Saturday, June 14, 2008

OsirisNet updated with mastaba of Merefnebef

OsirisNet (English)
OsirisNet (French)

Thanks very much to Thierry Benderitter for letting me know that the OsirisNet website has been updated with the fabulous Old Kingdom mastaba of Merefnebef, which is located in Saqqara. As far as I know this is the only place where you can see the full details of tomb online. As the site is very fragile and will remain closed to the public, this is a wonderful opportunity to have a glimpse inside the tomb.

The pages were compiled with the permission and assistance of Professor Karol Myśliwiec from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (Warsaw), whose team excavated the site. It says alot about the good reputation of the OsirisNet venture that the permission was so readily given. The screen grab was taken from the OsirisNet site (you can click on it to go to the English version of the mastaba web pages).

The mastaba of Merefnebef, is an exceptional monument in terms of its state of conservation and the freshness of its decoration. Merefnebef was a vizier of the Sixth Dynasty, and the changes to his tomb reflect changes to both political and family circumstances.

As usual there are maps, diagrams, extensive descriptions, translations of hieroglyphic inscriptions and some wonderful photographs (click on thumbnails to see big images - this wasn't working in Firefox but it worked perfectly in MS Explorer). Six web pages of solid enjoyment.

There's an interview with Professor Karol Myśliwiec about the tomb, in PDF format, from Academia.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It works perfectly in Opera, too! The color is so vivid and beautiful in many areas. It's wonderful to get an idea of just how brilliant it was.