The article analyzes the cases of white staining of ceramic vessels, burial sites and religious premises of tombs recorded in the ancient Egyptian capital necropolises of the Ancient Kingdom (XXVII-XXII centuries BC) - in Giza and Saqqara, and attempts to link these actions with ancient Egyptian ritual practice and funeral rites.

Keywords: Ancient Egypt, Ancient kingdom, funeral rite, memorial cult, ancient Egyptian ceramics.

WHITE-COATED CERAMIC

Giza. In the course of many years of research, the Russian Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Giza (RAEG) noted several important phenomena that were not previously emphasized by researchers working in this necropolis. In particular, we recorded cases of individual objects and some tomb rooms being painted white.

Already in the first seasons of 1997 and 1998, during the archaeological investigation of mines in the rock tomb of Khafraankh, fragments of ceramic beer jugs painted on the outside with white pigment were found. In the future, almost every field season brought several fragments, and sometimes whole clay vessels with a white coating. Thus, during 18 field seasons, 59 such items were collected belonging to the following ceramic types (Figs. 1, 2): beer jugs (28 copies) [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2010, p. 164 (98/3/6, 98/3 / 8b); Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 134 (02/46/3)], conical baking molds (11 copies), rounded roasters (1 copy), spherical jugs for storing food (2 copies), bowls of various shapes (4 copies), cylindrical stands for round-bottomed vessels (1 copy) and miniature votive models 1 (12 copies).

However, beer jugs and conical bread molds are the most common types of pottery found in settlements [Cagle, 2001, fig. II. 4-9;

1 Unpublished RAEG materials: beer jugs 03 / II / 1 / 113, 03II/1/143, 08/12-5/8, 47, 08/12-5/16, 44, 08/12-5/48, 08/12-5/49, 54, 08/12-5/36, 09/15-2/10, 09/15-2/58, 10/19-2/9, 10/19-6/13, 14, 11/26/4, 11/17-2/8, 11/17-5/11, 12/18-1/27, 12/18-1/37, 12/18-1/38, 12/18-1/79, 12/18-1/91, 12/42/4, 12/40/53b, 13/38/4, 13/44/14, 13/49-1/40, 41, 13/51/22, 24; conical bread pans 03/II/1 / 24, 07/IIIN/21, 07/IIIH/25, 11/26/1, 12/18-1/40, 12/18-1/63, 12/38/7, 12/38/15, 12/III / 36, 12 / III / 40, 13/49-1/73; roaster 03 / II / 1 / 19; ball-shaped pitchers for food storage containers 03 / II / 1 / 50 and 09 / IV / 2; bowls 03 / II/1 / 53, 11/25/4, 12 / III / 60, 13/51/6, 7; stand 12/18-1/18, 33; miniature votive vessels 04 / II / 60 / 14, 04/11/9, 09 / 1V/71, 09 / IV / 75, 10 / IV / 17, 10 / IV/44, 13/49-2/2, 13 / III/5; miniature votive plates 09 / IV/55, 09/IV / 61, 10 / IV/30 and 12 / III/27.

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Figure 1. White-coated ceramics from the excavations of the Russian Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Giza (Fig.

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2. White-coated beer jugs: 10/19-2/9 from the excavations of the Russian Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Giza (author's photo) (left); SQ 99-776 from the excavations of the Polish-Egyptian Archaeological Mission in Saqqara (right) [Rzeuska, 2006, pl. VII. 2].

Conard and Lehner, 2001, p. 42; Lehner, 2002, p. 34; Reisner and Smith, 1955, p. 70, 88], and in the necropolises of the time of the Ancient Kingdom. They are the ones that dominated the ceramic inventory of burials during the Fifth and Sixth dynasties [Ballet and Picon, 1992, p. 172; Davies et al., 1984, p. 4, pl. 23.10; Fisher, 1924, p. 168, fig. 137; Kromer, 1991, S. 30-34, 63, Tf. 24.1, 28-33; Myśliwiec et al., 2004, p. 206, pl. LXXXIX.12, 13, XCI, XCII, CIV.179-189; Reisner, Smith, 1955, p. 70-71, 88, fig. 85, 132].

