right|thumb|example of a mastaba a mastaba (,  or ) or "pr-djt" (meaning "house for eternity" or "eternal house"), is a type of ancient egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides, constructed out of mud-bricks (from the nile river) or stone. mastabas marked the burial sites of many eminent egyptians during egypt's early dynastic period and old kingdom. during the old kingdom, kings began to be buried in pyramids instead of mastabas, although non-royal use of mastabas continued for more than a thousand years. ==history== the afterlife was a main focus of egyptian civilization and ruled every aspect of the society. this is reflected in their architecture and most prominently by the enormous amounts of time, money, and manpower involved in the building of their tombs. ancient egyptians believed the soul could live only if the body was preserved from corruption and depredation as well as fed. starting from the predynastic era and into the later dynasties, the ancient egyptians developed increasingly complex and effective methods for preserving and protecting the bodies of the dead. the ancient egyptians initially began by burying their dead in pit graves dug out from the sand. the body of the deceased was buried inside the pit on a mat, usually along with some items believed to help them in the afterlife. the first tomb structure that the egyptians built was the mastaba. mastabas provided better protection from scavenging animals and grave robbers. however, the human remains were not in contact with the dry desert sand, so natural mummification could not take place. use of the more secure mastabas required ancient egyptians to devise a system of artificial mummification. until at least the old period or first intermediate period, only high officials and royalty would be buried in these mastabas. ==structure== right|thumb|structure of a mastaba the word 'mastaba' comes fr
Ancient_Egypt Ancient_Egyptian_architecture Arabic_words_and_phrases Burial_monuments_and_structures Monument_types