{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.serdab","code":"thing-q607898","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q607898/","name":"Serdab","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A sealed chamber in ancient Egyptian tombs, especially Old Kingdom mastabas and pyramid complexes, that housed a statue of the deceased, connected to the offering chapel by a small slit or hole through which the ka statue could receive offerings and incense, as in the serdab of Djoser at Saqqara; the Arabic word means cellar, and the term is also used for underground rooms in Middle Eastern houses.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the serdab in Egyptian funerary architecture, relay its function and examples from Egyptological sources, describe the ka concept behind it, and distinguish the Egyptological sense from the everyday Arabic sense.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Sealed chamber","Ka statue","Slit to chapel","Old Kingdom use"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a serdab is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and function.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a serdab, and what role did it play in tomb ritual?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the Egyptian chamber or the Arabic cellar?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"ka","name":"Ka","description":"The ka concept.","findings":[{"id":"ka-finding","name":"Ka","description":"Ka.","questions":[{"text":"What is the ka, and why did statues need a sealed chamber with a slit?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits ka?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"examples","name":"Examples","description":"Examples.","layers":[{"id":"djoser","name":"Djoser","description":"The Djoser serdab.","findings":[{"id":"djoser-finding","name":"Djoser","description":"Djoser.","questions":[{"text":"What is known about the serdab of Djoser and its statue?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"mastabas","name":"Mastabas","description":"Mastaba serdabs.","findings":[{"id":"mastabas-finding","name":"Mastabas","description":"Mastabas.","questions":[{"text":"Which mastabas have notable serdabs and statues?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific tomb?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Scholarship.","layers":[{"id":"archaeology","name":"Archaeology","description":"Archaeology.","findings":[{"id":"archaeology-finding","name":"Archaeology","description":"Archaeology.","questions":[{"text":"How have serdabs been excavated and interpreted, with scholarship attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"evolution","name":"Evolution","description":"Evolution.","findings":[{"id":"evolution-finding","name":"Evolution","description":"Evolution.","questions":[{"text":"How did serdab use change from the Old Kingdom onward?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Egyptian funerary architecture?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Museums and language.","layers":[{"id":"museums","name":"Museums","description":"Museums.","findings":[{"id":"museums-finding","name":"Museums","description":"Museums.","questions":[{"text":"Where are serdab statues displayed today?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific museum?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"language","name":"Language","description":"Language.","findings":[{"id":"language-finding","name":"Language","description":"Language.","questions":[{"text":"How is the Arabic word serdab used for cellars and cool rooms in Middle Eastern houses?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits traditional Middle Eastern architecture?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe serdabs, their purpose and known examples from Egyptological sources.","Help museums and archaeological archives document serdab statues with recorded provenance."],"mustNot":["Help acquire or move statues or tomb material without lawful provenance and export permits.","Recommend opening, entering or probing a sealed chamber outside authorised excavation.","Present funerary objects or remains in ways that strip their religious meaning.","Give site details that would help looters reach unexcavated tombs."],"requiresHuman":["Any excavation, opening or conservation work in a tomb.","Decisions about displaying or repatriating funerary material."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["These are burial places, and the people interred had religious expectations about their remains and statues.","Looting of Egyptian tombs continues and destroys the context that gives finds meaning."],"affectedParties":["The dead and their descendants' communities","Egyptian heritage authorities and researchers","Museum visitors"]},"owners":{"steward":"The Egyptian antiquities authority for sites; museums for objects already in collections.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National antiquities registers","Museum collection records"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q811979","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"built structure","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"mastaba","type":"related","note":"and pyramid complexes"},{"target":"ka statue","type":"related","note":"of the deceased"},{"target":"Saqqara","type":"related","note":"in the best known example"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.serdab","Wikidata: Q607898 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q607898)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Djoser serdab: about 2650 BC date - Third Dynasty"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Sealed statue chamber in Egyptian tombs","Old Kingdom mastaba serdabs, the Djoser serdab at Saqqara","Burial chambers hold the body; offering chapels are accessible; Arabic serdab means cellar","A small enclosed stone chamber with a narrow slit in the wall."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the chamber and function","relay examples","describe the ka concept","distinguish senses"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing serdab with burial chamber","Confusing Egyptological and Arabic senses","Looting of statues"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Egyptian antiquities protection laws","UNESCO World Heritage status of Memphis and its necropolis"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Housing the ka statue of the deceased.","serdabs in mastabas","serdabs in pyramid complexes such as Djoser","multiple serdabs in large tombs","serdab as cellar in Middle Eastern houses"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q607898: Serdab","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q607898","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Serdab","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serdab","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should ka statue be a separate entry?","How should Egyptological references be linked?","How should the Arabic architectural sense be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q607898/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q607898/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T02:44:35Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:01+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}