In itself, the presence of these types of ceramics in the Gizeh necropolis is not special. An unusual white coating that we noticed on these vessels, which has nothing to do with white angob. As you know, angob is a resistant coating with a thin layer of clay, for example, red or white, applied to a ceramic product even before firing, in order to increase the tightness of the walls, close the pores in the clay, as well as improve the appearance of the vessel (Lukas, 1958, p. 556) and even simulate the stone surface of red granite or white limestone. After firing, this coating is very resistant to external influences, primarily to flushing. When studying the monuments of the Ancient Kingdom, a large number of ceramics with red or white angob are found: for example, among several thousand ceramic fragments and whole vessels from the time of the Ancient Kingdom discovered by the Russian expedition in Giza, up to a quarter belongs to angobized ceramics.

However, the white coating on ceramics, which we noted in 59 cases, is of a completely different kind - it is an unstable and washable gypsum-containing substance applied after firing, sometimes even over the existing red or brown angob

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(such as the 03/II/1/50 spherical food storage jug or the 11/25/4 and 12/III/60 bowls).

Often, such a white coating peels off, and only traces of it remain on the outer surface, as is noticeable in the beer jug 13/51/22, 24 from the GE 51 burial shaft. It is also characteristic that this coating differs in quality: in some beer jugs and bowls (for example, 13/51/6,7, 12/III/60 and 13/51/22,24), it is rough, with pronounced particles of crushed limestone, in appearance resembling construction plaster of white, milky white, and sometimes pinkish-white color (visually-with an admixture of red ochre, as in the case of the most common types of stone, such as in the case of beer jug 12/18-1/27). More often it is thin, fine, white or yellowish-white, especially in beer jugs (for example, in vessels 08/12-5/8, 47, 10/19-2/9 (2), 12/18-1/37, 13/38/4 and 13/44/14), conical bread forms (12 / III / 36, 13/49-1/73 and 12/18-1/40), roasters 03 / II/1 / 19), bowls (03 / II/1 / 53) or votive models (09 / IV/55, 09 / IV/71, 09 / IV/75 and 13 / III/5). Thus, the texture features and shades of the coating do not depend on the type of ceramic.

In addition, there is a noticeable inaccuracy in applying a white coating, which did not happen with an angob: it can differ in the thickness of the layer on the same vessel or cover only part of the surface (for all beer jugs-only on the outside, for bowls-more often only inside, for conical bread forms-sometimes inside, sometimes outside, but it happens and on both surfaces; in votive plates-more often only inside (09 / IV/55, 09 / IV/61, 10 / IV/30 and 12 / III/27), and in votive vessels-only outside (04 / II/60 / 14, 09 / IV/71 and 10 / IV / 44) and only occasionally - on the entire surface (as in votive vessels 09 / IV / 75 and 13 / III/5). Thus, closed forms (such as pitchers) were painted on the outside, while open forms (such as bowls, plates, bread forms) were painted more often on the inside. Consequently, the visible part of the vessel was primarily subjected to this process. It seems that for those who painted the vessels, it was not the quality of the coating and durability that mattered, but its color and the impression that the vessel made from the outside.

The instability of the coating to water and flushing should indicate that such vessels were hardly intended for domestic use: white-coated ceramics are not typical of settlements, they are found only in necropolises. Indirectly, this is indicated not only by the unevenness and poor quality of the coating, but also by the use of pottery defects - vessels with flaws (with through cracks or deformations of the body), acquired at the time of manufacture (molding, drying or firing) and therefore unsuitable for use in everyday life. Despite this, they were painted white and placed in the burial chamber (as, for example, happened with the beer jugs 12/18-1/38 and 12/18-1/91 from the burial shaft 1 of the GE 18 rock tomb).

Egyptology has adopted the view that white is a symbol of sacred purity and sanctity (Kees, 1943, pp. 436-446). In this case, painting the vessel white should mean first of all its sacred purification. Such "ritually clean" vessels could be placed both in burials and in religious sepulchral chapels.

