Pyramid of Ombos

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Pyramid of Ombos
Data
place Ombos
builder Huni  ?
construction time 3rd dynasty  ?
Type Step pyramid
Building material limestone
Base dimension 18.39 m
Height (today) 4.50 m
stages 3
Cult pyramid No

The pyramid of Ombos , also known as the pyramid of Naqada , belongs together with the pyramids in Edfu-Süd , Elephantine , El-Kula , Saujet el-Meitin , Seila and Sinki to a group of seven very similar small step pyramids , all of which are far from the great centers of Egypt and about which very little is known. It is located about 300 meters north of the ruins of the ancient place Ombos , near the modern city of Naqada in Upper Egypt . The first and so far only excavation was carried out in 1895 by Flinders Petrie and James Edward Quibell .

Data

The pyramid has a side length of 18.39 meters and still reaches a height of about 4.50 meters. It is not aligned exactly to the north, but deviates by about 12 ° to the northeast. Your orientation thus follows the course of the Nile . The pyramid consists of a core with a side length of about 5.75 meters, around which three bowls of roughly hewn stones are arranged. Presumably the building originally had three steps. Limestone of local origin was used as building material . Under the southwest corner, Petrie discovered a 1.25 by 2.00 meter large pit, which, however, most likely does not belong to the pyramid. It is more likely to be a secondarily covered grave shaft.

Construction and function

The builder and function of the pyramid are unknown. Günter Dreyer and Werner Kaiser consider them, as well as the other pyramids mentioned above, to be a coherent building project by Pharaoh Huni , the last ruler of the 3rd dynasty. Andrzej Ćwiek sees this in a similar way, but suspects Huni's successor Sneferu (around 2670–2620 BC), the founder of the 4th dynasty , as the builder . Speculations about the function of the pyramids range from a representation of the king to a representation of the original hill or a symbol of the political and religious unity of the country to cenotaphs of the royal wives.

literature

  • Jan Bock: The small step pyramids of the early Old Kingdom. In: Sokar, No. 12 (1/2006), pp. 20-29.
  • Andrzej Ćwiek: Date and Function of the so-called Minor Step Pyramids . In: Göttinger Miszellen Vol. 162, Göttingen 1998, pp. 39-52 ( online ).
  • Günter Dreyer, Werner Kaiser: To the small step pyramids of Upper and Middle Egypt. In: Communications of the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK) 36, Zabern, Mainz 1980, p. 46f.
  • Mark Lehner : The Secret of the Pyramids in Egypt. Orbis, Munich 1999, ISBN 357201039X , p. 96
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie, James Edward Quibell: Naqada and Ballas. London 1896, p. 65, Pl.Ia, LXXXV ( PDF; 8.6 MB )
  • Ali Radwan: The step pyramids . In: Zahi Hawass (ed.): The treasures of the pyramids. Weltbild, Augsburg 2004, ISBN 3828908098 , p. 111
  • Miroslav Verner : The pyramids (= rororo non-fiction book. Volume 60890). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-499-60890-1 , p. 197.

Coordinates: 25 ° 56 ′ 26 ″  N , 32 ° 42 ′ 33 ″  E