Editing Shepseskaf (section)

==Burial==
{{Main|Mastabat al-Fir'aun}}

Shepseskaf's tomb is a great mastaba at South [[Saqqara]]. Called {{transliteration|egy|Qbḥ-Špss-k3.f}} ("Qebeh Shepseskaf") by the ancient Egyptians, this name is variously translated as "Shepseskaf is pure",{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=425}} "Shepseskaf is purified", "Coolness of King Shepseskaf"{{sfn|Bogdanov|2020|p=129|loc=footnote 45}} and "The cool place of Shepseskaf".{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=xxx}} Nowadays it is known as [[Mastabat al-Fir'aun]], meaning "bench of the pharaoh" in [[Egyptian Arabic]]. This mastaba was first recognised as such by [[Karl Richard Lepsius|Richard Lepsius]] who listed it as structure XLIII in his [[Lepsius list of pyramids|pioneering list]] of pyramids.{{sfn|Lepsius|1859|pp=199–201}} First excavated in 1858 by [[Auguste Mariette]], it was not before the years 1924–1925 that the mastaba was thoroughly explored by [[Gustave Jéquier]].{{sfn|Chauvet|2001|p=176}}{{sfn|Jéquier|1925|pp=251–261}}

===Location===
[[File:Mastaba-faraoun-3.jpg|thumb|right|alt=a large rectangular structure of yellow mudbricks in the desert|[[Mastabat al-Fir’aun]], Saqqara<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->]]

Shepseskaf's decision to be buried in South Saqqara represents a departure from the Giza necropolis used by his predecessors. The reason for this choice is debated. Verner remarks that this choice had political symbolism{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=384}} as it allowed Shepseskaf a greater proximity to the dynasty founder Sneferu's [[Red Pyramid|red]] and [[Bent Pyramid|bent]] pyramids in Dahshur, possibly emphasising his belonging to the dynastic line.{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=426}} For Bárta, Shepseskaf simply decided to come back to the traditional burial grounds of Saqqara and [[Abusir]], a choice that therefore does not need to be seen as a sign of religious conflicts within the royal family,{{sfn|Bárta|2016|p=59}} as had been proposed by Hassan.{{sfn|Hassan|1943|pp=63–67}}

However, the main reason might have been economic or practical rather than political or religious.{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=89}} There was simply not enough space left in Giza for another large pyramid complex,{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=426}} and the proximity of limestone quarries to South Saqqara could have played a role.{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|p=24}} Egyptologist [[Adolf Erman]] instead conjectures that the choice of location for a pharaoh's tomb was mostly dictated by the vicinity of his palace which could change owing to economic, political and military interests.{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|p=26}} This remains unverified as no palace of an Old Kingdom king has been located so far,{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|p=26}}{{sfn|Verner|2010|p=91}} and it may be instead that it was the centre of the administration and royal house which followed the funerary complex rather than the other way around.{{sfn|Lehner|2002|pp=34 & 61}}

===Decision to build a mastaba===
As Shepseskaf chose to have a mastaba built for himself he broke with the fourth dynasty tradition of constructing pyramids. Several theories have been put forth to explain this choice. First, Verner hypothesises that Shepseskaf may have designed a mastaba as a temporary measure because he was faced with the arduous task of completing Menkaure's pyramid complex at Giza while simultaneously having to start his own tomb.{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=426}} In this theory, Shepseskaf may have intended to turn the mastaba into a pyramid at a later stage.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=384}} In support of this theory is the observation that the architecture and layout of the subterranean structures of the mastaba exactly follow the standard plan for royal pyramids.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=384}} Shepseskaf might have been forced to take this decision if Egypt experienced economic difficulties at the time as Verner posits,{{sfn|Verner|2001c|p=588}} or perhaps Menkaure's failure to complete his mortuary temple could have made Shepseskaf more cautious about his own tomb.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=384}}

At the opposite, Egyptologist Stephen Quirke believes that Shepseskaf's tomb amounts to the first step of a planned step pyramid that was unfinished owing to its owner's early death, only to be completed by his successor or his queen in the shape of a mastaba.{{sfn|Quirke|2001|p=126}} This theory finds some support in the Palermo stone which indicates that the emplacement and name of Shepseskaf's tomb were chosen during his first year on the throne. In this text the name of the tomb is written with the [[determinative]] of a pyramid rather than that of a mastaba,{{sfn|Breasted|1906|p=67|loc=§ 150–152}} but in the tomb of Nikauhor, who worked as overseer of Shepseskaf's tomb, it appears with the determinative of a mastaba.{{efn|group=note|Janák, Vymazalová and Coppens note in passing that this sign could be "a schematic depiction of the mastaba-like tomb{{nbsp}}[...] of pharaoh Shepseskaf".{{sfn|Janák et al.|2011|p=432}}}}{{sfn|Bogdanov|2020|p=129|loc=footnote 45}}{{sfn|The Giza Archive|2022|loc=photo A7394_NS}}

