5th Dynasty tomb-relief
- Gallery: Room 4
- Culture: 5th Dynasty
- Date: 2400BC (c.)
- Object type: tomb-relief
- Materials: limestone
- Museum number: EA1848
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a limestone false-door from the 5th Dynasty, carved around 2400 BCE. Known as the tomb-relief of Kaihap, it served as a ceremonial doorway for the afterlife. At the top center, you'll notice Kaihap and his wife Meretminu seated at a table, surrounded by stylized bread and sacred substances. Flanking them are ten figures—possibly their children—and below, two full-standing figures of the couple, with their names and titles above.
Beneath them are ten soul priests, men offering tribute in ritual form. The carving is unusually detailed for its date, and a surprisingly large number of people are included—perhaps reflecting Kaihap’s pride in his status as a royal acquaintance and inspector of attendants.
Though made of limestone, the door still shows preserved traces of color: red for males and yellow for females. This is all that remains of the chapel of Kaihap at Saqqara. Discovered in the 1960s, it was donated to Britain in thanks for work in the Nubian Rescue Campaign.
See it in person
5th Dynasty tomb-relief is on display in Room 4 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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