It is necessary to pay attention to the location of the analyzed items and their dating. Unfortunately, all the white ceramics found by the Russian archaeological expedition in the Gizeh necropolis come from open archaeological complexes that were subjected to later predatory intrusions, so the vessels were moved from their original places, broken or even thrown into the upper ballast layers of Giza. However, in 40 cases out of 59, we can assume with more or less certainty that the white vessels were originally burial equipment and were located in the burial chambers next to the body of the deceased (this is obvious only in the case of beer jugs 08/12-5/8, 47 and 08/12-5/49, 54 from the mine burial 5 in the rock tomb of Chenti II,

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10/19-2/9 from mine 2 of the Perineju rock tomb, 11/17-5/11 from the GE 17 rock tomb and the conical bread mold 11/26/1 from the GE 26 mine tomb). The ceramics found in the upper ballast layers (the remaining 19 cases) could equally have been both burial equipment and cult utensils used in the memorial services of tomb chapels.

As for the dating of white ceramics from our excavations, it is based not on their archaeological context (which, as already mentioned, is partially or completely lost), but on the time of existence of ceramic types. The vast majority of vessels are typical of the second half of the Fifth and Sixth dynasties, 2 and only the 11/25/4 and 12/III/60 bowls have parallels in the fourth and early Fifth dynasties.3
Saqqara. A search for analogues of the white coating that washes off on ceramics showed that a similar phenomenon was encountered by a Polish-Egyptian archaeological expedition working in Saqqara: beer jugs, oblong jugs, bowls and plates of various shapes, conical bread makers , round braziers , trays, vats, coasters, votive models were found in tombs of the VI dynasty [Rzeuska, 2006, p. 64-370, on. 12, 14, 50, 52, 54, 59, 65, 72, 76, 82, 116, 245-249, 254, 268-271, 298, 364, 365, 433, 482, 486, 490, 491, 493-496, 709,722, 724, 725, 734, 739-743, 745-749, 753-764, 774, 777, 786-788, 809, 853]. As in our case, beer jugs and conical bread forms, as well as round trays and roasters, are dominant. Moreover, some finds turned out to be extremely revealing: in the burial chamber of mine 31, three once-sealed beer jugs were found, covered on the outside with an uneven layer of whitewash [Rzeuska, 2006, p. 84, 88, 100, pl.21, 23, 29, VII.2, p. 52, 59, 82], and this was done after sealing, which is why the white pigment did not stain the upper part of the vessels, which was under the stopper (Fig. 2). This clearly shows that white staining did not occur during the manufacture of vessels, but at the stage of filling them in bakeries or breweries, or even later-at the time of preparation of funeral equipment.

It is characteristic that, unlike beer jugs, the manner of covering conical bread forms in Saqqara and Giza was different: if in Giza the surface (internal or external) was completely covered, then in Saqqara only the edge of the corolla was most often bleached [Rzeuska, 2006, p. 328-340, p. 722, 724, 725, 734, 739, 740-743, 745-749, 753-764]. However, it is not yet possible to explain these differences on the basis of the available material.

As for the archaeological context of white-coated ceramics in Saqqara, the situation here is somewhat better than in the Russian concession site in Giza, which is due to the fact that the Saqqara necropolis was less often subjected to predatory actions. Of the 67 published cases of whitewashed pottery found (Rzeuska, 2006, p. 64-370), only 13 occur from the ballast layer; 36 cases occur from burial sites, and 18 occur from tomb chapels or ceramic clusters near them (the latter are usually a warehouse of items used in the funeral worship of the tomb owner). Moreover, the burials mostly contain beer jugs (6 cases), conical bread molds (20 cases) and round braziers (8 cases), much less bowls (only 2 cases). On the contrary, in memorial chapels and clusters near them, beer jugs and conical bread molds are rare (2 cases each), and other types of ceramics are present: oblong jugs (1 case), small plates and bowls (7 cases), coasters (6 cases).

2 For analogs of the vessel shape, see [Barta et al., 2010, p. 87, fig. 3.3.2 (no. 39.AS33.05); Hassan, 1953, p. 33, pl. XXIII.A; Hawass, Senussi, 2008, p. 21, 39, fig. 276; p. 92, 96, fig. 5; p. 92, 100, fig. 90; Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 252, fig. 111; Myśliwiec, Kuraszkiewicz, 2010, p. 236, fig. 68 (no. 31)].

