Pyramidion from the tomb of Rer (7th century BCE)

Pyramidion_of_the_Pyramid_of_Amenemhet_III_at_Dahshur

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 benben stone.Toby Wilkinson, ''The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', Thames & Hudson, 2005. p. 197 During Egypt's Old Kingdom, pyramidia were generally made of diorite, granite, or fine limestone, then covered in gold or electrum; during the Middle Kingdom and through the end of the pyramid-building era, they were built from granite. A pyramidion was "covered in

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

to reflect the rays of the sun"; during Egypt's Middle Kingdom pyramidia were often "inscribed with royal titles and religious symbols". Very few pyramidia have survived into modern times. Most of those that remain are made of polished black granite, inscribed with the name of the pyramid's owner. Four pyramidia – the world's largest collection – are housed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Among them are the pyramidia from the so-called Black Pyramid of

Amenemhat III :''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat III ( Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-hꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the sixth king of the Twelfth Dy ...

at Dahshur and of the Pyramid of Khendjer at Saqqara.editors Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel (w/34 contributing Authors), ''Egypt, The World of the Pharaohs,'' Konemann, Germany: 1998. ''

'', 1842–1797 BC A badly damaged white Tura limestone pyramidion, thought to have been made for the Red Pyramid of Sneferu at Dahshur, has been reconstructed and is on open-air display beside that pyramid; it presents a minor mystery, however, as its angle of inclination is steeper than that of the edifice it was apparently built to surmount.

Private brick pyramids with pyramidia

During the

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, some private underground tombs were marked on the surface by small brick pyramids that terminated in pyramidia. The four lateral sides included texts and scenes related to the cult of the Sun God (as the representation of Pharaoh). The scenes typically depict the course of the sun, rising on one lateral face, setting on the opposite face, and traveling, through the night, through the underworld, ruled by Osiris.

Scribe Mose pyramidion

The pyramidion of Mose ( mes,s, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC, ''limestone'', 53 cm tall) depicts himself making an offering, with his name on two opposite faces. The adjacent opposite faces feature a baboon: "Screeching upon the rising of the Sun, and the Day". (The baboon is also the god-scribe representation of the

Scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

, for the god Thoth.)Peck, William. ''Splendors of Ancient Egypt,'' William H. Peck, The Detroit Institute of Arts, (University Lithoprinters Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.), c. 1997, (p. 67). (''Moses Pyramidion'' from "Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim, Germany".)

Ptahemwia pyramidion

The pyramidion of

Ptahemwia Ptahemwia or Ptah-em-Wia (Ptah in the barque) was an Ancient Egyptian official who lived under king Ramses II in the 19th Dynasty, around 1250 BC. Ptahemwia had several titles, providing evidence for his positions mainly at the Ramesseum, the mor ...

(19th Dynasty, Ramesside Period, c. 1200 BC, ''limestone'', 28 cm wide, 42 cm tall) likewise displays sun-related scenes. The Sun God,

Re-Horakhti Ra (; egy, rꜥ; also transliterated ; cuneiform: ''ri-a'' or ''ri-ia''; Phoenician: 𐤓𐤏,CIS I 3778 romanized: rʿ) or Re (; cop, ⲣⲏ, translit=Rē) was the ancient Egyptian deity of the sun. By the Fifth Dynasty, in the 25th a ...

, and the god of the Underworld, Osiris, are shown on one lateral face. Facing the two gods, on the adjacent lateral face, is the deceased Ptahemwia, standing in an offering pose, facing three columns of hieroglyphs.

Gallery

File:Pyramidion of Nesnubhotep, top of a limestone chapel monument. A scarab and adoring baboons in relief. 26th Dynasty. From Abydos, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg, Pyramidion of Nesnubhotep, top of a limestone chapel monument. A scarab and adoring baboons in relief. 26th Dynasty. From Abydos, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London File:Pyramidion of Nebamun. Possibly top of a stela. Limestone. 19th Dynasty. From Egypt. Bought in the Thebaid (Thebais) but probably it came from Deir el-Medina. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg, Pyramidion of Nebamun. Possibly top of a stela. Limestone. 19th Dynasty. From Egypt. Bought in the Thebaid (Thebais) but probably it came from Deir el-Medina. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London (UC14574) File:PyramidionFromPrivateTomb RosicrucianMuseum.png, Private tomb pyramidion made of limestone, at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum File:Restoration Project at the Red Pyramid in Dahshur.jpg, The restored pyramidion of the Red Pyramid at Dashur, on display beside the pyramid

References

External links