mastaba

mas·ta·ba

also mas·ta·bah M0141200 (măs′tə-bə)n. An ancient Egyptian tomb with a rectangular base, sloping sides, and a flat roof.

[Arabic masṭaba, maṣṭaba, stone bench, from Aramaic masṭabtā, maṣṭabtā, bench, dais, perhaps from Greek stibas, bed of straw, bed, grave, or perhaps of Iranian origin; perhaps akin to Persian satāvand, portico, balcony.]

mastaba

(ˈmæstəbə) or

mastabah

n (Architecture) a mudbrick superstructure above tombs in ancient Egypt from which the pyramid developed[from Arabic: bench]

mas•ta•ba

or mas•ta•bah

(ˈmæs tə bə)

n., pl. -bas or -bahs. an ancient rectangular Egyptian tomb with sloping sides and a flat roof. [1595–1605; < Arabic maṣṭabah]

Thesaurus

Noun

mastaba - an ancient Egyptian mud-brick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof; "the Egyptian pyramids developed from the mastaba"mastabahtomb, grave - a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone); "he put flowers on his mother's grave"

Translations

mastabamastaba

mastaba

enUK

mastaba

(măs`təbə), in Egyptian architecture, a sepulchral structure built aboveground. The mastabas of the early dynastic period (3200–2680 B.C.), such as those of the I dynasty at Sakkara, were elaborate, having many storage or offering compartments, and were quite evidently close copies of contemporary houses. Better known are the mastabas of the Old Kingdom (2680–2181 B.C.), which were an elaboration of the predynastic burial-pit and mound form. The typical mastaba was generally rectangular in plan with a flat roof and inward-sloping walls, built of brick and faced with limestone slabs.

Mastaba

A freestanding tomb found in ancient Egypt, consisting of a rectangular superstructure with inclined sides, from which a shaft leads to underground burial chambers.

Mastaba

(Arabic, literally “stone bench”), the modern name for ancient Egyptian tombs of the Protodynastic Period (c. 3000-2800 B.C.) and the Old Kingdom (c. 2800-2250 B.C.). A mastaba is a rectangular superstructure with sloping sides joined by a vertical shaft to an underground burial chamber with several rooms. The outer walls of mastabas of the Protodynastic Period were built of brick (First Dynasty) or stone (Second Dynasty) and were recessed and brightly painted (exemplified by the tomb of Queen Herneit in Saqqara).

In the mastabas of the Old Kingdom, the superstructure had a severe exterior with smooth walls and a complex interior layout, with halls, corridors, and storerooms (exemplified by the tomb of the royal treasurer Akhethotep and his son Ptahhotep in Saqqara, Fifth Dynasty). The inner chambers contained statues (repositories of the souls of the dead) and the walls were covered with reliefs and paintings.

REFERENCE

Vseobshchaia istoriia arkhitektury, vol. 1. Moscow, 1970.

mastaba

mastaba A freestanding tomb used in ancient Egypt, consisting of a rectangular superstructure with inclined sides, from which a shaft leads to underground burial and offering chambers.

mastaba

, mastabah a mudbrick superstructure above tombs in ancient Egypt from which the pyramid developed

mastaba

mas·ta·ba

mastaba

mastabah

mas•ta•ba

or mas•ta•bah

mastaba

mastaba

Mastaba

Mastaba

REFERENCE

mastaba

mastaba

mastaba

Synonyms for mastaba

noun an ancient Egyptian mud-brick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof

Synonyms

Related Words