3 For analogs of the vessel shape, see [Marchand and Baud. 1996, p. 276-279, 281, fig. 7.9, 8.21].

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3. Sacrificial scene on the north wall of the Nisutnefer mastaba (top) and "false doors" in the Kapi mastaba (bottom left and center) and Abdu mastaba (bottom right) in Giza (from Abu-Bakr, 1953, fig. 62; Junker, 1938, Abb. 30; Roth, 2001, fig. 164]).

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Bowls and coasters can form a pair, depicted in tomb scenes on the sides or inside " false doors "(Fig. 3) [Abu-Bakr, 1953, p. 82, fig. 62; Roth, 2001, fig. 164; Simpson, 1978, fig. 32] or standing in front of the figure of the tomb owner and used for water libations [Junker, 1938, S. 169, Abb. 30]. Although round trays with cone loaves were more often placed on high stands, and the bowls were placed side by side, serving as trays for jugs with spouts [Myśliwiec et al., 2004, pl. XXIII; Myśliwiec and Kuraszkiewicz, 2010, fig. 54, 57]. Moreover, when investigating the memorial complex of the vizier Merefnebef in Saqqara, such a high stand was found in the western (main)one the chapel stands in situ on the altar in front of the southern "false door" 4 - the main place of departure of the memorial cult of the tomb owner [Myśliwiec et al., 2004, p. 209, 230, no. 190, 196]. A flat-bottomed bowl was also found in the same chapel [Myśliwiec et al., 2004, p. 209, 227, No. 170; Rzeuska, 2006, p. 238, pl. 98, XI. 4, No. 490]. Both objects were covered with a white, flushable gypsum-like substance, but chemical analysis showed that bleaching was performed twice [Rzeuska, 2006, p. 513, 545, pl. XI. 4].

So, analyzing the data from Giza and Saqqara, it becomes clear that whitewashed ceramics had two areas of use-the inventory accompanying the burial, and the object used for the performance of memorial worship in the tomb chapel. Additional involvement of epigraphic and pictorial sources does not allow you to give priority to one of the use cases. For example, on the western wall of the memorial chapel of the Gizeh mastaba of Iasena (G 2196, late V-VI dynasties), there is a sacrificial scene and the offering of small, rounded vessels painted white is shown (Reisner, 1934, p.5, fig. 5], which is clearly visible against the background of the dark hands of the priests holding them. This image confirms the assumption that whitewashed ceramics were used in tomb chapels. However, we can cite another example-the preserved color decoration of the walls of the burial chamber of the Gizeh tomb of Kaemankh (G 4561, VI dynasty). Here, under the sacrificial list in the southern part of the eastern wall, a kneeling priest is shown offering two bowls painted white for the tomb owner (Junker, 1940, Tf. XVI). The composition of the scene, despite the fact that it is located in the burial chamber, repeats the visual design of the memorial chapel of the Kaemankh tomb (Bolshakov, 2001: 228, 230) and coincides with similar scenes from the chapels of other tombs.5
Thus, on the one hand, memorial services (ritual feeding of the ka (double) of the tomb owner) took place using white dishes, while it is clear that the rite could be performed by priests only in the memorial chapel available to them, but not in a walled-up and buried burial chamber. On the other hand, it is hardly appropriate to explain the case of the white vessels in the burial chamber of Kaemankhos only by the accepted iconography of such scenes in the context of the available archaeological data: were the vessels specially painted white because the scene was placed in the burial chamber? One way or another, the problem of establishing the original location of the white pottery remains, but it is clear that for some reason some vessels were subjected to a purification ritual in order to then be placed next to the deceased or stand in front of the "false door" in the tomb chapel. However, for performing other actions, for example, the protective ritual sd dšrwt ("breaking red vessels") mentioned in the Pyramid Texts (PT 244 [Allen, 2005, p. 29 (W 138); Sethe, 1960, I, S. 137]), white-coated ceramics were not used - not a single such vessel was found in

4 A similar case was recorded in the tomb of Geghi in Abusir (V dynasty) [Barta, 2001, p. 127-128].

5 See, for example: Dodson and Ikram, 2008, p. 181-182; Junker, 1944, p. 167, Abb. 70 (Kasuja mastaba, south wall of the nominal chapel).

