Amenemhet III pyramid

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amenemhet III pyramid
The so-called "Black Pyramid" Amenemhet III.
The so-called "Black Pyramid" Amenemhet III.
Egyptian name
Hiero Ca1.svg
i mn
n 		m Has
t
Hiero Ca2.svg
sxm
Sechem Amenemhet
(Sechem Amen em het)
Sḫm Jmn m ḥ3.t
Amenemhet ( Amun is at the top) is mighty
name of the pyramid city; the name of the actual pyramid is unknown.
Data
place Dahshur
builder Amenemhet III.
construction time 12th dynasty
Type real pyramid
Building material Clay bricks with limestone cladding
Base dimension 105 m
Height (originally) approx. 75 m
Tilt approx. 57 °
Cult pyramid No
Queen pyramids no

Also known as "Black Pyramid" known Dahshur pyramid of Amenemhet III. was by King Amenemhet III. from the 12th dynasty , who had a total of two pyramids built in the first half of his long reign . Already in the 2nd year of his reign he began to build this pyramid "Amenemhet is mighty" in Dahshur ; later a second was built in Fajum near Hawara with the same base size, the Hawara pyramid .

Research history

The first documentation of the pyramid was carried out by John Shae Perring in 1839 . The publication took place in 1842 by himself and by Richard William Howard Vyse . Karl Richard Lepsius visited Dahshur during his Egypt expedition 1842-1846 and documented the ruins there between February and April 1843. He added the Amenemhet III pyramid to his list of pyramids under the number LVIII . In 1857 the pyramid was first photographed by Francis Frith .

Jacques de Morgan carried out the first excavations in the pyramid complex in 1894/95. In October 1900 the complex was again subjected to a smaller investigation. This had become necessary as there had been several thefts and even an armed attack on the guards of the Dahshur necropolis. The inspector Reis Chalifah discovered the black granite pyramidion in the rubble on the east side . The good condition of the labeled pyramid tip suggests that it was never put on. Between 1976 and 1983 the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) carried out further excavations under the direction of Dieter Arnold , the results of which were initially published in several preliminary reports and in 1987 in a final full publication. In 1998, Karin Haslacher presented a volume on the finds made during the DAI excavations.

Surname

A distinctive feature of the 12th Dynasty pyramids is the use of different names for different parts of the pyramid complex. While the facilities of the Old Kingdom only had one name for the entire royal tomb complex, the facilities of the 12th Dynasty had up to four names, which denoted the actual pyramid, the mortuary temple, the cult facilities of the district and the pyramid city. For the Amenemhet III pyramid, none of the four names can be assigned with certainty. The names of the pyramid and the cult complex are unknown. The mortuary temple was probably not given a name because of the relocation of Amenemhet's tomb. The name Sechem-Imen-em-hat ("Amenemhet is strong") can only be assumed for the pyramid city . This is the same city that Amenemhet's great-grandfather Amenemhet II had built for his pyramid .

The pyramid

Photograph of the Black Pyramid in Dahshur by Francis Frith (1857), in the background the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu (105 m high)

The superstructure

The Dahshur pyramid of Amenemhet III. had a base dimension of about 105 m and would have been about 80 meters high at an angle of inclination of 57 °. This would make it the sixth tallest of the Egyptian pyramids as well as the tallest Egyptian pyramid that was built after the time of the Old Kingdom .

The core of the pyramid is made entirely of adobe bricks with no retaining walls. The exterior cladding consisted of Tura - limestone and is now lost. Weather and environmental influences led to the bizarre appearance of the building today.

