The Sixth Dynasty rolled in like the thunderhead that portents a rising storm. There had been tension between the royal line from which Teti descended and the one which had just vacated the throne. Court officials had grown accustomed to wealth. Provincial nobles were flexing their will to independence. Famine. Waves of refugees. Ongoing religious reform. Teti’s agenda could be summarized in two words-damage control.
In every recession there are winners and losers. Meet Chief Justice and Vizier Mereruka, one of the winners. Even as the kings during his lifetime were building ever-smaller and cheaper pyramids, this officer of the royal court built the Taj Mahal of the Sixth Dynasty.
Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But Mereruka stands out as an excellent example how the power dynamics were shifting as the Old Kingdom entered its twilight years.
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Tags: Ancient Egypt, Egyptian Tombs, Fifth Dynasty, Kagemni, Mastabas, Memphis Necropolis, Mereruka, Old Kingdom, Saqqara, Sixth Dynasty, Solar Cult, Teti, Unas
For starters, it’s a large four-sided structure made of stone, wide at the bottom and pointy at the top, making a perfect triangle. 
