The Unknown Pyramids of Egypt
By: Noureldin Mohamed/Arab America Contributing Writer
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Ancient Egyptians? The Great Pyramids of Giza? Sphinx? Tombs? Well, there are also other hidden treasures that you may not have known about. The Ancient Egyptians were brilliant innovators and great builders. From measuring time to paper, linen, and jewelry, the Ancient Egyptians fascinated us. Building pyramids were like honorary graves made to Kings and priests of the Old Kingdom for the afterlife. Some of them are so giant and perfectly built to withstand to our modern today, that many think its Aliens who built it! Old Kingdom mortuary complexes consist of five essential components: a valley temple, a causeway, a mortuary temple, a cult pyramid, and the main pyramid. Credit goes to famous French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero, who discovered several of Saqqara’s hidden gems and pyramids, including the tombs of Seti I, Amenhotep I, Thutmose III, and Ramses II.
To hinder any delays to this amazing written adventure, here are six of the lesser-known pyramids of Egypt:
Djoser
The famed Pyramid of Djoser or the Step pyramid is unique in its shape, differing from the well-established blueprint of the structures that came after it. It is indeed one of the earliest examples of large-scale, cut-stone construction composed of several steps or ‘mastabas’ (benches). Located in Saqqara, near the Great Pyramids, it was built by the Pharaoh Djoser between 2630 and 2611 BC. Prior to the construction of Pyramids, ancient Egyptian burials took place in a mastaba, which was made of mudbrick with tilting sides. Djoser’s Pyramid is composed of six mastabas stacked atop one another. Archaeologists believe that this was the first Pyramid built in Egypt.
Meidum
Built during the reign of Egypt’s Third Dynasty, Meidum is thought to be the second pyramid to be constructed after Djoser’s step pyramid. This pyramid was the transitioning step between the stacked mastabas to true pyramids such as the ones at the Giza Plateau. Located in Meidum, northeast of Al Fayyum city, it was built by the Pharaoh Senefru between 2637-2613 BC.
Architects on the project resorted to using a limestone fill to transform Meidum into the 91.65-meter landmark that it once was. However, the time has taken its toll on the pyramid as it partially collapsed during ancient times. It now stands at the height of 65.5 meters. Because of its unusual appearance, the pyramid is called El-Heram El-Kaddaab — (Pseudo Pyramid) in Egyptian Arabic.
The second extension turned the original step pyramid design into a true pyramid by filling in the steps with limestone encasing. While this approach is consistent with the design of the other true pyramids, Meidum was affected by construction errors. Firstly, the outer layer was founded on the sand and not on a rock, like the inner layers. Secondly, the inner step pyramids had been designed as the final stage. Thus, the outer surface was polished, and the platforms of the steps were not horizontal but fell off to the outside. This severely compromised the stability and is likely to have caused the collapse of the Meidum Pyramid in a downpour while the building was still under construction.
The Bent Pyramid
The Bent Pyramid is one of the three built in honor of King Seneferu, the founder of ancient Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty. The 101-meter colossal edifice was closed to the public in 1965 for restoration works after cracks started appearing in the structure. However, in 2019, the Ministry of Antiquities opened it to the public once more.
It has been suggested that due to the steepness of the original angle of inclination, the structure may have begun to show signs of instability during construction, forcing the builders to adopt a shallower angle to avert the structure’s collapse. It is also unique amongst the approximately ninety pyramids to be found in Egypt, in that its original polished limestone outer casing remains largely intact.
The Bent Pyramid is named in such a manner because of its tapered upper section. Egyptologists consider it to be one of the first attempts at building a complete pyramid and was crucial in our ancestor’s understanding of how to erect such majestic structures.
Pyramid of Sahure
Although in ruins, the Pyramid of Sahure is a structure of extreme importance to Egyptologists all over the world. The complex in which it stands is one of the most well-preserved sites in all of Egypt. It has not been changed for a period of 300 years. Built by the Pharaoh Sahure between the late 26th century to early 25th century BC and is located near Abusir, between Saqqara and Giza.
Adjacent to its eastern face, the mortuary temple was built consisting of five basic elements: an entrance hall, an open courtyard, a five-niche statue chapel, an offering room, and storerooms. These had been used in mortuary temples since the reign of Khafre, but here again, Sahure’s layout was adopted as a standard in all subsequent such temples in the Old Kingdom. At the south-east corner of the main pyramid lay the enclosure of the cult pyramid, accessible either via a secondary entrance or a transverse corridor.
Sahure’s temple became the object of a cult of Sekhmet around the Eighteenth Dynasty. The growing interest in Abusir heralded the first wave of destruction visited upon the site’s monuments. Sahure’s may have escaped this battering, a protection afforded it by the cult. Later, in the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Dynasties, the monuments once again stirred interest, as evidenced by the copying of the monuments relief decorations. In 1994, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities decided to have the Abusir necropolis opened to tourism. In preparation, they had restorative works conducted at Sahure’s pyramid. The architect Zahi Hawass had a segment of Sahure’s causeway cleaned and reconstructed, during which large relief decorated limestone blocks that had been buried in the sand were uncovered.
Neferirkare
Ancient Egyptians had switched their burial sites to a ‘true’ pyramid blueprint, the Pyramid of Neferirkare designed as a step or mastaba pyramid. Part of it has collapsed on itself because of a flaw in the limestone filling used by architects at that time. Built by Pharaoh NeferirkareKakai in the late 25th century and located near Abusir.
Neferirkare’s pyramid is an important monument due to the enormous set of papyri that were found adjacent to it – collectively known as the Abusir papyri. The Abusir papyri represent the earliest known example of the Egyptian hieratic script, which is important for dating other archeological finds. Also, these papyri contain important information on the administration of a Pyramid temple and the duty assignments of the priests in question. The Fifth Dynasty marked the end of the great pyramid constructions during the Old Kingdom. Pyramids of the era were smaller and becoming more standardized, though intricate relief decoration also proliferated. Neferirkare’s pyramid deviated from convention as it was originally built as a step pyramid, a design that had been antiquated after the Third Dynasty (26th or 27th century BC).
Pyramid of Unas
Time has reduced the Pyramid of Unas into nothing more than a heap of rocks; however, it has the earliest examples of what is called ‘Pyramid Texts,’ the religious spells and inscriptions that were used to guide the Pharaoh on his journey in the afterlife. Located at the opposite corner of Netjerikhet’s complex, near Saqqara, Giza, and built by Unas (Wanis) in the 24 century BC. Unas built his pyramid between the complexes of Sekhemket and Djoser, in North Saqqara. Anchored to the valley temple at a nearby lake, a long causeway was constructed to provide access to the pyramid site. The causeway had elaborately decorated walls covered with a roof that had a slit in one section allowing light to enter, illuminating the images. A long ‘wadi’ (valley) was used as a pathway.
The underground chambers remained unexplored until 1881, when Gaston Maspero, who had recently discovered inscribed texts in the pyramids of Pepi I and Merenre I, gained entry. The Saqqara plateau witnessed a new era of tomb building in the New Kingdom. Starting with the reign of Thutmose III in the Eighteenth Dynasty and up until possibly the Twentieth Dynasty, Saqqara was used as a site for the tombs of private individuals.
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Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Egyptian_pyramids
https://www.touropia.com/pyramids-in-egypt/
