Kagemni
Photo: courtecy of egyptarchive.co.uk

The Mastaba of Kagemni
The tomb is wellknown for its beautiful reliefs of animals and birds. The entrance is from the east and on both the doorjambs are depictions of Kagemni along with his titles. A depiction of Kagemni inside the tomb shows him as being rather fat. The whole tomb consists of eight rooms and five magazines. The chambers are all decorated but the colors are not so well preserved as in the tomb of Mereruka.

In the first room, there are scenes with Kagemni standing in a papyrus boat, hunting fish and fowl. Next room, to the right, is a long hall with six columns, square ones and to the west lies five magazine roms. The reliefs in the first room show female dancers and clappers, and there are scenes with a hippopotamus hunt and of crocodiles and hippos fighting each other. Lotus flowers float in the water and the fishermen use nets and baskets for their catch. Even insects are portrayed: grasshoppers, dragonflies, frogs... You can also see a cow being milked, a puppy being fed and another cow being lassoed. Kagemni himself is seen receiveing scribes who show accounts for him.

Reliefs of men milking and herding cattle
photo: courtecy of egyptarchive.co.uk

In the next room,to the north are more reliefs. Crocodiles are competing with men for fish, and again they fight with hippos. Opposite, are scenes where animals are being fed, geese are force-fed and poultry are cared for. To the left is next room, where reliefs depict offerings and granaries. There are also men pulling sledges with chests adorned with plumes. Perhaps it´s a kind of harvest festival.

To the right is a door leading into the offering hall. At its eastern wall is a the false door. The reliefs depict both men and priests carrying offerings and cattle are slaughtered. The nest room shows Kagemni receiveing more offerings, now oils and linen. The colors here are better preserved.

On the northern end of the tomb is the burial shaft. The chamber is decorated with more offering texts and his sarcophagus and canopic jars were found. Also some other funerary things which now is at the Cairo Museum.

The False Door with the offering text:
"Thousands of loaves, thousands of sweets, thousands of jars of beer"
Photo: courtecy of www.kemit.club.fr

Separate from the tomb is a serdab room. On its roof were two boatshaped pits or rooms which is reminding of the boatpits near the Unas Pyramid.