Kagemni () was a

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

from the early part of the reign of King

Teti Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources (died 2333 BC), was the first pharaoh, king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroye ...

of the

Sixth Dynasty of Egypt The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egyp ...

. Kagemni's wife Nebtynubkhet Sesheshet was a King's daughter and likely the daughter of

.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. Kagemni mastaba wand E

Biography

Kagemni held a great number of titles. He was an overseer of the two houses of gold and an overseer of the two treasuries. He also held several religious positions, including that of High Priest of Re and Stolist of Min. Other duties were related to the royal palace: overseer of the two chambers of the king's adornment, director of the Mansions of the

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and Red Crowns and keeper of the head ornaments. As

, Kagemni also held the positions of overseer of the scribes of the king's documents, overseer of all the works of the king, and overseer of the six great courts.Naguib Kanawati, Conspiracies in the Egyptian Palace: Unis to Pepy I, (Routledge, 2002). . The exterior scenes cover the wall of the first room, while the scenes associated with the funeral meal are concentrated in the farthest part of the tomb. The inscriptions contain the names of the scenes, a description of the sacrifices and their provenance, as well as numerous titles of the Kagemni.

Tomb

Kagemni was buried in the largest

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 ...

in the Teti cemetery in

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

. The tomb is a large 32 m. x 32 m. square. The

was constructed of large blocks of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. Part of the

consists of a chapel with six rooms, a pillared hall, five magazines, two chambers containing boats, a ''

serdab A serdab (), 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 Kingdom, the serdab was a sealed chamber with a small sli ...

'' and a staircase which gives access to the roof. The chapel walls are decorated and so are the walls of the burial chamber, which was located at the bottom of a shaft. The burial chamber contained an inscribed stone

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

with a wooden coffin inside it. The tomb consists of a hall right after the entrance, followed by a pillared hall and then a suite of rooms to the north of the pillared hall. The entrance hall contains scenes of daily life, including a scene with dancers. The pillared hall shows scenes of Vizier Kagemni on a boat which is accompanied by a small papyrus skiff carrying three men. There are scenes of fishing and scenes of the wildlife including crocodiles, dragonflies and frogs. Other scenes in the pillared hall show cattle, including a man carrying a calf and a cow being milked. The rooms off the pillared hall show Kagemni in a carrying chair with attendants. This scene includes several of his titles. Other scenes in this room show birds including a scene where geese are being force fed. Another scene shows hyenas being force fed, in a manner very similar to that in the tomb of

Mereruka Mereruka () served during the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt as one of Egypt's most powerful officials at a time when the influence of local state noblemen was increasing in wealth and power. Mereruka held numerous titles along with that of Vizier (Ancie ...

.Lauer, Jean Phillipe. Saqqara: The Royal Cemetery of Memphis, Excavations and Discoveries since 1850. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1976. File:Tomb of Kagemni, vizier of King Teti, 6th dynasty, ca. 2330 BCE; Saqqara (19).jpg, Livestock breeding File:Tomb of Kagemni, vizier of King Teti, 6th dynasty, ca. 2330 BCE; Saqqara (8).jpg, Dancers File:Tomb of Kagemni, vizier of King Teti, 6th dynasty, ca. 2330 BCE; Saqqara (36).jpg, Geese in the river File:Tomb of Kagemni, vizier of King Teti, 6th dynasty, ca. 2330 BCE; Saqqara (32).jpg, Fishing on a papyrus boat File:Tomb of Kagemni, vizier of King Teti, 6th dynasty, ca. 2330 BCE; Saqqara (26).jpg, Hippo hunting

Note

References

{{authority control Viziers of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt High priests of Re Overseer of the treasury 3rd-millennium BC births 3rd-millennium BC deaths