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the so-called ritual mines [Myśliwiec et al., 2004, p. 206-207; Rzeuska, 2006, p. 509-511].

Some of the white-coated beer jugs (both here in Giza (for example, 10/19-2/9) and in Saqqara) were filled with Nile silt6( . 2) or ash, i.e., strictly speaking, not at all what they should have contained, judging by the functions of these devices. vessels, based on tomb reliefs (hence the common name for this type of ceramics-for storing liquids, primarily beer). Currently, the dominant point of view, based primarily on the peculiarities of detecting such vessels in situ, is that the Nile silt was a so - called false content-an imitation of filling with beer [Rzeuska, 2006, p.440-442]. Apparently, relatives of the deceased could buy a beer jug with "false contents" from the necropolis (which, logically, was cheaper), and not buy a more expensive vessel with real beer and not bring it from the household.

The ashes probably represented the remains of a so-called burnt sacrifice: jars of ashes were found in Saqqara in ceramic accumulations in the vicinity of the tomb chapels and in the filling of the burial chamber of shaft 31 (Rzeuska, 2006, p. 468-480), which may be related to cult activities in the tomb chapel at the time of the funeral.

However, all this does not mean that only white ceramics were placed in the tombs. As noted above, such cases are relatively rare (for several thousand ceramic objects of the Ancient Kingdom era from the Russian excavations in the Gizeh necropolis, only 59 with a white coating; a similar picture in Saqqara). Moreover, as practice shows, both whitewashed and unpainted vessels could coexist in one burial, and the latter dominated. The case of mine burial 2 in the Gizeh tomb of Perineju (GE 19) is most significant in this respect: of the three beer jugs found at the bottom of the mine, only one (10/19-2/9) had a white coating and contained Nile silt, i.e. it was specially prepared for burial and imitated a vessel filled with beer. The other two had a normal surface texture, but the 10/19-2/10 jug was also filled with Nile silt.

Without sufficient data, we can hypothetically assume that only those vessels that were previously used in everyday life were whitewashed, but for secondary use as funeral equipment, it was necessary to undergo a ritual purification rite. The same vessels that were new or made specifically for burial did not need this action.

As for the memorial chapels, the objects that were located there also had to be whitewashed at a certain time interval - this is evidenced by the already mentioned case of a twice-painted bowl stand from the Merefnebef chapel in Saqqara. Moreover, as will be shown below, there was a periodic ritual purification of the architectural elements of memorial chapels (wall images, false doors, altars).

PAINTING RELIGIOUS SITES TOMBS IN WHITE

The whitewashing of certain places in the tomb chapels, where the ritual of the tomb owner's memorial cult was regularly held, is most clearly attested in the Sakkar necropolis.

It should be noted that in tomb chapels, not all architectural elements were periodically whitewashed, but only the most important cult areas-false doors and areas next to them, as well as places for sacrificial gifts.

6 For more information, see [Malykh, 2012, pp. 122-133].

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Despite the presence of white ceramics in the main (western) in the chapel of the Merefnebef tomb (first half of the VI dynasty), no traces of whitewash were found in the room itself, but they are present in the small eastern chapel of this tomb [Myśliwiec et al., 2004, p. 54, 56], as well as in the neighboring tombs of the second half of the VI dynasty: traces of a white substance consisting of gypsum or limestone found on the false doors of the tomb stelae of Kheti, Jesti and Nipepi. Moreover, under the whitewash on the Jesty stele, a surface painted with red pigment was hidden, apparently imitating red granite. The layer of whitewash on the Khety stele was so thick that it almost hid part of the relief. On the Nipepi stele, a thick layer of whitewash hid not only the relief, but also part of the owner's name and titles. In the Saqqara tomb of Seshemnefer, which dates back to the late VI dynasty, false doors, meter-wide areas next to them, and sacrificial benches (places for sacrificial gifts) were covered with white pigment, and the whitewash was made four times, which is evident from the presence of wasp nests between the layers [Kuraszkiewicz, 2002, p.367]. All this allowed K. Kurashkevich, who studied this issue, to come to the conclusion that

"the whitewashing of the stelae was carried out after these objects were completed, and this staining had nothing to do with decorative actions... The purpose of bleaching places of worship could be related to restoring their ritual purity, which was lost for various reasons "[Kuraszkiewicz, 2002, p. 366-368].

