Southern Mazghuna pyramid | |
---|---|
Amenemhat IV(?), 12th Dynasty(?) | |
Coordinates | 29°45′42″N 31°13′15″E / 29.76167°N 31.22083°E |
Ancient name | Mazghuna |
Constructed | 19th-18th century BCE ( 12th Dynasty- 13th Dynasty) |
Type | True pyramid |
Material | Mudbrick core (with limestone casing?) |
Height | 52.5 metres (172 ft) |
The Southern Mazghuna
Pyramid is an
ancient Egyptian royal tomb which was built during the
12th or the
13th Dynasty in
Mazghuna, 5 km south of
Dahshur,
Egypt. The building was never finished, and is still unknown which
pharaoh was the owner, since no appropriate inscription have been found.
The pyramid was rediscovered in 1910 by
Ernest Mackay and excavated in the following year by
Flinders Petrie.
[1]
The building shares some structural similarities to the
Hawara pyramid of
Amenemhat III, and for this reason it is usually attributed to his son
Amenemhat IV (around the end of the 19th-century BCE). In parallel, the near
northern Mazghuna pyramid is considered to be the tomb of his sister
Sobekneferu, the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty.
However, some researchers such as
William C. Hayes
[2] believed that the southern pyramid was built during the 13th Dynasty, on the basis of some similarities with the
pyramid of Khendjer. In this case, it should have belonged to one of the many pharaohs who ruled between the beginning of the 13th Dynasty and the loss of control of the northern territory occurred during or soon after the reign of
Merneferre Ay.
[3]
The pyramid has a side length of 52.5 m (172 ft). The core masonry consists of mudbricks and only reaches a height of one to two layers. Casing stones were not found; therefore, it is impossible to determine information about the planned inclination angle and total height.
The entrance of the pyramid is located in the middle of the south side. A staircase leads down to a short horizontal passage. Here is a wall niche, from where a blocking stone had been pushed into the passage. Another staircase leads to a second block, which, however, is still in its niche.
Finally a U-shaped chamber system leads to the burial chamber, which is topped by a
gable roof. There was an empty – but used –
quartzite
sarcophagus and some few
grave goods (three limestone lamps, an
alabaster duck-shaped vessel, a make-up vessel made from the same material and a piece of polished
soapstone) were found in it.
The complex is surrounded by a wavy wall, which incorporate the remains of the chapel in the middle of the east side; it consists of a large central chamber with two chambers on each side of the storehouse. The central chamber was attached in its southwestern corner with a sacrificial hall with a vaulted roof.
Southern Mazghuna pyramid | |
---|---|
Amenemhat IV(?), 12th Dynasty(?) | |
Coordinates | 29°45′42″N 31°13′15″E / 29.76167°N 31.22083°E |
Ancient name | Mazghuna |
Constructed | 19th-18th century BCE ( 12th Dynasty- 13th Dynasty) |
Type | True pyramid |
Material | Mudbrick core (with limestone casing?) |
Height | 52.5 metres (172 ft) |
The Southern Mazghuna
Pyramid is an
ancient Egyptian royal tomb which was built during the
12th or the
13th Dynasty in
Mazghuna, 5 km south of
Dahshur,
Egypt. The building was never finished, and is still unknown which
pharaoh was the owner, since no appropriate inscription have been found.
The pyramid was rediscovered in 1910 by
Ernest Mackay and excavated in the following year by
Flinders Petrie.
[1]
The building shares some structural similarities to the
Hawara pyramid of
Amenemhat III, and for this reason it is usually attributed to his son
Amenemhat IV (around the end of the 19th-century BCE). In parallel, the near
northern Mazghuna pyramid is considered to be the tomb of his sister
Sobekneferu, the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty.
However, some researchers such as
William C. Hayes
[2] believed that the southern pyramid was built during the 13th Dynasty, on the basis of some similarities with the
pyramid of Khendjer. In this case, it should have belonged to one of the many pharaohs who ruled between the beginning of the 13th Dynasty and the loss of control of the northern territory occurred during or soon after the reign of
Merneferre Ay.
[3]
The pyramid has a side length of 52.5 m (172 ft). The core masonry consists of mudbricks and only reaches a height of one to two layers. Casing stones were not found; therefore, it is impossible to determine information about the planned inclination angle and total height.
The entrance of the pyramid is located in the middle of the south side. A staircase leads down to a short horizontal passage. Here is a wall niche, from where a blocking stone had been pushed into the passage. Another staircase leads to a second block, which, however, is still in its niche.
Finally a U-shaped chamber system leads to the burial chamber, which is topped by a
gable roof. There was an empty – but used –
quartzite
sarcophagus and some few
grave goods (three limestone lamps, an
alabaster duck-shaped vessel, a make-up vessel made from the same material and a piece of polished
soapstone) were found in it.
The complex is surrounded by a wavy wall, which incorporate the remains of the chapel in the middle of the east side; it consists of a large central chamber with two chambers on each side of the storehouse. The central chamber was attached in its southwestern corner with a sacrificial hall with a vaulted roof.