The Southern Mazghuna

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

is an

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian royal tomb which was built during the 12th or the 13th Dynasty in Mazghuna, 5 km south of

Dahshur DahshurAlso transliterated ''Dahshour'' (in English often called ''Dashur''; ' ) is an ancient Egyptian pyramid complex and necropolis and shares the name of the nearby village of Manshiyyat Dahshur () in markaz Badrashin, Giza Governorate, Giza ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The building was never finished, and is still unknown which

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

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 Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English people, English Egyptology, Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. ...

Dating

The pyramid can be dated to either late 12th Dynasty or early 13th Dynasty.

12th Dynasty

The pyramid might date to the 12th Dynasty, as the building shares some structural similarities to the Hawara 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 Dyn ...

. For this reason it is usually attributed to Amenemhat IV, while the northern Mazghuna pyramid is attributed to

Sobekneferu Sobekneferu or Neferusobek () was the first confirmed queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known ...

13th Dynasty

William C. Hayes (1953) believed that the southern pyramid was built during the 13th Dynasty, on the basis of some similarities with the

pyramid of Khendjer The pyramid of Khendjer was a pyramid built for the burial of the 13th dynasty pharaoh Khendjer, who ruled Egypt c. 1760 BC during the Second Intermediate Period. The pyramid, which is part of larger complex comprising a mortuary temple, a chap ...

.W.C. Hayes, ''The Scepter of Egypt. A Background for the Study of American Antiquites in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the Earliest times to the End of the Middle Kingdom'', New York, 1953. In this case, it could have belonged to one of the many pharaohs who ruled in the 13th Dynasty.

Description

The pyramid has a side length of . The core masonry consists of

mudbrick Mudbrick or mud-brick, also known as unfired brick, is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of mud (containing loam, clay, sand and water) mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE. From ...

s 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. Mazghouna-sud-appartements2-herses

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 Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

and some few

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

(three limestone lamps, an

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

duck-shaped vessel, a make-up vessel made from the same material and a piece of polished

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...

) 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. File:Mazghouna-sud-mur.jpg, The enclosure wall of the complex File:South Mazghuna Chapel North.png, The chapel of the pyramid complex File:Mazghouna-sud-cratère.jpg, Outer limestone blocks and core mud bricks from the pyramid File:Mazghouna-sud-escalier.jpg, Staircase east of the antechamber File:Mazghouna-sud-escalier2.jpg, Staircase to the burial chamber File:Mazghouna-sud-sarcophage.jpg, Exterior of the burial vault

References

Sources

Mark Lehner Mark Lehner (born 1950 in Dakota) is an American archaeology, archaeologist with more than 30 years of experience excavating in Egypt. He is the director of Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) and has appeared in numerous television documenta ...

, ''Das Geheimnis der Pyramiden in Ägypten''. Orbis Verlag, München 1999, pp. 184–185, . *

Rainer Stadelmann Rainer Stadelmann (24 October 1933 – 14 January 2019) was a German Egyptology, Egyptologist. He was considered an expert on the archaeology of the Giza Plateau. Biography After studying in Neuburg an der Donau in 1953, he studied Egyptology, ...

, ''Die ägyptischen Pyramiden. Vom Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder.'' Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 3. Aufl., Mainz 1997, pp. 250–251, * Miroslav Verner, ''Die Pyramiden''. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1998, pp. 472–474, .

External links

The Mazghuna Pyramids
{{Egyptian pyramids 18th century BC in Egypt Pyramids of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt Pyramids of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt Buildings and structures completed in the 18th century BC 2nd-millennium BC establishments in Egypt 1910 archaeological discoveries