page_title: Khaba
section_title: Tomb
hierarchical_section_title: Khaba / Tomb
caption_attribution_description: English: Khaba's layer pyramid at Zawyet el'Aryan
context_page_description: Khaba was a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, active during the 3rd Dynasty of the Old Kingdom period. The exact time during which Khaba ruled is unknown but may have been around 2670 BC.
  King Khaba is considered to be difficult to assess as a figure of ancient Egypt. His name is archaeologically well-attested by stone bowls and mud seal impressions. Khaba's reign is securely dated to the Third Dynasty. Because of the contradictions within Ramesside king lists and the lack of contemporary, festive inscriptions, his exact chronological position within the dynasty remains disputed. These problems originate in part from contradictory king lists, which were all compiled long after Khaba's death, especially during the Ramesside era. It is also a matter of debate as to where Khaba might have been buried. Many Egyptologists and archaeologists propose that an unfinished Layer Pyramid at Zawyet el'Aryan belongs to him. Others believe instead that his tomb is a large mastaba close to the Layer Pyramid, where numerous stone vessels bearing Khaba's serekh have been found.
context_section_description: Khaba is commonly thought to have built the Layer Pyramid, located at Zawyet el'Aryan, about 8 km south-west of Giza. The pyramid's construction is typical of Third Dynasty masonry with mudbricks arranged in layers around a core made of rough blocks from the local bedrock. The pyramid was planned to be about 42 to 45 metres (138 to 148 ft) tall, but is now only 17 metres (56 ft). It is unclear whether part of the pyramid has been eroded over time or its construction was never finished. While there are no inscriptions directly relating the pyramid to Khaba, his serekh appears on stone bowls that were discovered in a nearby mastaba, known as Mastaba Z500.
  Alternatively, Khaba could have been interred in the aforementioned mastaba, which is located about 200 m (660 ft) north of the pyramid. Indeed, excavations of the mastaba yielded several stone bowls inscribed with Khaba's Horus name as well as two seal fragments of him. Although this is generally taken as a proof that Khaba was the pyramid owner, it could equally imply that the mastaba was Khaba's tomb and the pyramid that of another, yet unknown king.
caption: Layer Pyramid at Zawyet el'Aryan.
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