Chapter 13 (Re)-Discovery of the Tomb of Nymaatra (Mariette’s Tomb D 17/D 72)
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Abstract
The tomb of Nymaatra, located in north Saqqara, was rediscovered by the Czech mission in 2021. It was initially excavated by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette back in the 1860s. The tomb features unique architectural evidence and dates to the early 5th Dynasty (twenty-fifth century B.C.E.). The mastaba’s cult facilities consist of a row of several small chapels and serdabs, built probably for other members of Nymaatra’s family. The fashion in which the subterranean residence, with two rooms, was built and the sheer size of the tomb, covering an area of about 1500 sq. m., also make the tomb rather unique. Nymaatra is probably represented in the mortuary complex of Sahura, where he features among the highest officials of the time and even in the company of Sahura’s successor, the king-to-be Neferirkara. Together, all of this provides evidence for a rather exceptional standing of Nymaatra in the court society of the early 5th Dynasty.