A new family cemetery at Abu Sir South In 2000, the Czech Institute of Egyptology started a new project in Abu Sir South, focusing on the area adjacent to and east of the Sixth Dynasty family tomb complexes of Qar and Inti. Miroslav Bárta discusses this Fifth Dynasty cemetery and its important tomb of Nefer. The new Fifth Dynasty cemetery at Abu Sir South was most probably established by the anonymous owner of what is by far the largest mastaba in the area, AS 31. This tomb was built in ‘Giza fashion’ and comprises a mastaba-shaped superstructure with two cult niches set in the eastern façade, a rock-cut cult chapel with a serdab and a shaft through the depth of the mastaba, leading to a robbed burial chamber. East of tomb AS 31 is an open courtyard from which several minor rock-cut chapels are accessible. These include the tomb of Ptahhotep (AS 36), east of AS 31, which had a mastaba-shaped superstructure with one shaft and the later tomb of Neferherptah (AS 65), south of that of Ptahhotep. A structure difficult to anchor in time is the impressive tomb of Nefer/Nefershepes, which currently represents the easternmost mastaba of the cemetery. Slightly later than this tomb, a complex with a series of rock-cut tombs (those of Duaptah, Shepespuptah, Iti and Nefer) was built, along with an open pillared courtyard, AS 68, dedicated to the princess Sheretnebty, who was of royal origin (her father was probably Nyuserre). Around the same time, the tomb of Neferinpu was built in the north-eastern part of the cemetery. Based on the archaeological and epigraphic evidence, the most probable time range of the cemetery seems to be from the reign of Nyuserre through the reign of Djedkare. This complex Fifth Dynasty cemetery thus probably represents an important attestation to the revolutionary changes that took place in the reign of Nyuserre, which featured many new and unparalleled phenomena, such as the appearance of family tombs and the rise of an increasingly independent class of officials who started to usurp privileges formerly reserved for the king. Moreover, many new topics in tomb decoration appear and develop from this time on, such as desert scene motifs - the first indications of approaching climate change. This climate change peaked around 2,200 BC and ran parallel to the demise of the Old Kingdom. It is known as the ‘4.2 kiloyear event’ as it happened 4,200 years before the present day. As a result of this newly developing situation within the state and its administration, a new concept for the cemeteries was developed. The tombs and/or tomb complexes were quite frequently designed and Abusir Pyramid Field Abusir South Lake of Abusir North Saqqara Satellite image (Quickbird) of the Abu Sir pyramid field General view of the cemetery with the pillared court of Princess Sheretnebty EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 21