Skip to main content
This site is under construction. Thank you for your patience.

Lepsius 53

G I-South Cemetery

G I-South Cemetery: Site: Giza; View: Lepsius 53

Details

  • Tomb Owner
    Seshemnefer [IV] (Lepsius 53)
  • Attested
    Ankhemsaf (in Lepsius 53)
    Antyhetep (in Lepsius 53)
    Herni(?) (in Lepsius 53)
    Imi (in Lepsius 53)
    Iukau (in Lepsius 53)
    Kaherptah (in Lepsius 53)
    Kh[...] (in Lepsius 53)
    Maa (in Lepsius 53)
    Mereri (in Lepsius 53)
    Neferihy (in Lepsius 53)
    Neferseshemptah Sheshi (in Lepsius 53)
    Nisuakhet (in Lepsius 53)
    Nisutnefer (in Lepsius 53)
    Ptahhetep (Ptahhetep)
    Qar (in Lepsius 53)
    Sehetepu Tepu (Sehetepu Tepu)
    Senankh (in Lepsius 53)
    Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)
    Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)
    Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)
    Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)
    Seshemnefer Tjeti (Seshemnefer Tjeti)
    Sesheshen (in Lepsius 53)
    Shepsi (in Lepsius 53)
    Shetnu (in Lepsius 53)
    Tjetju (in Lepsius 53)
    [...]f (in Lepsius 53)
  • Excavator
    (Karl) Richard Lepsius, German, 1810–1884
    Hermann Junker, German, 1877–1962
  • Junker No
    Seshemnefer [IV]
  • Lepsius No
    LG 53
    L.53
  • PorterMoss Date
    End of Dynasty 5 or Dynasty 6
  • Baer Date
    Very end of Dynasty 5 or later
  • Harpur Date
    Unis - Teti
  • Jacquet-Gordon Date
    Dynasty 6
  • Junker Date
    Beginning of Dynasty 6
  • Site Type
    Stone-built mastaba
  • Shafts
    S 341; serdab 1; serdab 2; serdab 3; chapel
  • Remarks
    Mastaba is in the cemetery along the south side of Khufu's pyramid, linked to Lepsius 54, south of Lepsius 55, east of Heneni and north of Ptah-hetep.

Finds 33

Maps & Plans 2

Drawings 6

Published Documents 10

Unpublished Documents 4

Full Bibliography

  • Allen, James P. "Some Aspects of the Non-royal Afterlife in the Old Kingdom." In Miroslav Bárta, ed. The Old Kingdom Art and Archaeology. Proceedings of the Conference held in Prague, May 31-June 4, 2004. Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology, 2006, p. 10 [n. 11].

    Arnold, Dieter. "Old Kingdom Statues in their Architectural Setting." In Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999, p. 44, fig. 22.

    Chauvet, Violaine. “Decoration and Architecture: The Definition of Private Tomb Environment.” Servant of Mut. Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honor of Edward F. Wente. Leiden: Brill, 2008, p. 46 note 22.

    Delvaux, Luc and Eugène Warmenbol. "Trois Seshemnefer et Trente-Six Domaines." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 84 (1998), pp. 64, 68, note 47.

    Gamer-Wallert, Ingrid."Die bewegte Geschichte der Mastaba Seschemnofers III. (G 5170)." Sokar 9 (2. Halbjahr, 2004), p. 30.

    Grdseloff, ASAE 42 (), 58-61.

    Jacquet-Gordon, Domaines funéraires, 306-9 (43G6), figs. 92-3.

    Jánosi, Peter. "The Tombs of Officials. Houses of Eternity." In Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999, p. 39, note 73.

    Junker, Hermann. Gîza 3. Die Mastabas der vorgeschrittenen V. Dynastie auf dem Westfriedhof. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien Philosophisch-historische Klasse Denkschriften. Vienna & Leipzig: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1938, pp. 10, 34-5.

    Junker, Hermann. Gîza 11. Der Friedhof südlich der Cheopspyramide: Ostteil. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien Philosophisch-historische Klasse Denkschriften 74, Abhandlung 2. Vienna: Rudolph M. Rohrer, 1953, pp. 92-96, 100-119, 126-131, 137-241, figs. 49-53, 60-87, 89-95, pls. 1, 5, 7, 11-23, 24a-b, 26, plan after p. 298.

    Lehmann, Katja. Der Serdab in den Privatgräbern des Alten Reiches 1-3. Ph.D. Dissertation, Universität Heidelberg, 2000, Kat. G284.

    C. R. Lepsius, Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, Text 1 (Berlin), pp. 77-79.

    C. R. Lepsius, Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, Vol. 2 (Berlin), fig. 80-81.

    C. R. Lepsius, Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, Abteilung 1, Vol 1 (Berlin), pl. 25.

    Mariette, Auguste. Les mastabas de l'ancien empire. Paris: F. Vieweg, 1889, pp. 529-30.

    Porter, Bertha, and Rosalind L.B. Moss. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings 3: Memphis (Abû Rawâsh to Dahshûr). Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1931. 2nd edition. 3: Memphis, Part 1 (Abû Rawâsh to Abûsîr), revised and augmented by Jaromír Málek. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1974, pp. 223-226, plan 19.

