Terracotta model of a house

Middle Kingdom (2133-1786 BC)

Model of red stone house

Length: 45cm

This terracotta model of a house would have been placed by the mouth of a tomb as a home for the spirit of the dead person. Such models may also have served as a substitute for tomb chapels.

This soul house was probably based on the home of a peasant farmer. The living quarters are at one end of a yard enclosed by a mud-brick wall. Stairs lead top the roof, where the family would often sleep and where the grain storage bins were kept.

Everyday domestic work was done in the open air. Troughs, querns (hand-turned grain mills) and pounders can be seen in the courtyard.


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