Meresankh III carved tomb

Meresankh III carved tomb

The Tomb of Meresankh III an underground rock-cut tomb designated by archaeologists as a sub-tom is located beneath the Mastaba pillar in the Eastern Necropolis of Giza. This ancient Egyptian cemetery is the resting place of Meresankh III daughter of Heteferes II and Prince Kawab and granddaughter of King Khufu of Egypt. She was the wife of King Khafre. Circa 2578 BC – 2520 BC. The tomb was reused during the reign of Khafre who had built it at that time. It was discovered in 1917 during what was intended the final day of excavations by a team from Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The rock-cut tomb leading to the burial chamber has a sarcophagus lid supported by stones. Most rock sarcophagi are designed to stand above ground. The oldest known rock sarcophagi were used by pharaohs of the Third Dynasty of Egypt who reigned from approximately 2686 to 2613 BC. and this remains a relic of a long time ago. The remains of Queen Meresan III lie in a corner of the chamber. Inside the tomb are depictions of four women offering sacrifices. Inscriptions on the tomb's door record Meresan's posthumous name. The tomb is decorated with bas-reliefs and consists of a cruciform chamber with an eastern entrance.

Some inscriptions found in the tomb of Merittite I may indicate that she was the mother of Heteferes II Queen of Ancient Egypt during the Fourth Dynasty. Queen Heteferes II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt which existed from approximately 2723 to 2563 BC. Inscriptions were added to the original decorations of Heteferes II Queen of Ancient Egypt during the Fourth Dynasty along with a shaft leading to the tomb below. In the shadow of the Great Pyramid the tomb of Queen Meresan III in the Eastern Necropolis of Giza is one of the most magnificent and largest of the few tombs found there.