Author Description

English summary: The tomb of King Ninetjer (c. 2780 B.C.), one of the four known royal graves of the 2nd Dynasty, lies in the necropolis at Saqqara, about 24 km southwest of Cairo. The tomb was designed as an underground rock-cut tomb, which was worked into the limestone massif by means of gallery construction. The complex extends over a surface of about 77 by 50.50 meters and is divided into 192 rooms, which proceed through the bedrock in a labyrinthine manner. Origianlly, there was an aboveground extension, probably a grave mound, of which no remains have been preserved. The results of the archaeological and architectural analysis of the tomb complex are presented in this publication. The chief focus of the research in the analysis of the tomb architecture: using the methods of construction, the sequence of building phases of the complex and the later stages of use have been worked out, the building techniques have been studies and the planning and execution of the site has been reconstructed. Five blueprints present the visualization of possible variations of the superstructure. For the first time, an interpretation for the labyrinthine layout of the tomb is presented. The structural analysis of the royal grave concludes a general investigation of the building-typology for the tombs of the 1st and 3rd dynasties. The lines of development are presented in several hierarchical levels, through which makes it possible to classify previously undated tombs. Various stages of development that attest to a system of tomb protection, the architectonic design, and the archaeological artifacts are able to provide new insights into the cultural practices and beliefs about the afterlife from the early dynastic period of ancient Egypt. German description: Das Grab des Konigs Ninetjer (um 2780 v.Chr.), eines der vier bislang bekannten Konigsgraber der 2. Dynastie, liegt in der Nekropole Saqqara, ca. 25 km sudwestlich von Kairo. Angelegt ist es als unterirdisches F