Hiero Lens

Places › Memphis, Saqqara and Dahshur › Saqqara

Pyramid of Teti

Monument at Saqqara · also called Teti pyramid, Pyramid Texts of Teti

Inside the Pyramid of Teti, first king of the Sixth Dynasty (c. 2345 BC), the walls carry Pyramid Texts in columns of hieroglyphs under a gabled ceiling of stars. It is the second royal set of these spells, after Unas.

Outside, the pyramid is a low mound. A sloping passage leads down to the antechamber and the burial chamber, where the king's sarcophagus still lies. Many spells repeat those of Unas and others are new. Parts of the walls are damaged, so you can see how the texts were laid out in columns and where blocks were lost.

Around the pyramid grew a cemetery for Teti's family and court. His queens had small pyramids nearby. His viziers Mereruka and Kagemni built large mastabas just to the north, so this visit pairs well with two of the finest private tombs of the Old Kingdom. Teti's Horus name, Seheteptawy, means "he who pacifies the Two Lands".

What to see and read

Burial chamber

Columns of Pyramid Texts around the king's sarcophagus, with stars on the gabled ceiling.

Antechamber

Spells set out much as in the Pyramid of Unas, by a different hand.

Teti cemetery

The mastabas of Mereruka and Kagemni stand a few minutes' walk to the north.

Names you can find here

Signs to look for

  1. Bread loaf X1t The bread loaf, t, is written twice in the short cartouche name Teti.
  2. Flowering reed M17i The reed leaf gives the final i of Teti.
  3. Cartouche V10 The cartouche of Teti recurs in every spell.
  4. Bread on an offering mat R4ḥtp The hotep sign is the heart of his Horus name Seheteptawy.
  5. Star N14sbꜣ Stars cover the burial chamber ceiling.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

  • The interior opens in rotation; ask at the ticket office first.
  • Many signs are worn. Photograph a column, then trace one sign at a time in Hiero Lens.
  • Go on to Mereruka to compare royal and private writing of the same reign.

Point your camera at a wall Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.

Questions

Does the Pyramid of Teti have Pyramid Texts?

Yes. Its antechamber and burial chamber carry Pyramid Texts, the second royal set after those of Unas.

Who was Teti?

The first king of the Sixth Dynasty, around 2345 BC. His vizier Mereruka married his daughter and was buried beside his pyramid.

Also at Saqqara

Monument

Step Pyramid of Djoser

The writing at the Step Pyramid is sparse but early. Here the king's own name, the Horus Netjerikhet, is carved inside a serekh on reliefs of his jubilee race, around 2650 BC; the name Djoser comes from much later visitors.

Monument

Serapeum of Saqqara

In the Serapeum the writing to find is on a few of its giant stone sarcophagi: columns of hieroglyphs and royal cartouches, among them the name of Amasis of the 26th Dynasty. The galleries were the burial place of the Apis bulls, living images of Ptah of Memphis.

Monument

Pyramid of Unas

The Pyramid of Unas holds the oldest Pyramid Texts, carved around 2350 BC: columns of hieroglyphs filled with blue paint that cover the king's burial rooms from floor to ceiling.

Monument

Mastaba of Ti

In the Mastaba of Ti every scene has its hieroglyph captions: you can read what the farmers, boat builders and herdsmen are doing, and sometimes what they say. The reliefs, from around 2400 BC, are some of the finest of the Old Kingdom.

Monument

Mastaba of Mereruka

The Mastaba of Mereruka is packed with captioned scenes and long titles carved in hieroglyphs, in more than thirty rooms. Mereruka was vizier of King Teti around 2340 BC, and this is the largest tomb of any Old Kingdom official at Saqqara.

Monument

Mastaba of Ptahhotep and Akhethotep

Ptahhotep's chapel keeps some of the best-preserved colour of any Old Kingdom relief, with crisp painted hieroglyphs and a long offering list you can read item by item. The tomb dates to the late Fifth Dynasty, around 2400 BC.

Monument

Tomb of Horemheb at Saqqara

The reliefs in Horemheb's Saqqara tomb show him as army commander under Tutankhamun, around 1320 BC, with captions spelling out his military titles. On some figures a royal cobra was added to his brow after he became king.

Museum

Imhotep Museum

The Imhotep Museum, at the entrance to Saqqara, is named after the man whose name is carved on a statue base of King Djoser, the one inscription from his lifetime known to name him. Its well-lit cases hold inscribed finds from the site, a good place to learn the signs before the worn tomb walls.

Where it is

Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.