Khufukhaf I (or Khafkhufu) was a priest from the reign of Khufu who is thought to have been the son of Khufu and Queen Henutsen. His tomb sits east of the pyramid of Queen Henutsen near the Great Pyramid complex.
Stadelmann has suggested that Khufukhaf became the pharaoh Khafre, in part because there is no evidence that this mastaba ever held a burial. He proposes that when he became king, he dropped the name of his father “Khufu” from his own name, replacing it with “Re” to become “Khaf-Re”. This suggestion has a certain elegance to it, but has not received widespread support.
The tomb is a double mastaba. The north chapel (G7130) is dedicated to his wife Nefretkau, the south (G 7140) to the prince himself. The entrance is from the east through the mastaba doorway. The only decorated part of the vestibule is the western wall from which a corridor leads to the main chamber. On either side of the door in the vestibule there are two large representations of the deceased with his mother and son.
The prince’s chapel consists of an offering room entered by a doorway in the northern end and with a niche in the south end of the west wall. The main chamber walls are covered with depictions of the deceased and his family receiving offerings.
There is a beautiful depiction of Anubis in the southern chapel, along with the Offering Formula. Archaeologists also found tiny model beer jugs (carved with the same offering spells that are inscribed on the walls) as well as real beer jugs.
Bibliography
- Bard, Kathryn (2008) An introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
- Simpson, William Kelly (1978) The Mastabas of Kawab, Khafkhufu I and II
- Snape, Steven (2010) Ancient Egyptian Tombs: The Culture of Life and Death
Copyright J Hill 2016