king of the 17th Dyn ...

. Ranefer worked as an overseer for his father (title: “Overseer of Djed-Sneferu”) and was buried inside a

mastaba A mastaba ( , or ), 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 mudbricks or limestone. These edifices marked the burial sites ...

tomb at Meidum. In the tomb were found remains of viscera wrapped in linen. Ranefer’s body is the best representation of what

mummification A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

techniques entailed during the Old Kingdom. His body was facing east, was molded as well as painted. The mummy’s hair was painted black, the eyebrows and eyes were painted green whilst the mouth was painted red. The genitals were also carefully molded, the brain remained in the

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

and its innards were found in a canopic chest in the tomb.

References

{{Reflist Princes of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt