False door

Egyptian architecture was influenced by Mesopotamian precedents, as it adopted elements of Mesopotamian Temple and civic architecture. These exchanges were part of Egypt-Mesopotamia relations since the 4th millennium BCE. It is unknown if the transfer of this design was the result of Mesopotamian workmen in Egypt, or if temple designs appearing on imported Mesopotamian seals may have been a sufficient source of inspiration for Egyptian architects. ==Ancient Egypt==

The ancient Egyptians believed that the false door was a threshold between the worlds of the living and the dead and through which a deity or the spirit of the deceased could enter and exit. The false door was usually the focus of a tomb's offering chapel, where family members could place offerings for the deceased on a special offering slab placed in front of the door. Most false doors are found on the west wall of a funerary chapel or offering chamber because the Ancient Egyptians associated the west with the land of the dead. In many mastabas, both husband and wife buried within have their own false door. Structure A false door is usually carved from a single block of stone or plank of wood, and it was not meant to function as a normal door. Located in the center of the door is a flat panel, or niche, around which several pairs of door jambs are arranged—some convey the illusion of depth and a series of frames, a foyer, or a passageway. A semi-cylindrical drum, carved directly above the central panel, was used in imitation of the reed mat that was used to close real doors. The door is framed with a series of mouldings and lintels as well, and an offering scene depicting the deceased in front of a table of offerings is usually carved above the center of the door. Rarely, the Old Kingdom false door was combined with statues, demonstrating the common ancestry of the false door and naos in similar early ancient Egyptian architectural features. During the nearly one hundred and fifty years spanning the reigns of the sixth Dynasty pharaohs Pepi I, Merenre, and Pepi II, the false door motif went through a sequential series of changes affecting the layout of the panels, allowing historians to date tombs based on which style of false door was used. The same dating approach is used also for the First Intermediate Period. After the First Intermediate Period, the popularity of the false doors diminished, being replaced by stelae as the primary surfaces for writing funerary inscriptions. Here, the false door is represented by two wooden doors that are secured with door bolts, bracketed on both sides by architectural niching – recalling earlier niched temple and palace façades such as the enclosure wall that surrounds the mortuary complex of king Djoser of the Third Dynasty. In a similar manner to the Old Kingdom false doors, representations of false doors on Middle Kingdom coffins facilitated the movement of the deceased's spirit between the afterlife and the world of the living. Inscriptions The side panels usually are covered in inscriptions naming the deceased along with their titles, and a series of standardized offering formulas. These texts extol the virtues of the deceased and express positive wishes for the afterlife. For example, the false door of Ankhires reads: The lintel reads: The left and right outer jambs read: ==Prehistoric Sardinia==

, Putifigari, Sardinia. an example being some of the Domus de Janas of the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju, which are variously datable from the Ozieri to the Bonnanaro cultures of Pre-Nuragic Sardinia (). These false doors, apparently resulting from a strong Eastern influence, Unlike the Egyptian ones, the meaning of pre-Nuragic false doors is less clear. It has been argued that these represents the passageway to the afterlife that definitively separate the deceased from the living loved ones, also preventing a possible return. ==Etruria==

, Monterozzi necropolis, Tarquinia In Etruscan tombs the false door has a Doric design and is always depicted closed. Most often it is painted, but on some occasions it is carved in relief, as with the Tomb of the Charuns in Tarquinia. Unlike the false door in ancient Egyptian tombs, the Etruscan false door has given rise to a diversity of interpretations. It might have been the door to the underworld, similar to its use in ancient Egypt. It could have been used to mark the place where a new doorway and chamber would be carved for future expansion of the tomb. Another possibility is that it is the door of the tomb itself, as seen from outside. In the Tomb of the Augurs at Tarquinia, two men are painted to the left and right of a false door. Their gestures of lamentation indicate that the deceased were considered to be behind the door. ==Ancient Rome==

Painted doors were used frequently in the decoration of both First- and Second style interiors of Roman villas. An example is the villa of Julius Polybius in Pompeii, where a false door is painted on a wall opposite a real door to achieve symmetry. Apart from creating architectural balance, they could serve to make the villa seem larger than it really was. ==See also==