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mastaba

mastaba , in Egyptian architecture, a sepulchral structure built aboveground. The mastabas of the early dynastic period (3200-2680 BC), such as those of the I dynasty at Sakkara, were elaborate, having many storage or offering compartments, and were quite evidently close copies of contemporary houses. Better known are the mastabas of the Old Kingdom (2680-2181 BC), which were an elaboration of the predynastic burial-pit and mound form. The typical mastaba was generally rectangular in plan with a flat roof and inward-sloping walls, built of brick and faced with limestone slabs.

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mastaba

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Â© A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

mastaba. Ancient Egyptian mausoleum, the exterior of which has battered sides, a flat roof, and is otherwise plain. The tomb-chamber was cut far underground. The step-pyramid at Saqqara evolved from a mastaba form.

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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "mastaba." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 2 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "mastaba." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (December 2, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-mastaba.html

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "mastaba." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000. Retrieved December 02, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-mastaba.html

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	Saqqara tombs 3; the mastaba of Neferseshemptah.(Brief article)(Book review) Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 5/1/2009
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