Mastabat al-Fir’aun 2.55

The Mastabat al-Fir’aun is the grave monument of the ancient Egyptian king Shepseskaf, the last king of the Fourth Dynasty documented to date. It is located in South Saqqara halfway between the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara and the pyramids of Sneferu, the founder of the fourth dynasty, at Dahshur. The structure is located close to the pyramid of Pepi II, a ruler of the Sixth Dynasty. The stone quarry for the structure is located west of the Red Pyramid of Sneferu.DiscoveryThe Mastabat al-Fir’aun was described for the first time by John Perring in the middle of the 19th century. Karl Richard Lepsius also sought out the tomb, but he did not carry out any close investigation. The first investigation of the subterranean parts of the structure was carried out by Auguste Mariette in 1858. A proper excavation of the whole tomb complex was first undertaken by Gustave Jéquier in 1924/5. He was also the first to be assign the structure to Shepseskaf, as a result of the discovery of a fragment of a stele. Before this, the tomb had errneously been assigned to Unas, the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty.