Ti was another official during the 5th Dynasty, and a mighty one. He held the title "Overseer of the Pyramids of Niuserre" and "Overseer of the Suntemples of Sahure, Neferikare and Niuserre. The mastaba lies ca 300 m north from the so called Philosophers Circle, which is a Greek monument and contains statues of Plato, Heraklites, Pythagorean and Pindar, a rather sorry lot of statues few of which are well preserved.
The entrance to the mastaba of Ti.
The tomb of Ti has been restored since it was discovered by Auguste Mariette in the 1800´s. It is now considered one of the most beautiful of Old Kingdom mastabas in the necropolis. The reliefs are lovely and the motifs unusual. Entrance was via a portico on the north side, leading into a big courtyard with columns and 12 square pillars. There was also a burial shaft. This was in the center and here was the sarcophagus of Ti discovered. Decorations in the courtyard have for the most disappeared except some of Ti in agricultural scenes and of daily life. There is an opening to the serdab (room for statue of the tomb owner) in the north-east corner. In the south-west corner is a false door stela for his son, Demedji.
A false door in the tomb of Ti.
I am not sure if this is the one belonging to his wife or if it is one his own.
From the courtyard leads a narrow corridor to two more rooms. To the right in the passage is a false door to Ti´s wife Neferhetpes. She was a priestess to Neith and to Hathor. A little along the corridor is an oblong chamber with reliefs of food preparation: cooking, brewing, pottery making. There are also scribes taking down notes or recording it. Put cooking on records??
The larger of the two rooms holds the most beautiful relief and was used as an offering room. Here are depictions of musicians and dancers, and agricultural scenes, boats are being built, and the tomb owner surveys it all. In the south wall of this offering hall, there are three small openings through which one can see the serdab statue. The statue is a copy and the original is kept in the Cairo Museum. These serdabs served the purpose of letting the tomb owner witness his offerings and thus be in contact with the living world. Also here are many reliefs, depicting different kinds of everyday activities; metalworking, carpentry and sculpture.
The statue of Ti seen from one of the slots in the wall.
In the west wall of the offering room, there are two false doors. In front of one of them stands an offering table in alabaster. One of them has double jambs and depicts the standing Ti four times.
The north wall has a beautiful relief of Ti standing on a boat, a dwarf and a pet beside him, overseeing a hippopotamus hunt. In the background are papyrus plants and below the boat many different sorts of fish swim. Around them men work with gathering papyrus and doing other things pertaining to the marshland.
Ti on the papyrus boat, hunting hippopotamus.
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