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The Mastabas |
Items: 17 |
Kills: 65 |
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| Near the pyramids at Giza are The Mastabas. This is where you find yourself now. | |||
Sights to See |
Surrounding the three pyramids are extensive fields of flat-topped
funerary structures called mastabas, which are arranged in a grid
pattern. The mastabas were used for the burials of relatives or
officials of the kings. Besides the core mastabas of the fourth dynasty, numerous mastabas have also been found that date from the fifth and sixth dynasties (c. 2465-c. 2150 BC), as well as from the third dynasty (c. 2650-c. 2575 BC). Recent excavations of the mastabas have revealed labourers' districts that included bakeries, storage areas, workshops, and the small tombs of workers and artisans. These tombs range from simple mud-brick domes to elaborate stone monuments that appear to emulate, in miniature, the mausoleums of kings. Statuettes and other artwork depicting scenes from daily life were found within some of the structures; hieroglyphic inscriptions on tomb walls commonly identify the deceased, and many invoke curses on would-be tomb robbers1. The measures set in place in the burial chambers below the mastabas are not as elaborate as the ones that protect the tombs of the kings. You'll rarely find something fatal, but do be careful. |
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Tomb Guards |
Scattered throughout the burial chambers are mummies, but that's to be expected. Elsewhere in the mastabas you may encounter a few magic monkeys guarding the tombs. | ||
Local Fauna |
The indigenous species include bats, wild dogs, and black scorpions. There are a lot of them and they're everywhere. | ||
Souvenirs
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There are three important items you'll need early on: a jerrycan (that's a gas can to us Yanks), a water skin, and a bag of sand. Sure they don't sound important, but trust me they are. Later on you'll need to find a torch. Most importantly, you musn't leave without finding two more shaft keys. In fact you can't leave without both. | ||
Hidden Treasures |
There is one very well hidden secret early in the mastabas. Once you've started exploring you might be inclined to go back for it, otherwise it's bloody hard to spot. | ||
Hazards |
All the critters are mostly just annoying. The single largest problem is probably the deep pit that you risk falling into each time you cross form one mastabas to the next. Be careful making that jump | ||
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Footnotes:
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