Les tombes des premières dynasties à Abou Roach

Situated on the west bank of the Nile, 8km north east of Giza is the site of Abu Rawash. It is on this rocky outcrop of the desert at the edge of the cultivation that the 4th Dynasty King Redjedef built his pyramid. This region is also known as the northern most extent of the Memphite Necropolis where the earliest occupation is represented by the Naqada III Period. From 1913 to 1914 a French mission under the directorship of Pierre Montet excavated a series of elite Mastaba tombs that he dated to the Naqada IIIC2 Period (middle of the 1st Dynasty). The ⿿M⿿ Cemetery is situated upon a prominent plateau 1.5 km north east of Redjedef⿿s monument and featured a group of Mastaba tombs with mud brick superstructures containing niche façades. The graves yielded abundant quantities of pottery, stone vessels and small objects in ivory and copper⿿; today kept in different Museums throughout France and Egypt. In 2007 the decision was made to begin work at the M Cemetery with the intention of re-excavating the previously excavated tombs as well study the unpublished artefacts dispersed through several Museums. As a preliminary study, this paper aims to present a synthesis of research already conducted concerning Abu Rawash during the Early Dynastic Period and further, to discuss the status of elite members of the Memphite region.