Seth-Peribsen - Tomb - Royal Funerary Enclosure

Royal Funerary Enclosure

Close to Peribsen´s tomb a royal funerary enclosure made of mud bricks was found. Clay seals with Peribsen´s serekh name on them were found near the eastern entrance and inside a destroyed offering shrine. The findings support the view that the building was part of Peribsen´s burial site. The funerary enclosure is today commonly known as “Middle Fort”. First excavations started in 1904 under the supervision of Canadian archaeologist Charles Trick Currelly and British egyptologist Edward Russell Ayrton. The enclosure wall was located at the north-west site of Khasekhemwy´s funerary enclosure “Shunet ez Zebib” (“raisin barn”). The one of Peribsen measures 108 metres (354 ft) x 55 metres (180 ft) and housed only a few cult buildings. The enclosure has three entrances: one to the east, one to the south and one to the north. A small shrine, measuring 12.3 metres (40 ft) x 9.75 metres (32.0 ft) was located at the south-east-corner of the funerary enclosure. It once comprised three small chapels. No subsidiary tombs were found.

The tradition of burying the family and court of the king when he died was abandoned at the time of king Qaa, one of the last rulers of the 1st dynasty.