Merneith ruled for her young son Den, was buried at Abydos in a king's tomb ringed by servants' graves, and later king lists left her out

Merneith held the titles King's Mother and Foremost of Women. Her probable husband was King Djet. When Djet died, their son Den was probably too young to rule, and she most likely governed for him. Her tomb at Umm el-Qa'ab in Abydos, now called Tomb Y, was built on the scale of the kings' tombs and had two stelae with her name. Flinders Petrie found it in 1900 and took it for the tomb of an unknown king. At least 40 subsidiary graves surround it. First Dynasty kings were buried with courtiers, servants and artisans killed at the time of the funeral. At King Aha's enclosure, excavators found graves sealed under one plaster floor laid soon after burial, which shows the occupants died together. Djet had more than 300 people buried with him; Merneith had fewer, and of lower rank. A 2026 study of 46 skulls from Petrie's Abydos graves found serious skull injuries on 18. A clay seal from Den's tomb lists the First Dynasty kings and names her among them as "King's Mother," the only woman on the list. A later seal from the tomb of King Qaa lists the kings without her. The New Kingdom king lists also omit her. The killing of retainers ended with the First Dynasty. Her tomb is still at Abydos.