Section 2 Object Factsheet

Limestone ‘False Door’

Manchester Museum accession number 10789:

Found: Saqqara
Date: 5th Dynasty c.2475 BCE
Description: Limestone “false door” from the tomb chapel of Ny-kaw-ptah
Discussion
The Old Kingdom was the age of the pyramid builders. Kings raised their pyramid complexes in the northern
desert cemeteries. The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid built for King Djoser at Saqqara, appeared only a few
hundred years after the unification of Egypt. By the 4th Dynasty the true or straight sided pyramid had
developed. You can trace the development of the pyramid by clicking here.
Pyramids were reserved for the royal family. Throughout the Old Kingdom, the majority of the population were
buried in simple graves in desert cemeteries, whilst a privileged few – the elite - were buried in stone tombs.
These might be free-standing tombs (mastaba tombs) or tombs cut into a rock face. The tomb was regarded as
the "House of the Ka" or “House of the Spirit”. This idea was reflected in tomb architecture which, as far as
possible, replicated the houses of the living by including private spaces accessible only to the householder (the
burial chamber) and public spaces for entertaining visitors (the offering chapel).
The offering chapel was the place where the living could bring offerings for the dead. The “false door” - a
painted limestone slab bearing an image of the tomb owner sitting in front of a table of offerings, with a text
listing the food offerings required - formed a focal point within the offering chapel. This allowed the tomb owner
to identify him- or herself, and to request offerings from tomb visitors. The Ka, or spirit, was able to enter the
offering chapel from the underground burial chamber and consume the offerings left by visitors. Should the
visitors fail to leave real offerings, the images on the door would serve as a magical substitute for the offerings.

The Htp-di-nsw formula, or "offering formula", is one of the most frequent texts found on Egyptian funerary
material, including tombs, coffins and statues. It begins with the standard phrase Htp-di-nsw, a phrase which is
difficult to translate, but which probably means "An offering that the king has given ...". It serves as an
introduction to a list of things which the tomb owner needs and which were, in theory at least, provided by the
king. By the end of the Old Kingdom the idea of a royal gift had been discarded, and the phrase Htp-di-
nsw was simply used to introduce the conventional offering list.
Read more about the offering formula, this time on an offering stela in the Manchester Museum, by clicking
here:
https://egyptmanchester.wordpress.com/tag/offering-formula/