The pyramidion

The pyramidion , view of the prospective east side (in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo)

The pyramidion consists of black granite, polished to a mirror finish. It has a height of 1.40 m and an edge length of 1.85 m. The lower edges are chamfered and smoothed less carefully than the front sides. This was done to firmly anchor the end stone of the pyramid in a groove. The east side has a central image that shows a winged sun with slightly lowered wings, enclosing two eyes and three nfr symbols. Below is a sun disk, on the left the proper name and on the right the throne name Amenemhets III. connect. Together these signs make up the sentence “Amenemhet sees the beauty of the sun”. In the lower area, a hieroglyphic inscription runs around all four sides of the pyramidion. The inscription on the east side begins with the words "The face of King Amenemhet is open, he looks at the Lord of the Horizon (the sun god) as he passes through the sky". On the north side it begins with the words "The soul ( b3 - Ba ) of King Amenemhet is higher than the height of Orion and it unites with the underworld ( dw3t - Duat )." The pyramidion is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo ( Inv.No. JE 35133 and JE 35745).

The chamber system

Substructure of the pyramid

The pyramid has two entrances, one on the south end of the east side and one on the west side. They lead to numerous chambers, corridors and stairs as well as some burial chambers. With this construction, Amenemhet III. King Djoser from the 3rd dynasty followed, because only his pyramid has such a complicated substructure.

In addition to the grave never used the king's treasure are several burials of queens and princesses with their grave chambers Kanopennischen and Ka - bands were integrated into the structure. Both queen chambers were used: the western one for Queen Aat ; the other for Chnumneferhedjet . The mummy remains of the queens suggest that they died at 35 or 25 years of age. A total of six burials were found in the pyramid (e.g. Hathorhetep ).

Shortly before the pyramid was completed, serious construction defects were already visible, which prompted the king to build the second pyramid: the subsoil was unstable , too many rooms and corridors as well as an inadequate ceiling construction caused the building to sag under the paving of the courtyard. By cedar beams and walls of mud brick was trying to absorb the pressure and to conceal cracks.

The royal sarcophagus

3D model of the sarcophagus
The decor of the sarcophagus

The sarcophagus of Amenemhet III. consists of rose granite and its design is based heavily on that of his father Sesostris III. on. The tub has a two-tiered base and measures 2.61 × 1.16 m on the floor, 2.56 × 1.11 m on the second base level and 2.41 × 0.97 m at the top. Its height is 0.99 m. The lid measures an additional 0.32 m. The internal dimensions of the sarcophagus are 2.02 × 0.58 × 0.70 m. The base is smooth and undecorated up to a height of 17 cm. This is followed by a second step with a height of 33 cm, which is decorated with a surrounding palace facade . It has five gates on the east side, four on the west side and three each on the north and south sides. The south-eastern gate is particularly emphasized by a slight paragraph. The edges and the upper edge of the wall have a decor in the form of mat mesh. At the northern end of the east side there is a small, recessed field on which a pair of udjat eyes has been carved out in raised relief . The lid is curved and has two end strips on the narrow sides, which protrude slightly over the curve. The lower edge of the lid also has a decoration that imitates mat mesh. The inside of the sarcophagus is undecorated. Hieroglyphic inscriptions are absent. The tub has two grooves deepening to the east on the narrow sides, into which the lid was pushed from the west.

The shape and decor of the sarcophagus are based on models from the early dynasty and the Old Kingdom . The meshwork and the arched lid with end strips originally go back to the Butian sanctuary Per-nu in Lower Egypt , which served as a model for wooden coffins from an early age. From the 3rd dynasty , this design was then transferred to stone sarcophagi. In the 12th dynasty, this model of the Old Kingdom under Sesostris I was first used again for private sarcophagi and from Sesostris III. finally for royal sarcophagi. The palace facade, in turn, has its origins in the early dynastic valley districts in Abydos, Upper Egypt . These brick structures were first implemented in stone in the pyramid complex of Djoser in Sakkara . This served as a concrete model for the design of the Amenemhet III sarcophagus. and probably already Sesostris III., which can be read from the number and distribution of the gates.

The pyramid district

Model of the pyramid district

The pyramid district was oriented in an east-west direction. As usual, a valley temple , an access road and a mortuary temple were in front of the pyramid . The pyramid had two walls made of plastered bricks. The outer wall was smooth, the inner one had a surrounding niche structure.

