A false door, or recessed niche,^[1] is an artistic representation of a door which does not function like a real door. They can be carved in a wall or painted on it. They are a common architectural element in the tombs of ancient Egypt, but appeared possibly earlier in some Pre-Nuragic Sardinian tombs known as Domus de Janas. Later they also occur in Etruscan tombs and in the time of ancient Rome they were used in the interiors of both houses and tombs.

Egyptian architecture was influenced by Mesopotamian precedents, as it adopted elements of Mesopotamian Temple and civic architecture.^[3] These exchanges were part of Egypt-Mesopotamia relations since the 4th millennium BCE.^[3]

Recessed niches were characteristic of Mesopotamian Temple architecture, and were adopted in Egyptian architecture, especially for the design of Mastaba tombs, during the First Dynasty and the Second Dynasty, from the time of the Naqada III period (circa 3000 BCE).^[3][4] 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.^[3]

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.

Carved or painted Pre-Nuragic false doors appear in about 20 tombs mostly located in northwestern Sardinia,^{[16]: 137–139} 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 (c. 3200 – c. 1600 BCE).^[17]

These false doors, apparently resulting from a strong Eastern influence,^[17]: 11 usually appear on the back wall of the main chamber, and are represented by horizontal and vertical frames and a projecting lintel.^{[16]: 137–139} Sometimes the door is topped with painted or carved U-shaped bull horns, inscribed inside each other in a variable number.^{[16]: 144 [15]}

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.^{[16]: 137–139} Alternatively, it is possible that these false doors are simply clues of the plan of the corresponding former house of the deceased.^[18]: 44

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, like in the Tomb of the Charontes at 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 of the 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.^[19]

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.^[20]

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• Monumental inscription