Chephren pyramid
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The ancient Egyptian pyramid of Chephren is the second highest of the pyramids of Giza and at the same time the second highest of all Egyptian pyramids . Nevertheless, it appears higher than the Great Pyramid , which is due to the steeper angle of inclination and the slightly higher ground. Like all pyramids at Giza, it was built in the 4th Dynasty around 2550 BC. And was named Wer Chaefre ('Chaefre is great').
Pharaoh Chephren (also Chaefre ), who was buried here, was the half-brother of his predecessor Radjedef (alternative reading Djedefre ) and son of Pharaoh Cheops (also Chufu ), who was also buried in Giza . At the east cemetery in Gizeh you can find a large double mastaba (no. G7130-40) which, according to Stadelmann, can be assigned to the king's son Chaefchufu . This Chaefchufu changed his name to Chaefre ("He appears like Re ") after the death of his half-brothers Kawab and Djedefre and his takeover .
Data
- original height: 143.87 m (275 royal cells ); 143.87 / 275 = 0.523 m per cubit
- Side length: 215.29 m (410 Königsellen); 215.29 / 410 = 0.525
The data of the pyramid (original and current height, side length, angle of slope) are data from Flinders Petrie from 1880.
The pyramid
The Chephren pyramid is located southwest of that of his father and thus in the middle of the three pyramids of Giza on a terrace. The steps of the north-west corner of the base are carved about 10 m into the rock, the south-east corner opposite was massively built up to compensate for the slight slope of the terrace. The quarry for the building material is right on site. The horizontally laid stone layers are roughly hewn, the joints very wide, and the mortar is often missing; the core of the pyramid is handcrafted significantly worse than that of the Cheops pyramid .
The cladding of the two lower layers consisted of granite , the other cladding of limestone .
At the top of the Chephren pyramid there are still remains of the paneling, the pyramidion no longer exists.
Due to the progressive erosion, the limestone cladding was examined by Italian experts. On this occasion, strong displacements of the corner edges were registered and earthquakes were also determined as the cause by means of computer simulation .
Already in the 19th Dynasty was Ramses II. Began with the stone robbery. He used the limestone cladding for the construction of a temple in Heliopolis (rock inscriptions by the head of the temple works, Maj ).
Between the years 1356 and 1362, other parts of the cladding were removed for the construction of the Sultan Hasan Mosque in Cairo .
The substructure
The pyramid has two descending entrances in the north. Both are on top of each other, the upper one begins 11.5 m above the base. The lower system of corridors to the chambers begins outside the base at a horizontal distance of over 8 m from the north edge. The lower passage opens into a horizontal tunnel, from which a secondary chamber branches off (10.41 m × 3.12 m, 2.61 m high). It is believed that this chamber had the same function as the so-called queen chamber of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Behind the horizontal tunnel, the passage rises again and meets the second access coming from above just below ground level. The now common corridor now runs horizontally to the burial chamber in the center of the building.
The burial chamber measures 14.15 m × 5 m and has a height of 6.83 m. The ceiling consists of mighty, sloping limestone beams, the walls are already made of natural rock. Except for Belzoni's graffito , the chamber is unlabeled and only contains the granite sarcophagus , which is half embedded in the floor. The sliding lid was broken in the chamber, the bones found came from bulls. A small shaft in the ground probably contained the canopic jars .
It can be assumed that the pyramid was robbed for the first time in the First Intermediate Period . The historian Ibn Abd al-Salam notes a further opening of the pyramid in the year 774 according to the Islamic calendar (= 1372 AD), but the entrance was apparently closed again.
On March 2, 1818, the Belzoni burial chamber was rediscovered. Compared to the magnificent chamber system of Cheops, the structure of Chephren that has been discovered so far appears rather simple.
The pyramid district
The pyramid was surrounded by a massive wall that formed a paved courtyard over 10 m wide on all sides. Wall remnants were located further north, west and south, which probably formed the demarcation of the whole complex. On the south side, outside the surrounding wall, are the remains of a secondary pyramid (No. G2a). It is debatable whether this pyramid is a cult pyramid or the tomb of a wife of Chephren.
As has been customary since Sneferu , the Chephren pyramid is divided into three parts: Valley Temple, Aufweg and Mortuary Temple. The mortuary temple is in front of the pyramid to the east. The king introduced a new model here for the first time, which all of the following mortuary temples have:
- An entrance hall,
- an open colonnade,
- five niches for statues of kings (statue chapels),
- five chambers as magazines,
- the holy of holies with false door and / or pair of steles.
