The Tomb of Perneb is a

mastaba A mastaba (, or ), also mastabah, mastabat or pr- djt (meaning "house of stability", " house of eternity" or "eternal house" in Ancient Egyptian), is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inwar ...

-style tomb from ancient

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, built during the reigns of

Djedkare Isesi Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres) was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid- 24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was i ...

and

Unas Unas or Wenis, also spelled Unis ( egy, wnjs, hellenized form Oenas or Onnos), was a pharaoh, the ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid- 24th century BC (circ ...

(ca. 2381 BC to 2323 BC), in the

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memph ...

, north of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

Djoser Djoser (also read as Djeser and Zoser) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros (from Manetho) and Sesorthos (from Eusebiu ...

Step Pyramid A step pyramid or stepped pyramid is an architectural structure that uses flat platforms, or steps, receding from the ground up, to achieve a completed shape similar to a geometric pyramid. Step pyramids are structures which characterized several ...

and about 30 kilometers south of

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...

. It was the tomb of Perneb, and from the size and placement of the tomb he might have been a court official or royal family member. The tomb was erected during the

5th Dynasty The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...

in the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 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 ...

. It was discovered in 1907, purchased from the Egyptian government in 1913 and given to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, by Edward S. Harkness. Perneb was a court official in the royal household who had a role in the robing and crowning of the king. His name means "my Lord has come forth to me". His tomb was attached to the larger tomb of the vizier Shepsesre, who may have been Perneb's father.

Description

The tomb consists of an underground burial chamber and a limestone mastaba above ground. The mastaba is divided into four rooms, including a decorated main offering chapel and a secondary offering chamber with a separate entrance. The secondary offering chamber is connected to the

serdab A serdab ( fa, سرداب, d=Sardāb), literally meaning "cold water", which became a loanword in Arabic for 'cellar' is an ancient Egyptian tomb structure that served as a chamber for the Ka statue of a deceased individual. Used during the Old Ki ...

(

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

for "cellar"), a closed room containing a statue of Perneb, by a slot through which the smell of incense and chants could pass into the serdab. Perneb's burial shaft was located to the right side of the main offering chamber. The main offering chapel is decorated with a false door and painted reliefs which depict Perneb seated at an offering table where he offers food and other goods.

Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The tomb was dismantled in 1913 by

Albert Lythgoe Albert Morton Lythgoe (March 15, 1868 – January 29, 1934) was an American archaeology, archaeologist and Egyptologist. He is best known for his work for the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and for the support he gave to the excavation o ...

and

Ambrose Lansing Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...

, with the help of countless Egyptian workers. It was brought to the US from Saqqara that year, where it was received and organized by

Caroline Ransom Williams Caroline Ransom Williams (February 24, 1872 – February 1, 1952) was an Egyptologist and classical archaeologist. She was the first American woman to be professionally trained as an Egyptologist. She worked extensively with the Metropolitan Mu ...

. It was reassembled at the MMA, in Gallery D4. The tomb was opened to the public on 3 February 1916 to what Ransom called "great éclat." She wrote to her colleague

James Breasted James Henry Breasted (; August 27, 1865 – December 2, 1935) was an American archaeologist, Egyptologist, and historian. After completing his PhD at the University of Berlin in 1894, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago. In 1901 he ...

that "People were formed in line two abreast all the way back to the Fifth avenue entrance to get into the chambers. Glass positions electrically lighted illustrate the former position and the taking down of the tomb. There are two cases of the objects found in the course of the excavations including the greater part of Perneb’s skull. A model of the entire tomb makes clear the position of the burial chamber." She wrote a handbook about the tomb, geared toward the general public and visitors to the exhibition, ''The Tomb of Perneb, with Illustrations.'' In its original location, there were two small obelisks at the western corners of the courtyard, honoring the sun god Re. These are no longer part of the museum exhibit. As of 2018, it is at the entrance to the museum's collection of Egyptian art. Visitors can enter the tomb and walk through its rooms. Some of the internal

hieroglyphics Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1 ...

have been translated into English.

References

External links

Description by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
{{coord missing, Egypt Buildings and structures completed in the 24th century BC Tombs of ancient Egypt Architecture in collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 1907 archaeological discoveries 3rd-millennium BC establishments in Egypt Relocated ancient Egyptian monuments