Valley temple and way

The only partially excavated valley temple consists of two courtyards that rise in terraces. On the eastern entrance front it has a reinforced wall, which is a forerunner of the pylons of the New Kingdom . An 18.50 m wide path, bounded by a brick wall, connects the valley temple with the mortuary temple. A priests' settlement is adjacent to the north outside of the path.

The outer perimeter wall and the outer courtyard

Wooden Ka statue from the tomb of Hor I.

In the north of the outer enclosure are ten shaft graves , which are for family members of Amenemhet III. had been created. King Hor I and his presumed daughter, Princess Nubhetepti-chered, were buried in two of these shafts about a hundred years after the construction of the Amenemhet III pyramid in the 13th Dynasty .

The mortuary temple

The mortuary temple is completely destroyed. As in most of the earlier pyramids of the 12th Dynasty, it is greatly reduced compared to the models of the Old Kingdom. It is divided into an inner and an outer part. The outer area consists only of an open courtyard, which was surrounded by eighteen eight-stem papyrus columns made of granite. The inner area consists of an east-west oriented sacrificial hall and two adjoining rooms.

  • Reconstruction of the mortuary temple

  • Reconstruction of the papyrus columns

  • Reconstruction of the papyrus columns

literature

General overview

Excavation publications

  • Dieter Arnold : Excavations in Dahshur. In: Archive for Orient Research (AfO). Vol. 25, 1974-1977, pp. 321-323 ( JSTOR 41636341 ).
  • Dieter Arnold: Dahschur: Third excavation report. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK). Volume 36, 1980, pp. 15-21.
  • Dieter Arnold: The pyramid Amenemhet III. von Dahshur: Fourth excavation report. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK). Volume 38, 1982, pp. 17-23.
  • Dieter Arnold: The pyramid district of King Amenemhet III. in Dahshur. Volume 1: The Pyramid (= Archaeological Publications. Vol. 53). von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0608-3 .
  • Dieter Arnold, Rainer Stadelmann: Dahschur: First excavation report. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK). Volume 31, 1975, pp. 169-174.
  • Dieter Arnold, Rainer Stadelmann: Dahschur: Second excavation report. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK). Volume 33, 1977, pp. 15-20.
  • Karin Haslacher : The pyramid of King Amenemhet III. from Daschur. Volume 2; The finds. (= Archaeological Publications. Vol. 61). von Zabern, Mainz 1998, ISBN 3-8053-0616-4 .
  • Gaston Maspero : Sur le pyramidion d'Amenemhaît III à Dahshour. In: Annales du service des antiquités de l'Égypte (ASAE). Volume 3, 1902, pp. 206-208 ( online ).
  • Jacques de Morgan : Fouilles a Dahchour. Mars – June 1894. Holzhausen, Vienna 1895 (online) .
  • Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. 1894-1895. Holzhausen, Vienna 1903 (online) .

