Pyramid of Sinki
| Pyramid of Sinki | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
The pyramid of Sinki belongs together with the pyramids in Edfu-Süd , Elephantine , El-Kula , Ombos , Saujet el-Meitin and Seila to a group of a total of seven very similar small step pyramids , all of which were erected far away from the great centers of Egypt and over which is very little known. It is located about six kilometers south of Abydos near the village of Naga Ahmed Khalifa. The name Sinki comes from the local residents and refers exclusively to the ruins of the pyramid. Its meaning is unknown. The pyramid was discovered in 1883 by Charles Wilbour and Gaston Maspero , but a thorough investigation was not carried out until 1980-81 by Günter Dreyer and Nabil Swelim .
Data
The pyramid has a base area of around 18.5 by 18.5 meters and is still around four meters high today. It originally consisted of three steps, from the angle of inclination a former height of about 12.5 meters can be calculated. Unprocessed flint - concretions and limestone - both from local deposits were used as building material . The size of the individual blocks varies greatly. A mixture of clayey sand and Nile mud served as the mortar. On all four sides of the building ramps lead up to the second shell. The ramp on the east side is best preserved and still reaches a height of 1.35 meters. The fact that these ramps were not removed can be taken as an indication that the construction was not completed.
Edification and function
It is not known who built the pyramid. 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 suspects Huni's successor Sneferu (around 2670–2620 BC), the founder of the 4th dynasty , to be the builder . There is also no clarity about the function. The interpretations range from a representative place 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.
Graves
The lack of a chamber system clearly indicates that the pyramid was not intended to be the burial place of a pharaoh or any of his family members. Nevertheless, 14 burials have been identified within the remains of the pyramids and in their immediate vicinity, but only one of them can be directly linked to the construction. This is the burial of a young person, which probably took place during the construction work or shortly afterwards. Two other burials date from the late Old Kingdom , three from the late period and four from the Greco-Roman period . Four children's burials cannot be clearly dated, but they are probably modern. This very large spread over time clearly shows that the area around the pyramid did not serve as a regular cemetery. The only reason for these isolated burials is probably the ruin protruding from the otherwise flat desert.
Afterlife
Apart from its sporadic use as a burial place, the pyramid apparently no longer played a major role after its construction. Even in the Old Kingdom, it was only used as a residence for shepherds. The removal of stones also apparently began at this time and soon led to the building's decline. During his research at the end of the 19th century, Wilbour was able to identify a late-time grave robber shaft on the north side. Dreyer and Swelim discovered another one on the east side during their excavation, which apparently had been created earlier. Ceramic finds and fireplaces indicate that the pyramid was only used as a resting place from the late Roman period. Nowadays it plays a not insignificant role in the popular belief of the local population: for example, it is credited with making women pregnant and healing sick children.
literature
- Jan Bock: The small step pyramids of the early Old Kingdom. In: Sokar. No. 12, January 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 from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) No. 36, von Zabern, Mainz 1980, p. 47f.
- Günter Dreyer, Nabil Swelim: The small step pyramid of Abydos-Süd (Sinki). In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. No. 38, von Zabern, Mainz 1982, pp. 83-93 ( PDF; 2.7 MB ).
- Mark Lehner : The Secret of the Pyramids in Egypt. Orbis, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-572-01039-X , p. 96.
- Ali Radwan: The step pyramids. In: Zahi Hawass (ed.): The treasures of the pyramids. Weltbild, Augsburg 2004, ISBN 3-8289-0809-8 , p. 111.
- Nabil Swelim: Additional Views Concerning the Monument Called Sinki. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. No. 38, von Zabern, Mainz 1982, pp. 94-95
- Nabil Swelim: The reconstructions of the Layer Monument Sinki. In: Recent Discoveries and Latest Researches in Egyptology. Proceedings of the First Neapolitan Congress of Egyptology, Naples, June 18th - 20th 2008. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2010, pp. 313-330 ( PDF; 3.1 MB ).
- Miroslav Verner : The pyramids (= rororo non-fiction book. Volume 60890). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-499-60890-1 , p. 196.
Web links
Coordinates: 26 ° 9 ′ 28 ″ N , 31 ° 57 ′ 58 ″ E