Alternatively, Hassan has put forward the idea that Shepseskaf may have deliberately chosen to build a mastaba owing to religio-political reasons, as the pyramid shape is closely associated with the solar cult.{{efn|group=note|Verner is explicitly against this hypothesis, qualifying it as "erroneous".{{sfn|Verner|2001c|p=588}}}} In doing so he would have tried to undermine the growing influence of the priesthood of Ra.{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|pp=50 & 118}} This hypothesis could also explain the absence of a direct [[Theophoric name|theophoric]] reference to Ra in his name as well as in that of his probable immediate successor Userkaf.{{efn|group=note|Against this opinion Stadelmann thinks that the "Ka" in Shepseskaf's and Userkaf's names does refer to the soul of Ra.{{sfn|Stadelmann|2000|pp=535–536}}}} Hassan, who believes Khentkaus{{nbs}}I was Shepseskaf's consort, further conjectures that Khentkaus was forced to marry Userkaf, the high priest of Ra, after Shepseskaf's death.{{sfn|El-Shahawy|Atiya|2005|p=33}} This marriage would have sealed the unrivalled ascendancy of the solar cult throughout the fifth dynasty.{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|p=118}} Egyptologist Jaromir Málek concurs in part with this hypothesis, seeing Shepseskaf's decision as the symptom of a possible religious crisis.{{sfn|Málek|2000|p=91}} The archaeologist [[Joyce Tyldesley]] notes that if Shepseskaf really did intend his tomb to be a mastaba and regardless of his motivations, this indicates that while a pyramid may be desirable, it was not an absolute necessity for a pharaoh to reach the afterlife.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2005|p=222}}

In a fourth opinion, Bárta, who stresses that the reasons for Shepseskaf's choice largely elude us, nonetheless proposes that the king may have lacked full legitimacy after ascending the throne from his position of high official through marriage.{{sfn|Bárta|2017|p=5}} In this hypothesis Shepseskaf would be a son of Khentkaus{{nbs}}I. While in all probability related to the fourth dynasty royal family, he may not have had the legitimacy that prince [[Khuenre]], the firstborn son of Menkaure and queen Khamerernebty{{nbs}}II, had enjoyed prior to his death. Possibly faced with opponents and a state-administration increasingly from outside of the royal family, he could have chosen to build a non-typical tomb fitting his peculiar status.{{sfn|Bárta|2016|p=60}}

===Architecture===
[[File:Mastaba-faraoun-4.jpg|thumb|right|alt=entrance of a stone lined corridor filed with desert sand amidst stone rubble|Entrance to the [[mastaba]]'s subterranean chambers]]

The mastaba, oriented on a north–south axis, is rectangular in shape with a base of {{cvt|99.6|x|74.4|m|ft}} and a height of {{cvt|18|m|ft}}.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2005|p=222}} The outer slope of its wall is 65°{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=120}} or 70° and it may have risen in two steps.{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=139}} The tomb dimensions are deemed very small and modest by Verner as compared with the great pyramids of Shepseskaf's fourth dynasty predecessors.{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|p=50}} Indeed, the total volume of the mastaba masonry represents no more than a third that of Menkaure's pyramid. For Verner and Egyptologist Abeer El-Shahawy, this could be explained by the decline in the economic prosperity of Egypt at the time as well as a decline in the king's power.{{sfn|El-Shahawy|Atiya|2005|p=33}}{{sfn|Verner|2001c|p=588}} At the opposite, for Stadelmann one should not conclude that political instability or economic difficulties prevented Menkaure, Shepseskaf and their successors from emulating the great pyramids of their forebears. Instead he proposes that the main impetus behind Menkaure's smaller pyramid and for Shepseskaf's decision to have a mastaba made for himself is a cultic change, where the pyramid is replaced as the centre of appearance and importance by the mortuary temple as the centre of the funerary ritual.{{sfn|Stadelmann|2001|p=597}}
In spite of its reduced size, Shepseskaf's tomb and funerary complex were probably unfinished at the death of the king, something which is taken to confirm a short reign. Excavations have shown that parts of the associated mortuary temple as well as the entirety of the causeway leading to it from the Nile valley have been "hastily"{{snf|Verner|2001a|p=384}} completed in mudbrick, probably by one of his successors.{{snf|Verner|2001a|p=384}}{{sfn|Maragioglio|Rinaldi|1967|p=144}}

The narrow ends of the mastaba were deliberately raised unlike the traditional fashion, making the tomb look like a great [[sarcophagus]]{{sfn|Chauvet|2001|p=176}}{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|p=50}} or the hieroglyphic determinative for a shrine.{{efn|group=note|That is, the mastaba took the shape of a Buto shrine with a rounded vaulted top between vertical ends.{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=139}}}}{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=426}} The mastaba was originally clad with white Turah limestone except for its lower course, which was clad in red granite.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2005|p=222}}{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=139}} The entrance to the substructures is on the mastaba's northern face, from where a nearly {{cvt|20.95|m|ft|adj=on}} long rock-cut passageway descends at 23°30'{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=139}} to an antechamber, the access to which was to be protected by three [[portcullis]]es. To the southeast of the antechamber is a room with six niches, possibly storerooms, while west of the antechamber lies the burial chamber. Measuring {{cvt|7.79|x|3.85|m|ft}} it is lined with granite and has a {{cvt|4.9|m|ft}} high arched ceiling sculpted into a false vault.{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=139}} Remnants of a decorated dark basalt sarcophagus were uncovered there although the burial chamber was never finished and in all probability never used.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2005|p=222}}

The mastaba was surrounded by a double enclosure wall of mudbricks. On the eastern face of the tomb was a mortuary temple with an offering hall, [[false door]] and five storerooms, the layout of which later served as template for [[Pyramid of Neferirkare#Mortuary temple|Neferirkare Kakai's temple]].{{sfn|Nuzzolo|2007|p=235}}{{sfn|Ricke|1950|pp=75–78}}
No niches meant to house statues of the king were found, although fragments of a statue of Shepseskaf in the style of those of Khafre and Menkaure were uncovered in the temple.{{sfn|Jéquier|1925|pp=254–255}} To the east lay a small inner court and a larger outer one. Remnants of a causeway have been found; it is supposed to have led to a valley temple which has yet to be located.{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=139}}