The pyramid of Senusret II (in ancient Egyptian Kha Senusret meaning Senusret Shines) is the pyramid complex constructed for the pharaoh

Senusret II Khakheperre Senusret II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1897 BC to 1878 BC. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun. Senusret II took a great deal of interest in the Faiyum oasis region and began work on an ...

in the

Twelfth Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some ...

Location and early excavation

Karl Richard Lepsius visited the pyramid in the 1840s and conducted a brief archaeological survey of the site. Fifty years later,

Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie, was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egyp ...

conducted the first comprehensive excavations there. Petrie spent several unsuccessful months searching for the entrance into the pyramid on the north face of the pyramid.

had, however, taken a complete departure from the usual practice of having a corridor on the north side typical of

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...

and early Middle Kingdom pyramids and had instead built a narrow, vertical entrance shaft under a princess' tomb located about a dozen yards off to east of the southern pyramid face. The Czech Egyptologist

Miroslav Verner Miroslav Verner (born October 31, 1941 in Brno) is a Czech egyptologist, who specializes in the history and archaeology of Ancient Egypt of the Old Kingdom and especially of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Biography Verner was the director of th ...

explains that the decision had been made for a combination of religious reasons, and to thwart grave robbers. The builders had even constructed the usual small chapel on the north face, which typically concealed the entrance. Petrie did eventually find the entrance, after many months and multiple failed attempts. A small team headed by N. B. Millet of the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

and the architect J. E. Knudstad has been working at the site of the pyramid town and pyramid since 1989. Their goal is to expand on Petrie's work by re-gathering architectural details of the monuments there, which Petrie had neglected to record in his reports. On 28 June 2019, the pyramid was opened to visitors for the first time since its discovery.

Mortuary complex

Main pyramid

The core of the pyramid was constructed from

mudbrick A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also bee ...

around a stump of four steps of yellow limestone. The builders utilized a rock outcropping to anchor the pyramid and reduce construction time and cost. The completed pyramid was originally encased in white limestone, though an inscription found by Petrie indicates that the casing was removed in the

Nineteenth Dynasty The Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XIX), also known as the Ramessid dynasty, is classified as the second Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1292 BC to 1189 BC. The 19th Dynasty and the 20th Dynasty fur ...

for reuse in a different structure built by

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...

. Only remnants of the black granite

pyramidion A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the uppermost piece or capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or obelisk. Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as ''benbenet'' and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred ...

, which topped the pyramid, have been found. The pyramid was protected from flooding by a trench surrounding the perimeter of the pyramid and filled with sand to absorb rainwater. Around this trench, a stone perimeter wall was built and decorated with deep niches.

Substructure

Typically, the substructure entry was located on the north face of the pyramid. This had been the traditional entry point since Djoser built his step pyramid in the

Third Dynasty The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty III) is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. The capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis. Overview Af ...

. Although Senusret II's pyramid was built with a north chapel included, its real entry was hidden-away under the floor of a princess' tomb to the south-east. This was used for the burial rites of the king, but was too narrow for use during construction. Instead, a larger deep construction shaft found further south was used for transporting the sarcophagus and building material into the substructure. This was then reworked into a fake burial chamber in an attempt to deceive thieves attempting to enter the king's tomb. The base of the construction shaft opens up into a vaulted horizontal corridor. The corridor runs north to a vaulted room, containing the real entry shaft and a second unexplored shaft that has been flooded by ground water. The corridor then continues north with a slight incline leading to the antechamber. Part way along, a second chamber is found in its west. The antechamber contained two passageways: one leads from the antechamber to the burial chamber directly west; the other, located in the south, leads around the chamber eventually entering it from the north. The winding passage may have served a symbolic purpose, allowing the king's spirit to the leave the chamber towards the north. The burial chamber and labyrinth of passageways were shifted south-east of the vertical axis of the pyramid, another deviation from the standard. The burial chamber is oriented on the east–west axis, has a vaulted ceiling made from granite blocks, and a red granite sarcophagus near its west wall. Despite the precautions taken, the burial chamber was found looted of most of its contents by Petrie. An alabaster offering table inscribed with Senusret II's name, a gold uraeus, and leg bones, believed to belong to the king, are all that remained of the burial.

Notes

References

Sources

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Excavation reports

William Matthew Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie, was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egypt ...

: ''Illahun, Kahun and Gurob. 1889–1890.'' Nutt, London 1891
Onlineversion
. * William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Guy Brunton, Margaret Alice Murray: ''Lahun II.'' British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Bernard Quaritch, London 1923
PDF; 12,9 MB
. {{Authority control Pyramids of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt