Mastaba

Mastaba (māsīte-be), in EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE, a sepulchral structure built above ground. Mastabas of the early dynastic period (3200-2680 B.C.), evidently modeled on contemporary houses, were elaborate and had many compartments. Better known are those of the Old Kingdom (2680-2181 B.C.), which elaborated on the predynastic burial-pit and mound form. The typical mastaba was rectangular and flat-roofed, with inward sloping walls. The superstructure was solid except for the offering chamber-a decorated chapel-and the serdab-a smaller chamber containing a portrait statue of the deceased.