The Central Field is located to the east of Khafre's causeway and extends to the pyramid town of Queen Khentkaus I. One of the main excavators of the central field is Selim Hassan. [1] The central field is located at the site of some large stone quarries that provided the stones for the construction of the first two pyramids at Giza. Hence the tombs date to the later part of the Fourth Dynasty and later. [2] The tombs from the 4th Dynasty include those of queens Persenet, Khamerernebty II, Rekhetre, Khentkaus I and Bunefer, as well as several royal sons. [1]
The tombs form the 4th Dynasty include several royal wives, sons and daughters. [3]
Tomb number | Type | Name of owner | Title owner | Time Period | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
G 8080 LG 92 | Mastaba and rock-cut | Iuenmin | Eldest king's son of his body, chief justice and vizier, treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, etc. [4] | End of Dynasty 4 | Wife: Khamerernebty |
G 8090 LG 90 | Rock-cut tomb | Debehen | Sole companion, secretary of the House of Morning, keeper of the headdress, adorner of Horus, director of the palace, etc. | 4th Dynasty (Menkaure) | |
G 8140 | Rock-cut tomb | Niuserre | King's Son of His Body, Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, Sole Confidant. | 4th Dynasty | Tomb contains 2 shafts and a chapel. |
G 8154 | Rock-cut tomb | Sekhemkare | Eldest King's Son of His Body, Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, Director of the Palace, Director of the Scribes of the Book of His Father, etc. | 4th Dynasty (Khafre) to early 5th Dynasty | Son of Queen Hekenuhedjet and Khafre, the partial name of his wife was preserved as Khufu[..]t; Sons: Sekhemkare, Saf-Khafre, Herkhaf, and Khafre-ankh |
G 8156 | Rock-cut tomb | Persenet | King's beloved wife, king's daughter of his body, etc. | 4th Dynasty (Khafre) | Possibly daughter of Khufu and wife of Khafre. |
G 8158 | Rock-cut tomb | Nikaure | King's eldest son of his body, chief justice and vizier | 4th Dynasty (Khafre) and later | Possibly a son of Queen Persenet and King Khafre |
G 8172 | Rock-cut tomb | Nebemakhet | King's Eldest Son and Chief Justice and Vizier | 4th Dynasty: Khafre to Menkaure or later | Son of Khafre and Queen Meresankh III. Nebemakhet's wife Nubhetep and several brothers and a sister are mentioned. |
G 8210 | Rock-cut tomb | Irsekhu | Captain of the two Divine Boats, Overseer of the Army, Overseer of the Tutors of the King's Children of His Body, etc. [5] | Late 4th Dynasty | |
G 8260 | Stone Mastaba | Babaef | King's Son, Director of the Palace, etc. [6] | Middle to end of 4th Dynasty | |
G 8400 LG 100 | Burial complex | Khentkaus I | Mother of the two kings of Upper and Lower Egypt (or king of Upper and Lower Egypt, mother of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt), daughter of the god | End of 4th to early 5th Dynasty | The complex includes a pyramid, a solar boat, a valley temple, a washing tent, a house of embalming, a libation tank, and a mud-brick pyramid town. |
G 8408 | Rock-cut tomb | Bunefer | King's wife, great one of the hetes-sceptre, priestess of Shepses-Nebty (Shepseskaf), seer of Horus and Seth, king's daughter of (his body), etc. | End of 4th to 5th Dynasty | |
G 8460 | Rock-cut tomb | Ankhmare | Eldest King's son of his body, chief justice and vizier, etc. | End of 4th Dynasty | |
G 8464 | Rock-cut tomb | Hemetre | King's daughter of his body, priestess of Hathor | Mid to end 4th Dynasty or early 5th dynasty | Several children of Hemetre are depicted in her tomb. |
G 8466 | Rock-cut tomb | Iunre | the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khafre, His Eldest Son of His Body, director of the palace, etc. | End of 4th Dynasty | Son of Khafre. |
G 8496 | Stone Mastaba | Sekhemka | The Overseer of the Army (General), The Divine Treasurer (Boat-captain), etc. [7] | End of 4th Dynasty or later | A son named Iufi and two daughters named Iynefert and Meritefes are named. |
G 8530 | Stone Mastaba | Rekhetre | King's Daughter of His Body, King's Wife, etc. [8] | Late 4th Dynasty | Daughter of King Khafre, possibly wife of King Menkaure. |
G 8976 | Rock-cut tomb | Washptah | Overseer of craftsmen of the wabet, priest of Ptah, priest of Sokar, priest of Khufu, etc. | End of 4th to 5th dynasty | Queen Khamerernebty II is mentioned on the entrance lintel. Washptah's wife Wemtetka and several children are attested in the tomb. |
G 8978 Galarza Tomb | Rock-cut tomb | Khamerernebty II | King's daughter of his body, king's wife, seer of Horus and Seth | Middle to end 4th Dynasty | The tomb may have been started for Khamerernebty II's mother Khamerernebty I, but the tomb was completed for the daughter. Khamerernebty II was likely a daughter of King Khafre and a wife of Menkaure. |
G 8980 | Stone Mastaba | Wetetj-hetep | Royal acquaintance | Late 4th or early 5th Dynasty |
The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from c. 2613 to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other countries is documented.
Shepseskaf was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt, the sixth and probably last ruler of the fourth dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He reigned most probably for four but possibly up to seven years in the late 26th to mid-25th century BC.
