Queen Meresankh III Portrait of Old Kingdom Egyptian Royalty

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Meresankh married the pharaoh Khafre of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt and bore him four sons: Nebemakhet, Niuserre, Khenterka and Duaenre as well as a daughter named Shepsetkau. She held the royal titles of King's Daughter and King's Wife, Great of Scepter.

When she died some time shortly after the reign of Khafra, Meresankh was buried in an extensively decorated mastaba tomb at Giza along with a rock-cut chapel (G7530-5540). Inscriptions on the tomb provide both the time of her death and the date for her funeral, which followed some 272 days after her death. She apparently died during the first regnal year of an unnamed king, possibly the pharaoh Menkaure.

This tomb was originally planned for her mother Hetepheres II, but she instead donated it for her daughter's use—which suggests that Meresankh's death was sudden and unexpected. Hetepheres also provided her daughter with a black granite sarcophagus decorated with palace facades for Meresankh's burial.

Her tomb was discovered by archeologist George Reisner on April 23, 1927, with subsequent excavations undertaken …