Gemniemhat Explained

Gemniemhat (also called Gemni) was an ancient Egyptian official who is known from his well preserved burial excavated at Saqqara. Gemniemhat dates to the end of the First Intermediate Period^[1] or early Middle Kingdom.^[2] His burial was found by Cecil Mallaby Firth in 1921,^[3] who excavated part of the cemeteries around the pyramid of Teti. The burial of Gemniemhat was found at the bottom of a shaft and contained two decorated coffins. The head of the deceased was covered with a mummy mask. Around the coffins were found many wooden models showing the production of food, two female offering bearers and a small wooden statue of Gemniemhat. The objects are today in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, although only the inner coffin could be preserved.^[4] Above ground there was a small mud brick mastaba decorated with a false door. Here, Gemniemhat bears several titles, including royal sealer, steward, overseer of the granaries. He was also funerary priest at the pyramid of king Merikare.

References

1. Khaled Daoud: Necropoles Memphiticae, Inscriptions from the Herakleopolitan Period, Alexandria 2011,, 111-115
2. James P. Allen: The High Officials of the early Middle Kingdom, in N. Strudwick, J. H. Taylor (editors), The Theban Necropolis, Past, Present and Future, The British Museum Press, London 2003,, 17
3. C. M. Firth, B. Gunn: Teti Pyramid Cemeteries. Cairo 1926, pp. 52–54, 187, 227–231, 267–269, plates 22–31
4. Mogens Jorgensen: Catalogue, Egypt I (3000–1550 B.C.), Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Copenhagen 1996,, pp. 124–151