Mereruka

Mereruka ( Mereru -ka, also briefly Meri only ) was an Egyptian vizier under pharaoh Teti ( 6th dynasty ), who is best known for his monumental mastaba today. He probably officiated at the end of Teti's reign.

Family

Little is handed down to his person. His wife was a certain Watetchether / Seschseschet, when it was a daughter of Teti. The mother of the Mereruka was Nedjetempet. Several children are known, including Meriteti, who also became the office of vizier.

Title

Mereruka contributed many important titles, including " Treasury chief ", " ruler of the six large administrative building " or " head of all works of the King". The latter title may suggest that he was an architect in the construction of the Great Pyramid.

Grave

Mereruka is known primarily for his huge mastaba, which is located next to the pyramid of Teti. Here also his wife and his son Watetkhethor Meriteti have been buried, each had their own cult rooms inside the Mastaba. The approximately 23 × 41 m large stone building consists of 32 rooms, making it the most expensive, according to the number of rooms known Mastaba in Egypt. Much of the chambers are decorated with reliefs that may be considered artistically not as valuable as the illustrations in the nearby mastabas of Ti and Ptahhotep, but show a particularly wide variety of scenes depicted. The building is well preserved and one of the major tourist attractions in Saqqara.

Receipt of the mastaba ( present condition )

Relief: fishermen hauling their catch

Relief: a hippo attacks a Nile crocodile