PAINTING BURIAL SITES WHITE

The study of funerary architecture for the use of white coating provides material for reflection. In particular, when the Russian archaeological expedition examined the Small Necropolis in front of the rock tomb of Khafraankh on the Eastern Plateau of Giza, 26 mud burials were discovered, which in their architecture are strikingly different from the traditional mine burials inside mastabs and rock tombs or in the vicinity of them [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 295-305].

Some of the burials are well preserved. In form, they are ground-level crypts made of mud bricks, and the skeletons are found in the correct anatomical order (for example, burial 27); others are heavily destroyed. However, it was found that the bottom of the twelve burials (N 27, 32/33, 34/35, 37, 39, 42, 49a, 51, 54, 57, 55/55a and 56/56a), and sometimes the lower part of the walls (N 32/33 and 56/56a) were covered with a layer of white lime plaster with a thickness of from 1 to 7 cm [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 72, 126, 135, 140, 168, 172, 175, 177, 182, 196, 198, 203, 315-315, tabl. 51].

In cases of looted mud burials-crypts 30 and 58/58a (Fig. 4), despite the fact that the bodies were not preserved, the white plaster on the inner walls of these crypts is partially visible [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 163, 206, pl. XIX. b, XX. b] However, it was not found at the bottom, which can be explained by the complete destruction of the burials. It would seem that here we are dealing with a construction technique, when thin raw walls were plastered for better preservation. However, the example of Mastaba 24, also located in the Maly Necropolis (Fig. 4), shows that its walls, made of mud bricks, are covered with several layers of muddy dark gray mortar, and then with white plaster both inside and outside [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 58, pl. VIII]. At the same time, in places of burial, the white pigment is applied to the walls in a thin layer, and directly on the bricks, i.e. without an intermediate layer of mud solution. And it was applied only inside, while in order to protect the brick from destruction and visible aesthetic effect, the plaster should have been put first on the external parts of the walls, which did not happen.

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4. Mastaba 24 mud brick chapel (top) and mud graves-crypts 58/58a and 30 (below), excavated by the Russian Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Giza (photo by S. V. Vetokhov).

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At the same time, in four burials with partially or completely preserved bones (N 31, 36, 50 and 53a), no layers of white plaster were found on the bottom, but a wooden coffin (burials 36, 50 and 53a) or directly the deceased (burial 31) was placed on a layer of sterile yellow sand without the usual admixtures of limestone. crumbs [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 313-315, tabl. 51]. The latter phenomenon was also found in the burial chambers of mine burials in the rock tombs of Khafraankha (G 7948) and Perineju (GE 19) [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2010, p. 17]. The practice of putting yellow sand under the body or coffin dates back to the Pre-Dynastic period, when burials were performed in simple pits in the desert, and has very clear connotations with the royal funeral ritual, indirectly described in the Pyramid Texts (RT 662, Peni II):

"My father, get up and take this cool water that comes from Akhbit. Stand up in your tomb, untie your veils! Shake the sand off your face, get up from your left side and lean on your right" [Allen, 2005, p. 272 (N 388)].

This practice shows the presence of special religious beliefs associated with desert sand - which ones are still difficult to say, but the fact that the sand has clearly been sifted and has no impurities, most likely should indicate some kind of ritual cleanliness of the burial site, cleanliness that protects the body of the deceased. At the same time, where there is yellow sand at the bottom of the burial, there is no lime plaster, and vice versa. The only exception is burial 50, where the inner walls (but not the bottom) were painted white (Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 130).

More illustrative is the case of burial 53a, where the remains of the bottom of a wooden coffin had traces of white plaster on the inside that came into contact with the body, while the actual bottom of the burial site was left without a white coating, but covered with yellow sand, on which the coffin was placed with the body of a young man who died at the age of 15-19 years [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 132-133]. It seems that the ritual functions of adding yellow sand and white plaster coincide, and it becomes clear why these actions are not duplicated in the same burials. As for the exceptional case, there may have been a change in the nature of the burial: hypothetically, it can be assumed that at first they wanted to put the deceased directly on the sand, but then they used a wooden coffin, the bottom of which was covered inside with a layer of thin white plaster, thereby double-insured.

