Since most of the Middle Kingdom shaft tombs in Egypt have been thoroughly plundered, until now analyses of cemeteries have relied on the patchy evidence of the remaining objects. However, the subterranean structure of the tombs was usually unaffected by robbery. It is possible to complement the lack of information and obtain an overall view of the cemeteries by analyzing these structures. This paper examines the date, social status of the owner, and orientation of the shaft tombs in Dahshur North.
This paper classified shaft tombs into six types by form and three groups by size, Small, Middle and Large. Tombs with datable objects were sorted in chronological order, but analysis showed that there is little relationship between type, size and date. In contrast, a marked correlation between size and social status of the owner was observed. The burial equipment of the Middle and Large groups was superior both in quality and quantity to that of the Small group, and the former groups were equipped with objects of the "court-type burial" a style common at the highest social level in royal cemeteries during the late Middle Kingdom. The relation between social difference and tomb size was also demonstrated by the much greater expense of digging the larger shaft tombs.
As for the orientation, the long axes of the twelfth to early thirteenth dynasty tombs were oriented north-south, while those of the early thirteenth dynasty or later tombs were oriented almost northwest-southeast. It is assumed the difference is because there is a late twelfth dynasty pyramid to the east of Dahshur North, and a mid-thirteenth dynasty pyramid to the northeast. Therefore it is probable that people buried in Dahshur North were closely related to the elite class buried in the royal cemeteries.