Questions of detail

  • Hartwig Altenmüller : The pyramid names of the early 12th dynasty. In: Ulrich Luft (Ed.): The Intellectual Heritage of Egypt. Studies Presented to László Kákosy (= Studia Aegyptiaca. Volume 14). Budapest 1992, ISBN 963-462-542-8 , pp. 33-42 ( online ).
  • Dieter Arnold: The labyrinth and its role models. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK). Volume 35, 1979, pp. 1-9.
  • Dieter Arnold: The valley temple of the pyramid Amenemhet III. in Dahshur. In: Sokar. Volume 38, 2019, pp. 60-67.
  • Dorothea Arnold : On ceramics from the valley temple area of ​​the pyramid Amenemhet III. in Dahshur. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK). Volume 33, 1977, pp. 21-26.
  • Felix Arnold : The South Cemeteries of Lisht II. The Control Notes and Team Marks (= Publications of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition. Volume 23). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1990, ISBN 978-0-300-09161-8 ( online ).
  • Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing : Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 18065-18793. Stone vessels. Holzhausen, Vienna 1904 ( online ).
  • Ludwig Borchardt : Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 1-1294. Statues and statuettes of kings and individuals in the Cairo Museum. Part 1. Reichsdruckerei, Berlin 1911 ( PDF; 66.9 MB ).
  • Ludwig Borchardt: Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 1-1294. Statues and statuettes of kings and individuals in the Cairo Museum. Part 2. Reichsdruckerei, Berlin 1911 ( PDF; 60.9 MB ).
  • Hans Gerhard Evers : State made of stone. Monuments, history, and importance of Egyptian sculpture during the Middle Kingdom. 2 volumes. F. Bruckmann, Munich 1929.
  • Peter Jánosi : The pyramids of the queens. Investigations on a grave type from the Old and Middle Kingdom (= Austrian Academy of Sciences. Memoranda of the entire academy. Volume 13 = Investigations by the Cairo branch of the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Volume 13). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-7001-2207-1 , pp. 65–67.
  • Pierre Lacau : Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 28100-28126. Sarcophages antérieurs au Nouvel Empire, Tome II. Imprimiere de l'Institut Français d'Archeologie Orientale, Cairo 1906 ( online ).
  • Arno Sauerbier : The sarcophagus of Amenemhet III. in the "Black Pyramid" of Dahshur. In: Sokar. Volume 7, 2003, pp. 46-50.
  • Heinrich Schäfer : Miscelles. In: Journal for Egyptian Language and Archeology (ZÄS). Volume 41, 1904, pp. 84-85 ( online ).
  • A. Schwab: The sarcophagi of the Middle Kingdom. A typological study for the 11th to 13th dynasties. Dissertation, Vienna 1989.
  • Eugen Strouhal : Anthropological finds from the area of ​​the pyramid of King Amenemhet III. in Dahshur. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK). Volume 35, 1979, pp. 323-333.

Web links

Commons : Amenemhet III pyramid  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Shae Perring, EJ Andrews: The Pyramids of Gizeh. From Actual Survey and Admeasurement. Volume 3, Fraser, London 1843, p. 17, plate 13 ( online ).
  2. ^ John Shae Perring, Richard William Howard Vyse: Operations carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837: With an Account of a Voyage into Upper Egypt, and Appendix. Volume 3, Fraser, London 1842, pp. 70-71 ( online ).
  3. ↑ Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia. Text. First volume. Lower Egypt and Memphis. Edited by Eduard Naville and Ludwig Borchardt, edited by Kurt Sethe. Hinrichs, Leipzig 1897, p. 209 ( online ).
  4. ^ Francis Frith: Cairo, Sinai, Jerusalem, and The Pyramids of Egypt. A Series of Sixty Photographic Views. Virtue & Company, New York 1860 ( online ).
  5. ↑ Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. Mars – Juin 1894. 1895.
  6. ↑ Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. 1894-1895. 1903.
  7. ↑ Gaston Maspero: Sur le pyramidion d'Amenemhaît III à Dahshour. 1902, pp. 206-208 online ; Miroslav Verner: The pyramids. 1999, pp. 462-463.
  8. ↑ Dieter Arnold: The pyramid district of King Amenemhet III. in Dahshur. Volume 1: The pyramid. 1987.
  9. ↑ Karin Haslacher: The pyramid of King Amenemhet III. from Daschur. Volume 2: The Finds. 1998.
  10. ↑ Hartwig Altenmüller: The pyramid names of the early 12th dynasty. 1992, pp. 34-35, 37-38, 41.
  11. ↑ Gaston Maspero: Sur le pyramidion d'Amenemhaît III à Dahshour. 1902, p. 206.
  12. ^ Heinrich Schäfer: Miscelles. 1904, p. 84.
  13. ↑ Arno Sauerbier: The sarcophagus of Amenemhet III. in the "Black Pyramid" of Dahshur. 2003, p. 49.
  14. ↑ Arno Sauerbier: The sarcophagus of Amenemhet III. in the "Black Pyramid" of Dahshur. 2003, p. 50.
  15. ↑ Arno Sauerbier: The sarcophagus of Amenemhet III. in the "Black Pyramid" of Dahshur. 2003, pp. 46-50.

Coordinates: 29 ° 47 ′ 30 ″  N , 31 ° 13 ′ 25 ″  E