Thus, in 16 of the 26 burials at our site in Giza, traces of white pigment are somehow present on the bottom or inner walls of the burials, and it is unlikely that they are of technological significance.

Foreign colleagues also occasionally encountered a similar phenomenon. However, they recorded cases of plastering or whitewashing of the bottom of 7 shafts cut into the rock and entrances to burial chambers, embedded blocks that prevent penetration into the burial site, and even the lids of stone sarcophagi [Hawass, 1992, p. 329; Junker, 1934, p. 110; Myśliwiec et al., 2004, p. 55; Rzeuska, 2006, p. 444-446]. On the territory of the Russian concession in Giza, cases of whitewashing of rock mines and burial chambers have not yet been recorded, at the moment this material is limited only to simpler raw burials.

Most likely, painting the burial site white was not so much a technological meaning (from this point of view, smearing with a solution based on Nile silt and similar in composition to raw bricks) would have been more important.

7 It should be noted that the continental rock in which the tombs of the metropolitan Memphis necropolis were cut (including on the territory of Giza, Abusir, Saqqara) is white and yellowish-white limestone, so theoretically it did not need whitewashing.

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symbolic and ritual. Based on the interpretation of white as an indicator of purity and sanctity accepted in the Egyptological literature, it can be assumed that the whitewashing of inhumation sites and places located in the neighborhood (the bottom of mines, entrances to the chamber, etc.) was intended to "clean" them not in the literal, but in the ritual sense. It is surprising that this was not done so often, i.e. it was not a common practice, however, as in the case of bleaching ceramics.

The last thing you need to pay attention to is the dating of the analyzed material. All the ceramic material mentioned above dates back to the second half of the Fifth and Sixth dynasties (with the exception of two earlier bowls). Mud burials mostly belong to the same time interval (except for burial 27, created during the early V dynasty) [Kormysheva, Malykh, Vetokhov, 2012, p. 72, 340]. These cases from Saqqara (both with ceramics, burials and chapels) are dated to the VI Dynasty (Myśliwiec et al., 2004, p. 247-249; Rzeuska, 2006, p. 427). Moreover, as for the whitewashing of ritually significant places in tomb chapels, the picture is most clear: in the tombs of the first half of the VI dynasty, this was practically not done (sacred purification was limited only to painting ceramics), but in the tombs of the second half-the end of the VI dynasty, these actions are more frequent. According to K. According to Kuraszkiewicz, the painting of places of worship in chapels was not related to the original design of the tomb, but was associated with some modification of the posthumous memorial cult, which probably took place in the second half - end of the VI dynasty [Kuraszkiewicz, 2002, p.367-368].

In general, we can say that since the fifth Dynasty, some tombs (but not all) began to perform cleansing rites that are not recorded on earlier monuments. These actions became more widespread from the second half of the Fifth Dynasty, and their peak occurred during the reign of the sixth dynasty. Apparently, by the second half of the Fifth and Sixth dynasties, concerns about preserving the ritual purity of places where the world of the living and the world of the dead come into contact increased, as well as more clearly manifested magical ideas. Perhaps all these phenomena can be linked to the beginning of the placement of Pyramid Texts in the royal tombs at the end of the Fifth Dynasty (as a kind of safety net in case of the cessation of royal cults in pyramid temples), and the increasing introduction of substitute models 8, only superficially similar to real objects, into the burial inventory during the Fifth and Sixth dynasties., but in the view of the ancients, with the help of magic, they turned into real objects in the afterlife. Thus, the funerary rite and memorial cult were increasingly separated from life and everyday life, whereas in earlier periods of Egyptian history they were closely connected in terms of material appearance.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

VDI-Vestnik drevnoi istorii [Bulletin of Ancient History].
ArOr - Archiv orientálni. Prague.

BIFAO - Bulletin de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientate. Le Caire.

BMFA - Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin. Boston.

JARCE - Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. Cairo.

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8 For more information, see [Malykh, 2010, pp. 241-243].

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