Merikare

Burial

Many sources suggest that Merikare was buried in a yet-undiscovered pyramid in Saqqara, called Flourishing are the Abodes of Merikare, that had to be near to the pyramid of Teti of the 6th Dynasty. They include Gemniemhat who also held other important positions.

Attestations Despite the fact that his name cannot be recognized in the Turin King List, Merikare is the most attested among the Herakleopolite rulers. His name appears on: the Teaching for King Merikare; a wooden scribe palette belonging to the chancellor Orkaukhety, found in a tomb near Asyut (along with a brazier dedicated to Meryibre Khety) and now at the Louvre;

Theories Hypothesis of an earlier reign In 2003, the Egyptologist Arkadi F. Demidchik suggested that Merikare's placement within the dynasty should be reconsidered. According to him, if Merikare reigned during the campaign led by Mentuhotep II then the former's pyramid and its cult couldn't have survived the Theban conquest; again, Merikare likely would not be able to obtain granite from the South as mentioned in the Teachings. Demidchik also argued that the battles for Thinis mentioned by Tefibi and Merikare were the same, being fought in the opposite front by the Theban ruler Wahankh Intef II, thus suggesting that Merikare's reign should be placed some decades earlier than usually thought, when the 10th Dynasty's power was at its peak.