The Development of Pyramids

The royal burial in Ancient Egypt developed from predynastic times to

reach the pyramid complexes of the fourth dynasty through different stages
of development. From the pit to the mastaba then to the stone step-pyramid
was a great achievement but the Ancient Egyptians wanted to reach the
perfect pyramid that resembled the benben where life started at the time of
creation. The next step was building a step pyramid then fill the space
between the steps to reach to the shape of a true pyramid the pyramid of
Meidum but that was not enough.

Elements of a Pyramid Complex

Starting from the pyramid of Meidum, end of the third dynasty beginning of
the fourth, the Ancient Egyptians established some characteristics for the
pyramid complex. In contrast to the complex of Zoser that had a north-
south axis, pyramid complexes started to have an east-west axis. This
change was due to the change in the religion from an astral religion based
on the star worship especially the north stars, to a solar religion based on
the sun and its movement from east to west. The entrance of the pyramid
however, continued to be in the north side n most pyramids.
The elements of the complex settled as follows:
1. Enclosure wall: usually made of stone but sometimes of mud-brick
2. A quay: at the end of a canal bring water from the Nile. It is located by
the edge of the desert and is the closest point of the complex to
cultivation. Here the boat bringing the body of the king would dock.
3. The Valley temple: towards the east of the complex and overlooking
the quay. From here the body of the king would be carried into the
temple to perform rituals related to mummification and purification of
the dead king. It is believed that mummification itself took place in
another place around the area and here in the Valley Temple only
symbolic rituals took place. Another symbolic rite was that of
purification where flasks of water were symbolically used to purify the
body of the king. Also the rite of opening the mouth of the deceased
was performed on a number of statues where the mouth and other
members of the body of the various statues, were touched by
 instruments to enable the king to reopen his mouth and return to life.
The temple will continue to be used a place of worshiping the king
after his death.
4. The causeway: connecting the Valley Temple to the Mortuary
Temple that is located towards the west, on a higher hill. It is
therefore also known as the Ascending Corridor. It is paved, has
walls and a ceiling that sometimes has a pyramidical shape with a
hole in the center to enable sun rays to light the way. Through this
corridor, the mummified king would be carried during his funeral
towards the Mortuary Temple.
5. The Mortuary Temple: located towards the west. Here some more
rituals, prayers and offerings would be performed for the dead king
before he is taken to his pyramid. The temple will continue to be used
a place of worshiping the king after his death.
6. The Pyramid: it is located towards the west more than any other
element of the complex. Here the king would be taken to his final
resting place through the entrance on the North side of the pyramid in
most cases. The pyramid also included the funerary furniture of the
king that he will use in the afterlife. It will be sealed in hope to prevent
robbers.
7. Satellite pyramid: a small pyramid usually built by the east south
corner or towards the south of the pyramid and was used as a tomb
for the ka, the double, of the king.

Meidum:

Medium is located at the mouth of Fayoum in the Western Deseret

and it is part of the Memphite Necropolis. Its main monument is the
pyramid of Meidum. Some call it the tower pyramid as it looks like a tower
and was built like several towers around each other. Egyptians living
around the area called it el-haram el-kaddab, meaning "false pyramid" and
because of its form.
 The pyramid was probably started by king Huni, the last king of the
third dynasty but was mostly built and finished by Senefru, the first king of
the fourth dynasty. The original height of the pyramid Height: 92m but today
it it is only about 65 meter high as the upper part was lost and some of it
remains as sand around the pyramid. The base was 144 meter long and
the angle of the slope: 51o 53'.

It was originally a seven step structure built on a rock foundation, but

perhaps even before it was finished, an eighth step was added. The
pyramid was eventually covered with fine limestone in order to transform it
into a true, smooth sided pyramid. It

In this pyramid complex we can find the main elements that would be
used later by other pyramids of Egypt. For Example it kept the tradition of
having the entrance of the pyramid on the North side like the pyramid of
Saqqara but started a new tradition of having a mortuary temple to the
east, a valley temple further east by the valley and a causeway linking both.
The mortuary temple is a small chapel while the valley temple was lost
because of the floods and agriculture.

The entrance to the pyramid is on the north-south axis, in the north wall,
about fifteen meters above ground level. From here, a corridor runs down
until it reaches a few meters below the base of the pyramid, where it turns
into a horizontal passage that leads to the burial chamber that has a
corbelled roof. A corbelled roof have a shape of an empty pyramid. Senefru
was never buried in this pyramid but in the Red Pyramid of Dahshur.

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Dahshur
At Dahshur Senfru built two pyramids: the Bent Pyramid and the
Red Pyramid. These two and the pyramid of Meidum making
Senefru the builder of three pyramids.
The Bent Pyramid:
The Bent Pyramid was probably the first planned from the beginning
to be a true pyramid, with smooth sides. The pyramid is also sometimes
called the Rhomboidal or the False Pyramid. The ancient Egyptians called
it "Snefru Shines - South (pyramid)". It is older than the Red Pyramid.
It is one of the most unusual pyramids in Egypt, as well as one of the best
preserved as much of its casing remains.
The pyramid started with the angle of 54º but when the pyramid was about
45 meters high, the angle of the slope was reduced to 43º to reduce the
mass of the upper part of the pyramid and thus reducing the weight. The
reason for this change is that the builders noticed cracks in the pyramid
building so they restored them and tried to finish the building but with less
weight. The reasons for the cracks are several: the ground on which it was
built was not very solid, the stones were not packed very well but there
were spaces between blocks that made them move causing cracks and the
large angle of 54 made the building too big and would have been too high if
the angle was not changed.
 The corbelled roof of the Burial Chamber

There are actually two entrances to the substructure. A north

entrance is aligned with the pyramid's north-south axis about twelve meters
above ground level. The entrance leads to a descending corridor and then
to an underground antechamber with a high, corbel vault ceiling made of
large limestone slabs. A steep ladder (stairway) leads up into a burial
chamber that also has a corbel vault ceiling. The second entrance to the
pyramid is much higher up the west face of the structure and it leads to a
descending corridor that leads to another similar room.
The complex has a small chapel to the east acting as a mortuary
temple and a causeway that starts from the eastern part of the North side
that led to the valley temple.
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The Red Pyramid:

The Red Pyramid at Dashur has the second largest base after
Khufu's pyramid of any pyramid in Egypt. However, because it has the
angle of 43 º 22', it is much shorter (104 meters). It is the fourth highest
pyramid ever built in Egypt. The Red Pyramid was the first successful true
Pyramid built in Egypt.
The pyramid gets its name from the reddish limestone used to build it
but it is also sometimes called the Northern Pyramid. Learning from prior
mistakes, several layers of fine white limestone were used to lay the
pyramid's foundation to create solid ground thus eliminating structural
problems of earlier pyramids. Tura limestone was used as casing stone to
cover the pyramid. Though some casing still remains, most has been
removed.
East of the pyramid is what remains of a mortuary temple but no
traces of the causeway. Some remains of the Valley Temple were discored
by the valley. The first capstone (Pyramidion) ever found belonging to
an Old Kingdom Pyramid was discovered in fragments and reconstructed.
 Red pyramid pyramidion
The only entrance is in the north side, and leads to passage that
descends to two antechambers and then the Burial Chamber. All three of
the chambers have corbelled ceilings. Even with some two million tons of
stone above, this ceiling design is so strong that there are no cracks or
structural problems even today.

Burial chamber corbelled roof

Red Pyramid
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Development of Pyramids