Teti,
builder of the northernmost pyramid at Saqqara,
was the first king of the 6th Dynasty (ca.
2374 - 2354 BC). Like most of the pyramids
from this era, the outer structure is greatly
deteriorated. The entrance, at ground-level,
opens into a narrow corridor that descends
to an underground vestibule; to the left
is a storage room, and to the right is the
king’s burial chamber.
The
walls of the burial chamber are inscribed
with spells known as the Pyramid Texts, which
were designed to ensure the survival of the
monarch in his afterlife and his transformation
to a divine state. The decoration is incomplete
(engraved, but not painted), perhaps due
to the king’s premature death. The
burial chamber also contains the remains
of a gray basalt sarcophagus. Teti’s
mortuary complex, of which little survives,
is surrounded by the mastabas of his highest
officials.
Currently,
Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme
Council of Antiquities, is directing fieldwork
in the Teti complex at the tomb of Teti-ankher,
his finds include new information from the
complex of his queens, Khuit and Iput, a
new pyramid belonging to Queen Weret-intes,
New Kingdom chapels, and Late Period burials.
Furthermore, archaeologists David Silverman
and Joseph Wegner are excavating some important
Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030 - 1660 BC)
tombs in the area, and Australian archaeologist
Naguib Kanawati is also exploring private
tombs that lie within the complex.
Back to Saqqara
Main Page
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The Pyramid
of Teti (Julie Patenaude) |
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Excavation of the Teti Cemetery (Mohamed Rehan) |
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