The Tomb of Meru (TT 240), a High Official of the Early Middle Kingdom, as Presented on Sketchfab

Created by Mariusz Caban - OZ pracownia

Burial chamber of Meru (TT 240)

Meru was royal sealer and overseer of sealers in the court of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II, at the end of the Eleventh Dynasty. His tomb (numbered MMA 517/TT 240) is located in the North Asasif necropolis in Thebes, north of the valley of Deir el-Bahari. He is also known from a stela in the Museo Egizio in Turin and two rock inscriptions near Aswan.

Meru’s tomb consists of an undecorated cult chapel and a painted underground burial chamber, its layout inspired by the royal mortuary complex at Deir el-Bahari. The tomb is preceded by a big courtyard; the entrance to the inner corridor opens from the center of its façade. Several rooms and niches open from both sides of the corridor, probably carved after the Middle Kingdom for successive burials. One of the chambers situated on the right side was later reused by Coptic monks in the Roman period. A square cult chapel was carved at the end of the corridor, its entrance located near the west wall of the chamber and not on its axis. A niche for the statue of the deceased was cut in the wall opposite the entrance. The sloping passage begins in front of the chapel; it bends towards the west and is aligned with the north-south axis. The burial chamber is at the end of the passage. Its walls are decorated 

with painted false door images, religious texts, offering tables, and offering lists. The sarcophagus of Meru was carved in the floor in the eastern part of the chamber; it’s lid originally appearing to be part of the chamber’s floor. The walls of the sarcophagus were also painted: several columns of the Coffin Texts were preserved in addition to offering lists.  

Meru’s tomb complex was investigated by the Polish Archaeological Mission to the North Asasif, who have been studying Middle Kingdom tomb complexes located on the northern side of the valley of Deir el-Bahari since 2013. 

This 3D model was created by Mariusz Caban and OZ pracownia. To see Mariusz Caban’s other 3D models, visit his Sketchfab page.

3D Tour of the Tomb of Meru (Sketchfab model created by Mariusz Caban)

Further reading about the work of the Polish Project Asasif:

Chudzik, P. (2016). Middle Kingdom tombs in Asasif: Archaeological activities in 2015. PAM, 25, 289–301

Chudzik, P. (2017). Middle Kingdom tombs from Asasif: Work in the 2015/2016 season. PAM, 26/1, 185–198

Chudzik, P. (2018). Middle Kingdom tombs of Asasif: Archaeological fieldwork in 2017. PAM, 27/1, 183–194

Chudzik, P. (2020). Middle Kingdom tombs from the North Asasif cemetery: field seasons 2018/2019 and 2020, Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 29/2, 177–202 

Also, watch a short video made by the Polish Project Asasif, showing the architecture of the tomb of Meru. 

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