03 | Stela of Pagerger

These four objects were found in a tomb at Saqqara.

Saqqara is one of the most ancient sites in Egypt.

It not only features the first pyramid ever constructed in the land, but for thousands of years it was also the burial place for those who once lived and worked in the nearby ancient city of Memphis, near modern Cairo.

These include the chief sculptor or chiseller Pagerger, who lived about 1600 years after the first pyramid was built.

These blocks of limestone are designed in the shape of a small shrine.

The stone has been chiselled so that Pagerger’s figure seems to emerge from it.

The details have been preserved to varying degrees among the four blocks, but all show Pagerger.

He wears a long kilt and sports two types of wigs that were fashionable at the time – a double wig with layered curls, and a short, quite voluminous wig.

Wig-wearing was common in Egypt for men and women.

People would shave their heads using a copper or bronze razor and wear wigs when outdoors or attending social functions.

Priests were required to shave all their bodily hair for ritual purposes.

Although Pagerger was not a priest, the inscriptions on these objects mention his devotion to several gods associated with the city of Memphis.

On one stela you can see the name of an important god on Pagerger’s chest and forearms with the repetition of four hieroglyphic signs.

Starting on the forearm to your right: the small rectangle is the letter ‘P’, the hemisphere under it is ‘t’, and the long sign next to them that looks like twisted rope is ‘h’.

‘P-t-h'” or Ptah, is the name of the god of craftspeople, and the patron god of Memphis.

The fourth rectangular sign under this name represents an enclosure.

By including it, the scribe was pinpointing that the group of four hieroglyphs refers to the enclosure, the House or the Temple of Ptah.

Clearly, Pagerger wanted to emphasise his relationship with the Temple of Ptah.

It is possible he was chief chiseller at the Temple’s workshop and would have desired this association to continue in the afterlife.

Surely, he wanted those who would see these stelae in his tomb to remember his life’s work.

Pagerger’s relatives and friends would have gazed upon the stelae just like you are today.