Mesehti

Mesehti was "mayor" and " head priest " in Assiut at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom ( around 2000 BC ) in ancient Egypt.

Mesehti is only known by his grave equipment, which was found in illegal excavations in Assiut at the end of the 19th century. The grave was apparently non robbed. The grave goods were sold mainly to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The grave contained two large coffins made ​​of wood. They were decorated mainly due to the inner sides of the coffin texts, and apply one of the main sources for this type of religious texts. The underside of the cover shows a dean list.

In the grave there was once also a number of model figures made ​​of wood, as it is typical for burials of the Middle Kingdom. As a special feature, the grave contained each a figure set with Nubian and one with Egyptian soldiers. The Nubians are marked dark-skinned, wearing a red loincloth, and bow and arrow. The Egyptians appear as spearmen with light loincloth, spear and shield. The figures vary in size, should therefore probably reflect individuals.

See also: Egyptian officials and functional title