Medunefer (Giza G 4630)

Medunufer
Burial place
Giza, Giza Governorate, Egypt
OccupationPriest
Years activec. 2400 BC, Fifth Dynasty
ChildrenAnkhires, Seneb, Kairef, Medunefer
False-door from the mastaba of Medunefer (Cairo EMC CG 57123), during Schiaparelli's excavations, 1903.[1]

Medunufer, also transcribed Medunefer (fl. c. 2400 BC), was an ancient Egyptian priest who lived in the Old Kingdom, during the Fifth Dynasty.[2] Medunefer is only known from his mastaba in Giza (Giza G 4630), excavated by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1903 and later again by George Reisner around 1913-1914.[3]

Medunefer's titles include lector priest, scribe of divine books and sema-priest of Anubis.[2]

Tomb

The tomb G 4630 is a stone mastaba in the Western Cemetery of Giza.[2] The tomb had an added mudbrick chapel from which came two limestone false doors, the southern one belonging to Medunefer and the northern one to his son Ankhires.[4] The offering room with the two false doors was part of a larger mud-brick cult complex, which also enclosed the later-added mastaba G 4631.[4] The cult building included an entrance room measuring 3.65 × 3.35 m, an offering room measuring 3.9 × 1.3 m, and a narrow vaulted corridor measuring 14.9 × 0.8 m.[5]

The Museo Egizio photo archive preserves a set of eight images of the mastaba and its finds.[1] The photographs include the two false doors, the false door of Medunefer, the second false door, and the covered corridor of the mastaba.[1]

Finds

In Medunufer's stone-built mastaba tomb was found his false door, now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, CG No. 57123, providing his name and titles.[2] On the false door are mentioned two wives, Nubka and Tjenetet, and several children are depicted.[2][6] His son Ankhires reports that he made the false door for his father.[7] There is a short dedicatory statement on the false door, in which the eldest son Ankhires says that he made the monument for his father.[8]

Within the mastaba, Ankhires had also his own false door, now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, CG No. 57189.[9] This second false door was dedicated to Ankhires by his son Medunefer.[9][4] Ankhires himself had several titles, including scribe of divine books, sema-priest of Anubis and lector priest.[10]

The two false doors are documented together on plate E00309 in the Museo Egizio photo archive.[1] The false door of Medunefer is documented on plates C03318 and E00306, while the second false door is documented on plate C01855.[1] Pottery from burial shaft G 4630 A was registered in Reisner and Smith's publication with field numbers beginning 13-12 and 14-1.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Mastaba G 4630, of Medunefer". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Porter & Moss 1974, p. 133.
  3. ↑ "Mastaba G 4630, of Medunefer". Museo Egizio. Retrieved 5 May 2026.; Reisner & Smith 1955, pp. 69, 73; for Reisner's field-number system, with a prefix of year and month followed by a running sequential number, D'Itria & Ferrandino 2022, p. 46.
  4. 1 2 3 Jánosi 2005, p. 127.
  5. ↑ Jánosi 2005, p. 201.
  6. ↑ Curto 1963, pp. 78–81.
  7. ↑ Curto 1963, p. 82.
  8. ↑ Curto 1963, p. 82.
  9. 1 2 Porter & Moss 1974, p. 134.
  10. ↑ Curto 1963, pp. 82–83.
  11. ↑ Reisner & Smith 1955, pp. 69, 73; for Reisner's field-number system, with a prefix of year and month followed by a running sequential number, D'Itria & Ferrandino 2022, p. 46.

Sources

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