    Reisner, George A. A History of the Giza Necropolis 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1942, p. 271, fig. 189.

    Sethe, Kurt. Urkunden des Alten Reichs. Erster Band. Urkunden des Ägyptischen Altertums Abteilung 1, Hft. 1-4. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1903-1933, pp. 57 [39], 178 [22 (113)].

    Smith, William Stevenson. A History of Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom. London: Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press on behalf of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1946, p. 247, fig. 95

    Woods, Alexandra. "Contribution to a Controversy: A Date For the Tomb of kA(=j)-m-anx at Giza." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 95 (2009), pp. 168, 169, note 64.

Photos 63

View all 63 Photos

People 30

Ancient People

  • Ankhemsaf (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), exterior chapel, pillared hall, south wall (leading antelope [head of figure not preserved]); in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Antyhetep (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief from exterior chapel entrance = columned portico, west wall (top register, middle figure, carrying birds in both hands), identified as [xrp rtHt (?)] director of the bakery; found in Lepsius 53.

  • Herni(?) (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief (Berlin 1130) from interior chapel, room b, west wall (third figure from left, carrying scribal palette), identified as [sS Snwt] scribe of the granary; found in Lepsius 53.

  • Imi (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears twice in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), exterior chapel, vestibule, south wall (bottom register, second figure from right, carrying two strips of linen [top half of figure only partially preserved]), and interior chapel, room c, north wall (bottom register, fourth figure from left on preserved portion of wall [only lower legs preserved]), identified (in both instances) as [jmj-r sSr] overseer of linen; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Iukau (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Sehemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced fragment of relief (Hildesheim 4861) from interior chapel, room c, north wall (only legs preserved); found in Lepsius 53.

  • Kaherptah (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief from exterior chapel entrance = columned portico, east wall (middle register, second figure from right, carrying birds in both hands), identified as [sS] scribe; found in Lepsius 53.

  • Kh[...] (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), exterior chapel, vestibule, west wall (bottom register, livestock procession [figure and name only partially preserved]), identified as [HqA Hwt] chief of the house; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Maa (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), exterior chapel, pillared hall, south wall (carrying calf [head of figure not preserved]), identified as [jmj-r sSr Hm-kA pr] overseer of linen, ka-priest of the house; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Mereri (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced fragmentary block of relief (Hildesheim 3190) from interior chapel, room e, west wall (censing before statue of Seshemnefer [figure only partially preserved]), identified as [jmj-r pr] steward; found in Lepsius 53.

  • Neferihy (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief from exterior chapel entrance = columned portico, west wall (top register, figure on left, carrying bird and lotus flowers), identified as [qbH Hwt aAt (read: Hwt nmt)] butcher of the slaughter-house; found in Lepsius 53.

  • Neferseshemptah Sheshi (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Neferseshemptah, [rn=f nfr] his good name Sheshi. Base fragment of seated statue (Hildesheim 3264) inscribed for Neferseshemptah Sheshi (name only partially preserved): found in debris near Seshemnefer [IV] complex. Probably same individual as Neferseshemptah, son ([sA=f] his son) of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53). Appears in chapel relief, interior chapel entrance (north door jamb [reveal]), identified as [sAb sS sHD Hmw-kA] juridicial scribe, inspector of ka-priests; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Nisuakhet (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears twice in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), exterior chapel, vestibule, south wall (bottom register, fourth figure from left, carrying two strips of linen [top half of figure not preserved]), identified as [jmj-r sSr] overseer of linen, and interior chapel, room c, north wall (bottom register, fifth figure from left on preserved portion of wall [only lower legs preserved]); in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Nisutnefer (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief from exterior chapel entrance = columned portico, west wall (top register, figure on right, carrying papyrus stalks and birds), identified as [jmj-r pr] steward; found in Lepsius 53.

  • Ptahhetep (Ptahhetep)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Owner of Ptahhetep (unnumbered mastaba excavated by Junker). False door (upper half not preserved) inscribed for Ptahhetep, identified as [jrj-pat smr watj] hereditary prince, sole companion; also appears in chapel relief (name not preserved, chapel mostly destroyed); in situ in mastaba of Ptahhetep (abutting south face of Seshemnefer [IV] complex). Probably same individual as Ptahhetep, son ([sA=f] his son) of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53). Appears in chapel relief, interior chapel entrance (north door jamb [reveal]), identified as [swnw pr-aA sHD Hmw-kA] physician of the Great House, inspector of ka-priests, and possibly also exterior chapel entrance = columned portico, north wall (only lower legs and end of name [...]hetep preserved); in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Qar (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Sehemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced fragment of relief (Hildesheim 4861) from interior chapel, room c, north wall (only legs preserved); found in Lepsius 53.

