The mastaba of Ankhmahor is situated on the northern side of Teti's
pyramid at Saqqara in the block of tombs belonging to the officials of
the king's Dynasty VI reign. Ankhmahor is named as 'Vizier, First
under the King, Overseer of the Great House' and was among the most
important of Teti's officials. The tomb was first excavated by Victor
Loret in 1899, but has been recently published by N Kanawati and A
Hassan as a record of chapels and burial chambers of Ankhmahor and his
son, Ishfi, based on new photographs and facsimile drawings.
The entrance to the tomb, which contains a modest six chambers, is on
the eastern side. It is popularly known as the 'Physician's Tomb'
because although Ankhmahor was not himself a physician his monument
contains some interesting scenes of medical practices.
The first chamber has the usual agricultural scenes and leads through
a doorway on the left into a series of rooms and a serdab. The
left-hand wall of the second room depicts craftsmen at work. There are
two registers of jewellery-making and scenes of metal-working and
sculpting. On the western wall there are scenes of netting fowl.
To the north of the first chamber there is a large pillared hall
containing five remaining square pillars. The reliefs here are
generally not well preserved but some depictions of the mourners in
the funeral procession on the southern wall are beautifully portrayed.
Reliefs on the eastern wall of the pillared hall show women dancing.
The most famous pictures from Ankhmahor's tomb are in the doorway to
the pillared hall. These are the medical scenes and show
representations of surgical operations, including the circumcision of
a priest which is comparable to a similar relief in the Karnak Temple
of Mut, from a much later date. Another relief shows a foot operation
being performed - sited by many reflexologists as proof of ancient
alternative therapies practised on the hands and feet. |