Tomb of a faceless man : Preliminary report on the excavations of the tomb of Ankhires (AS 98), the inspector of hairdressers of the Great House
Abstract
The paper deals with the tomb of an inspector of hairdressers of the Great House, Ankhires (AS 98), found during the autumn archaeological season of 2016. The excavation were finished in the autumn season of 2017.
From the structural point of view, two main phases can be observed in the Ankhires's mastaba. The older stage contained a chapel of the "traditional" style with an L-shaped ground plan and a false door in its western wall, Serdab 1 and a burial shaft.
A sophisticated concept of the second phase is unconventional for the period, with a corridor chapel, Rooms 1 and 2 and Serdab 2. By extending, the mastaba gained the area 413 m2.
The wall decoration of the main funerary chapel was largely destroyed; only one block remained in situ and several fragments of the false door were found in the debris. In the most imposing part of the mastaba (Room 1), the decorated walls preserved to the height of 1.80 m.
The Ankhires's occupation, which he carried out during his life, can be reconstructed from the preserved titles which testify about activities related to the care for the king. The title "inspector of hairdressers of the Great House" was the principal one.
Ankhires also carried out functions connected with priestly rituals within the cult of King Nyuserre. The tomb is preliminarily dated to the late Fifth Dynasty (Nyuserre - Djedkare).