[Illustration: PLATE XIV. False door from the Maṣṭaba tomb of Ȧsȧ-ānkh, a high official, who flourished in the reign of King Ȧssȧ, about B.C. 3400. [Vestibule, South Wall, No. 53.]] In the IIIrd dynasty, king Tcheser 𓍹𓐼𓧲𓐰𓂋𓐽𓍺, whose name a late tradition coupled with a very severe Seven Years’ Famine, built himself, at Ṣaḳḳârah, a magnificent tomb in the form of an oblong pyramidal building with six steps, to which the name of =Step Pyramid= has been given. Its total height is about 197 feet, and the length of its sides at the base is: south and north 352 feet, east and west 396 feet. A common name for the tomb is _Pa tchetta_ 𓉐𓐰𓏤𓆓𓐳𓐷𓏏𓐰𓇾𓐸, “House of eternity,” and tombs were endowed with estates by wealthy folk in perpetuity. The commonest form of tomb made for royal personages and nobles at this time, and for several centuries afterwards, was the heavy, massive building of rectangular oblong shape, the four sides of which were four walls symmetrically inclined towards their common centre. To this building the name of =maṣṭaba=, _i.e._, “bench,” has been given. It was thus called by the Arabs, because all the examples with which they were familiar, being more than half buried in sand, resembled the long low seats which are common in oriental houses. The exterior surfaces of the maṣṭaba are not flat, for the face of each course of masonry, formed of stones laid vertically, is a little behind the one beneath it, and if these recesses were a little deeper, the external appearance of each side of the building would resemble a flight of steps. The height of the maṣṭaba varies from 13 feet to 30 feet, the length from 26 feet to 170 feet, and the width from 20 feet to 86 feet. The plan of the maṣṭaba is an oblong rectangle, and the greater axis of the rectangle is usually in the direction from south to north. Maṣṭabas were arranged in rows symmetrically on all sides of the Pyramids at Gîzah. The maṣṭabas at Ṣaḳḳârah are built of stone and brick. The entrance to the maṣṭaba is usually on the east side. Near the north-east corner is sometimes found a series of long vertical grooves, or a “false door” (see =Plate XIV=), which is sometimes called the stele. Near the south-east corner is generally another opening, but larger and more carefully made; in this is sometimes found a fine inscribed limestone false door, and sometimes a small architectural façade, in the centre of which is a door. The top of the maṣṭaba is quite flat. [Illustration: A group of Maṣṭaba tombs at Ṣaḳḳârah.] [Illustration: Tablet for offerings, or altar, of Ḥeru-sa-Ȧst, a scribe. [Southern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 14, No. 1034.]] [Illustration: An Egyptian tomb of the maṣṭaba class. =A.=—The hall of the tomb in which offerings were made. =B, C.=—The pit, or shaft, leading to the mummy chamber. =D.=—A small corridor. =E.=—The mummy chamber.]