Page 61 - اثار مصر الفرعونية2

into the burial chamber. There are doorways to the east and west
of the antechamber. To the east is a chamber with three niches or
magazines (perhaps originally containing statues of the pharaoh)
and to the west is the entrance to the burial chamber.

The walls of the burial chamber are inscribed with Pyramid
Texts, following the example of Unas and describe the king's
journey from the land of the living to the Netherworld. These
spells or 'utterances' were intended to guide the pharaoh
successfully towards his eternal life with the gods. The texts are
beautifully carved in columns and his cartouche is easy to pick
out in hieroglyphs, but they were never completed and are more
damaged than those in the Pyramid of Unas. It is suggested that
Teti died before the decoration of his burial chamber was
complete – the ancient historian Manetho states that he was
murdered by his bodyguards, though there is no evidence for this.
Parts of the walls were also decorated with stylised reliefs
painted to resemble a 'palace façade' and the ceiling was painted
with stars.

Teti's grey basalt sarcophagus was found on the western
side of the burial chamber but its lid had been broken by robbers
while they plundered the tomb. The lower part, which is well
preserved, was originally decorated with gilded inscriptions (a
single band of Pyramid Texts) and although unfinished, was the
first sarcophagus known to be decorated. At the foot of the

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