The temple was built of local limestone, the inside was lined with granite and decorated with colored relief decorations. The pillars of the courtyard were also made of granite. Fragments prove that the temple was provided with numerous statues of the king, some of which are said to have been 3.75 m high.
The 495 m long path between the valley and the mortuary temple is only partially preserved. It probably consisted of a covered corridor made of limestone , clad with granite on the outside and decorated with reliefs on the inside. The pathway is not straight on the east-west axis, but is slightly shifted so as not to come into conflict with the Sphinx . Some Egyptologists see this as proof that the Sphinx was created before the reign of Khafre.
The valley temple of the Chephren pyramid is located directly next to the Sphinx temple on the former, ancient port quay of the pyramid district. The structural condition is still excellent today. It was built from large limestone blocks that were clad with polished granite slabs.
Access was from the quay through two gates that were previously closed with huge cedar doors. Both entrances lead into a transverse hall, from which a central corridor leads into a large, T-shaped pillar hall. The 16 pillars are made of granite monoliths and supported the roof. The lighting came through narrow slots in the upper part of the walls. The floor was made of white alabaster . In this hall 23 or 24 statues of kings were placed on the sides. One of these statues is made of diorite and was found by Auguste Mariette in a very well preserved condition and can now be seen in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The other statues were more or less destroyed. The head of a statue of them is in the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim .
The way to the mortuary temple also begins in the pillar hall.
See also
literature
- General
- Miroslav Verner : The pyramids (= rororo non-fiction book. Volume 60890). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-499-60890-1 , pp. 254-264.
- Mark Lehner: Secret of the Pyramids. Econ, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-572-01261-9 , pp. 122-132.
- Zahi Hawass : Giza, Khafre pyramid complex. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 342-45.
- Zahi Hawass: The Treasures of the Pyramids. Weltbild-Verlag, Augsburg 2003, ISBN 3-8289-0809-8 , pp. 130-133.
- Uvo Hölscher , Georg Steindorff : The excavation of the mortuary temple of the Chephren pyramid by the Sieglin expedition in 1909 . In: Georg Steindorff (Hrsg.): Journal for Egyptian language and antiquity . Forty-sixth volume. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1909, p. 1–12 ( digitized version [accessed April 12, 2016]).
- Uvo Hölscher: The grave monument of King Chepren (= publications of the Ernst von Sieglin expedition in Egypt. Vol. I). Leipzig 1912 ( online version ).
- Frank Müller-Römer : The construction of the pyramids in ancient Egypt. Utz, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-8316-4069-0 .
- Rainer Stadelmann : The Egyptian pyramids. From brick construction to the wonder of the world (= cultural history of the ancient world . Volume 30). 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1991, ISBN 3-8053-1142-7 , pp. 130-140.
- Rainer Stadelmann: The great pyramids of Giza. Akad. Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1990, p. 1, 76–191.
- Questions of detail
- Dieter Arnold: On the history of the destruction of the pyramids: A lecture. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) Vol. 47, 1991, pp. 21-27.
- Jürgen Becker: The construction of the Chephren pyramid. In: Sokar. No. 10, 2005, pp. 24-37.
- Jürgen Becker: The Chephren pyramid. Your building history from the topographical situation at the site before the start of construction to the plan of the chamber system. In: Sokar. No. 9, 2004, pp. 18-27.
- Jürgen Becker: The Chephren pyramid. Change of plan of the building and its effect on the chamber system. In: Sokar. No. 8, 2004, pp. 8-17.
- John AR Legon: The Design of the Pyramid of Khaefre. In: Göttinger Miszellen (GM) Volume 110, 1989, pp. 27-34.
Web links
- Sphinx and Pyramids on Dr Zahi Hawass' website
- Pyramid floor plan
- Travel report Belzonis ( Memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Roman Gundacker: On the structure of the pyramid names of the 4th dynasty. In: Sokar. No. 18, 2009, pp. 26-30.
- ↑ Jürgen Becker: The Chephren pyramid. In: Sokar. No. 8, 2004 p. 7.
Pyramids of Giza ( Pyramids of Cheops , Chephren and Mykerinos ) | Hanging Gardens of Semiramis | Temple of Artemis in Ephesus | Statue of Zeus at Olympia | Mausoleum of Halicarnassus | Colossus of Rhodes | Pharos of Alexandria (replaced the previously destroyed city walls of Babylon )
Coordinates: 29 ° 58 ′ 33.1 ″ N , 31 ° 7 ′ 49.3 ″ E