Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Teti And The First Texts

The first tomb we went to after the Step Pyramid was the tomb of Teti, which is in the Teti Pyramid.  One of multiple pyramids in the pyramid field of Saqqara, and only the second known pyramid containing pyramid texts, which are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, as well as evidence that texting has been around a lot longer than we realize.

Carved into subterranean walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids starting at the end of the Fifth Dynasty (for clarification, the Fifth Dynasty comes after the Fourth Dynasty and before the Sixth Dynasty.  The Fifth Dynasty also served as the inspiration for the American television show "Dynasty" from the mid-1980s).

Editor: You are a veritable fount of BS.  Writer: Thanks, I do what I can.

Opened by a man with a French first name (Gaston) and an Italian last name (Maspero), he actually was French.  The opening of the pyramid came in 1882.  

King Teti is not as well known as King Tut, for instance.  The preservation of the pyramid is underwhelming, and now it resembles a small hill.  It is not an iconic pyramid you see in pictures of Egypt.  Conversely, however, the below ground chambers and corridors are in great shape, and it is worth descending into the pyramid.  Because of the outside, it's not a Great Pyramid, but because of the pyramid texts inside, it's a pretty darn good pyramid.

Carol descends into the pyramid.

I'd give my right leg to know what
these hieroglyphics mean.

Sorry, I know what you are thinking:
"C'mon Glen, another bird hieroglyphic
close-up?  Really?"

A sense of just how packed the 
underground chamber walls are
with hieroglyphics.

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