  • Sehetepu Tepu (Sehetepu Tepu)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Owner of Sehetepu Tepu (unnumbered mastaba excavated by Junker). Sehetepu, [rn=f nfr] his good name Tepu. Chapel entrance door jambs and false door inscribed for Sehetepu Tepu, identified as [sAb jmj-r sSw] juridicial overseer of scribes; also appears in chapel relief; in situ in mastaba of Sehetepu Tepu (west of Seshemnefer [IV] complex). Also appears several times in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), interior chapel (entrance south door jamb [reveal], north and west walls of room b, north wall of room c), identified as [sAb sS sHD Hmw-kA] juridicial scribe, inspector of ka-priests; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Senankh (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced fragment of relief from chapel (originaly location in chapel unknown, only hand holding staff and name preserved); found in Lepsius 53.

  • Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), exterior chapel, vestibule, west wall (middle register of perserved portion of wall, livestock procession [figure only partially preserved]); in situ in Lepsius 53. Perhaps to be identified with one of other various Seshemnefers in this mastaba.

  • Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears three times in chapel relief in mastaba of Sehemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief (Berlin 1130) from interior chapel, room b, west wall (bottom register, second figure from left), identified as [jmj-r pr] steward, interior chapel, room b, north wall (bottom register, second figure from right), identified as [jmj-r pr sHD Hmw-ka] steward, inspector of ka-priests, interior chapel, room c, north wall (bottom register, second figure from left on preserved portion of wall [only lower legs preserved]), identified as [jmj-r pr] steward; displaced block found in Lepsius 53 others in situ.

  • Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears twice in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief from exterior chapel entrance = columned portico, east wall (middle register, figure on right, carrying birds in both hands), and exterior chapel, vestibule, south wall (upper register of preserved portion of wall), identified (in both instances) as [jmj-r sSr] overseer of linen; displaced block found in Lepsius 53 other in situ.

  • Seshemnefer (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced block of relief from exterior chapel entrance = columned portico, west wall (bottom register, figure on right, carrying calf), identified as [sAb jrj-mDAt] juridicial letter carrier; found in Lepsius 53.

  • Seshemnefer Tjeti (Seshemnefer Tjeti)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Owner of Seshemnefer Tjeti (unnumbered mastaba excavated by Junker, part of Seshemnefer [IV] complex). Seshemnefer Tjeti, called Tjeti. Remains of false door inscribed for Seshemnefer Tjeti, identified as [smr watj xrp nstj] sole companion, director of the two thrones; also appears in chapel relief (displaced blocks), with previous titles and additional title [HqA bAt] chief of Bat; found in mastaba of Seshemnefer Tjeti (blocks of relief perhaps originally from chapel entrance, to room a). Probable son of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53). Appears in chapel relief, interior chapel entrance (facade and reveal faces of north and south door jambs); in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Seshemnefer [IV] (Lepsius 53)

    • Type Tomb Owner
    • Remarks Owner of Lepsius 53. Two seated statues in forecourt (on either side of exterior chapel entrance), inscribed [smr watj sSmnfr] sole companion Seshemnefer; in situ in Lepsius 53. Interior chapel entrance lintel and drum lintel and false door (in room c) inscribed for Seshemnefer; also appears in chapel relief (in most instances name not preserved, only lower portions of walls preserved) and displaced fragmentary block of relief (Hildesheim 3190) depicted as statue; identified as [xrp nstj m pr-anx Hrj-sStA n mdt nb sStA nt nswt HqA bAt] director of the two thrones in the Mansion of Life, secretary of all secret commands of the king, chief of Bat; in situ in Lepsius 53 (block found in Lepsius 53). Possibly same individual as Seshemnefer (in G 5170), eldest son of Seshemnefer [III] (owner of G 5170).

  • Sesheshen (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), exterior chapel, vestibule, south wall (bottom register, third figure from left, carrying staff [top half of figure not preserved]), identified as [jmj-r sSr] overseer of linen; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Shepsi (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Sehemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), interior chapel, room c, north wall (bottom register, third figure from left on preserved portion of wall [only lower legs preserved]), identified as [jmj-r xt pr] overseer of servants of the house; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Shetnu (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Probable son of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53). Appears in chapel relief, interior chapel entrance (south door jamb [reveal]), inscription only partially preserved [... mr=f Stnw] his beloved Shetnu; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • Tjetju (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), interior chapel, room b, north wall (third figure from right), identified as [sS Snwt] scribe of the granary; in situ in Lepsius 53.

  • [...]f (in Lepsius 53)

    • Type Attested
    • Remarks Appears in chapel relief in mastaba of Seshemnefer [IV] (owner of Lepsius 53), displaced fragmentary block of relief (Hildesheim 3190) from interior chapel, room e, west wall (figure and name almost entirely destroyed); found in Lepsius 53.

Modern People

  • (Karl) Richard Lepsius

    • Type Excavator
    • Nationality & Dates German, 1810–1884
    • Remarks Egyptologist. Nationality and life dates from Who was Who in Egyptology.

  • Hermann Junker

    • Type Excavator
    • Nationality & Dates German, 1877–1962
    • Remarks Egyptologist, Director of German-Austrian expedition to Giza, 1911–1929. Published 12 volumes of final excavation reports from Giza expedition. Nationality and life dates from Who was Who in Egyptology.