Neferirkare Kakai was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son of Sahure with his consort Meretnebty, was known as Ranefer A before he came to the throne. He acceded the day after his father's death and reigned for eight to eleven years, sometime in the early to mid-25th century BCE. He was himself very likely succeeded by his eldest son, born of his queen Khentkaus II, the prince Ranefer B who would take the throne as king Neferefre. Neferirkare fathered another pharaoh, Nyuserre Ini, who took the throne after Neferefre's short reign and the brief rule of the poorly known Shepseskare.
Menkauhor Kaiu was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24th century BC.
Neferefre Isi was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II. He was known as prince Ranefer before he ascended to the throne.
Shepseskare or Shepseskara was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the fourth or fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. Shepseskare lived in the mid-25th century BC and was probably the owner of an unfinished pyramid in Abusir, which was abandoned after a few weeks of work in the earliest stages of its construction.
The Giza pyramid complex in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, between 2600 and 2500 BC. The site also includes several temples and cemeteries and the remains of a workers' village.
Abusir is the name given to an ancient Egyptian archaeological pyramid complex comprising the ruins of 14 pyramids dating to the Old Kingdom period, and is part of the Pyramid Fields of the Memphis and its Necropolis UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Selim Hassan was an Egyptian Egyptologist.
Khentkaus I, also referred to as Khentkawes, was a royal woman who lived in ancient Egypt during both the Fourth Dynasty and the Fifth Dynasty. She may have been a daughter of king Menkaure, the wife of both king Shepseskaf and king Userkaf, the mother of king Sahure. Some suggest that she was the regent for one of her sons. Perhaps, in her own right, she may have been the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, which aspects of her burial suggest. Her mastaba at Giza – tomb LG100 – is located very close to Menkaure's pyramid complex. This close connection may point to a family relationship. Although the relationship is not clear, the proximity of the pyramid complex of Khentkaus to that of king Menkaure has led to the conjecture that she may have been his daughter.
Iunmin was a vizier from the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. He was possibly a son of king Khafre. He served as vizier towards the end of the dynasty, possibly during the reign of his brother Menkaure.
Iunre (Yunre) was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the son of king Khafre. He was named after Ra.
Ankhmare was an ancient Egyptian prince and vizier of the 4th Dynasty. His titles include king's eldest son of his body, as well as chief justice and vizier. Ankhmare was a son of Pharaoh Khafre and was named after the god Ra.
Hemetre (Hemetra) was an ancient Egyptian royal woman of the Fourth Dynasty. Hemetre may have been a daughter or granddaughter of Khafre. She did not hold the title king's wife and may have even married a non-royal. She is mainly known from her tomb, which is located in the central field of Giza. Her name honors the god Ra.
Rekhetre was an ancient Egyptian queen from the late 4th Dynasty or early 5th Dynasty. She was a daughter of Pharaoh Khafre. Her husband is never mentioned, but Rekhetre would have been the wife of one of Khafre's successors, possibly Menkaure.
Sekhemkare was a vizier from the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. He was a son of king Khafre and queen Hekenuhedjet. He served as vizier during the beginning of the next dynasty, during the reigns of Userkaf and Sahure. Sekhemkare is the only son of Khafre whose death can be fairly securely dated to a precise reign, here that of Sahure.
Bunefer was an ancient Egyptian queen from the 4th or 5th dynasty. It is not known which king she was married to. Bunefer was buried in tomb G 8408 in the Central Field of the Giza Necropolis.
The pyramid of Khentkaus II is a queen's pyramid in the necropolis of Abusir in Egypt, which was built during the Fifth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. It is attributed to the queen Khentkaus II, who may have ruled Egypt as a reigning queen after the death of her husband Neferirkare Kakai. The pyramid is now a heavily damaged ruin, which only stands 4 metres high.
The pyramid of Khentkaus I or step tomb of Khentkaus I is a Fourth Dynasty two-stepped tomb built for the Queen Mother Khentkaus I in Giza. The tomb, built in two phases coinciding with its two steps, was originally known as the fourth pyramid of Giza. In the first phase, a nearly square block of bedrock, around which the stone had been quarried for the Giza pyramids, was utilised to construct her tomb and encased with fine white Tura limestone. In the second phase, most likely in the Fifth Dynasty, her tomb was enlarged with a large limestone structure built on top of the bedrock block. The Egyptologist Miroslav Verner suggests that this may have been intended to convert her tomb into a pyramid, but was abandoned as a result of stability concerns. South-west of the tomb was a long boat pit, which housed the Night boat of Re. A companion day boat has not been found. A chapel was built into the tomb superstructure, with a large granite entrance bearing the queen's name and titles. One of her titles was of particular interest because it had not been known of prior to its discovery at her tomb.
Akhethetep was an ancient Egyptian official of the Old Kingdom, who is known from his burial at Giza, excavated 1929–30 by the Egyptian Egyptologist Selim Hassan. Akhethetep had several rather modest titles, including ka-priest of the king's mother, scribe of the treasury or inspector of the scribes of the granary. He was also inspector of scribes at Akhet-Khufu. Akhet-Khufu is the pyramid of king Khufu. His wife was a woman called Nikauhathor. In his tomb are also mentioned on a false door a certain Kainefer and a woman called Peseshet. The latter with the title overseer of the physicians, perhaps the first female doctor known by name. The relationship of these two people to Akhethetep is unknown. Selim Hassan wonders whether they were his parents.