Sesostris I pyramid
| Sesostris I pyramid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The pyramid of Sesostris I in Lischt, seen from the west
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 
| ||||
Location of the pyramid in Egypt |
.jpg)
The Sesostris I pyramid ( Middle Egyptian Senwosret-peter-taui ) is the tomb of the ancient Egyptian king Sesostris I from the 12th dynasty in the Middle Kingdom . It was built between the 10th and the 25th year of the reign of Sesostris I (circa 1909-1894 v. Chr.) In el-Lisht km south, about 1.6 of the pyramid of his father Amenemhet I built. The first scientific descriptions of the building were made in the middle of the 19th century. Large-scale excavations in the pyramid complex took place between the 1890s and 1930s and again in the 1980s and 1990s by French and US research teams. The excavations not only provided information about the original appearance of the tomb, but also about the construction methods, material transport and work organization.
The pyramid of Sesostris I is based heavily on models from the Old Kingdom , especially the 5th and 6th Dynasties , which is particularly evident in the conception of the mortuary temple and the construction of secondary pyramids. This includes nine pyramids for queens and royal daughters. Most of them have been so badly damaged that even the names of the owners are not known today. Only the pyramid of the wife of the ruler Neferu and the daughter Itakayt (I.) could be identified with certainty. Sesostris I was the last ancient Egyptian ruler to build a cult pyramid .
The grave district has some architectural innovations. This includes, for example, the design of the inner surrounding wall, which was neither used before nor after in this form. The construction of the superstructure of the royal pyramid with an outer support structure made of limestone struts is also new. The burial chamber below the pyramid was never exposed and is now flooded with groundwater . Tomb robber shafts indicate that it was looted in ancient times.
During and shortly after the reign of Sesostris I, several large mastaba graves of high officials were built around the pyramid . In the further course of the Middle Kingdom and occasionally in the Second Intermediate Period and in Roman times , numerous simple shaft graves were also dug in the royal burial district and in the official necropolis . For the Third Intermediate Period and the Roman Age, silos and house floor plans also show that the area was used for agriculture .
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 Lischt during his Egypt expedition 1842–1846 and documented the ruins there between March and May 1843. He added the Sesostris I pyramid to his list of pyramids under the number LXI .
Gaston Maspero was the first to enter the pyramid in 1882. The first systematic excavations took place in 1894/95 under Joseph-Étienne Gautier and Gustave Jéquier . Between 1906 and 1934, a research team from the Metropolitan Museum of Art dug in Lischt in 14 campaigns. Ten of them under the direction of Albert M. Lythgoe (1907–1914) and Ambrose Lansing (1916–1918 and 1923–1934) were considered to be the Sesostris I pyramid, although no publications except preliminary reports appeared at that time. There were re-excavations between 1984 and 1987 under Dieter Arnold . In 1988 he published the first complete excavation publication of the royal pyramid complex. In 1992, with the collaboration of his wife Dorothea Arnold and his son Felix Arnold , another volume on the pyramid complex followed. In 1990 Felix Arnold also presented a volume on the workers' inscriptions found in the pyramid complex.
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. Three names have been handed down for the Sesostris I pyramid: The actual pyramid was named Senweseret-peter-taui ("Sesostris looks at the two countries", Upper and Lower Egypt ). The name Chenem-isut-Cheperkare ("United are the sites of Cheperkare" [Throne name Sesostris' I]) referred to both the mortuary temple and all other cult facilities in the district. The pyramid city was named Cha-Senweseret ("Sesostris appears"). The short form Chenem-Isut ("The sites are united") has been handed down for the name of the mortuary temple and the cult facilities .
Construction details
Architectural role models
Even more than his father Amenemhet I, Sesostris I took up the burial precincts of the Old Kingdom as models for his pyramids. The mortuary temple in particular is very much based on the scheme that had been established since Sahure at the beginning of the 5th dynasty . In its proportions, it most closely resembles the mortuary temples of the Teti pyramid and the Pepi I pyramid from the 6th Dynasty . In his planning, Sesostris I must have used the facilities of the Old Kingdom directly, either through measurements or construction plans that were still in existence. An indirect adoption of these models through a reference to the mortuary temple of his father can be excluded. This is almost completely destroyed and can no longer be reconstructed in detail, but due to its small dimensions it is not possible that it has completely adopted the spatial scheme of a mortuary temple from the Old Kingdom. The mortuary temple of the Sesostris I pyramid must not be understood as an exact copy of the facilities of the Old Kingdom, as it has some innovations, such as the large reduction in the storage rooms in the outer temple area and the use of Osiris statues.
Another recourse to the Old Kingdom is the construction of secondary pyramids. Both a cult pyramid and queen pyramids are missing in Amenemhet I. The cult pyramid Sesostris' I is the only one in the Middle Kingdom and at the same time the last to be built in Egypt. In contrast to the systems of the Old Kingdom, their chamber system no longer has a T-shaped floor plan. The redesign of the mortuary temples and chamber systems in the later course of the 12th dynasty made cult pyramids superfluous, as their function was taken over by other parts of the tomb complex. Even with the high number of queen pyramids, Sesostris I was again very much oriented towards the Old Kingdom, such as the Pepi I pyramid, while his father only had shaft graves built for his wives and daughters . However, the conception of the chamber system differs from the models, for example in the orientation of the sarcophagus chambers. Furthermore, the cult facilities have been greatly reduced.
A noticeable conversion can be seen on the way up. It was initially designed to be very broad and open and thus probably modeled on the way up to the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II in Deir el-Bahari . It was later reduced in size and roofed over and thus also adapted to the models of the Old Kingdom.
Significant innovations, however, can be seen in the superstructure of the royal pyramid. Like the pyramid of Amenemhet I, it is no longer based on the standard size of the facilities of the Old Kingdom, but is designed to be significantly larger than this. The construction of the superstructure is most likely a completely new concept. The structure of the Amenemhet I pyramid is largely unexplored. Presumably it consists of a five-step core with a cladding. The Sesostris I pyramid, on the other hand, has an outer supporting structure made of limestone struts that enclose the pyramid core. This system was adopted by the subsequent rulers of the 12th Dynasty.
Chronology of the construction work
During the archaeological investigations of the pyramid, control marks of the ancient Egyptian craftsmen were found on numerous stone blocks , which provide valuable insights into the course of the construction work. For reasons that have not yet been clarified, Sesostris I began to build his pyramid not immediately after his coronation as co-regent, but only after the death of his father. The earliest date, on blocks from the foundations of the pyramid and inner courtyard, is from the 10th year of the reign. The work on the foundation continued until the 14th year of government. The construction of the pyramid superstructure began in the 11th year of the reign. Here control marks are preserved until the 13th year of government. The brands from the higher areas of the pyramid are likely to have fallen victim to the massive stone robbery.
Strangely enough, control marks were found on the queen pyramids that date back to the 11th and 13th year of reign. Since work on the King's Pyramid was in full swing at that time, it seems strange that the space around it is said to have been so heavily built up. Felix Arnold therefore suggested that the building material for the queen pyramids was procured very early, but was initially stored and the actual construction did not begin until the 22nd year of the reign.
Work on the mortuary temple began very early and continued until the end of the entire construction project. Dates have survived from government years 11, 12, 13, 16, and 24. The latter is also the highest recorded date in the pyramid district. Work at the top of the driveway is attested for the 22nd year of reign.
No dates are recorded for government years 15, 17 through 21, and 23. The highest surviving date should roughly coincide with the end of the construction work. The pyramid complex was thus completed after a construction period of around 14 to 15 years around the 25th year of Sesostris I's reign and thus 20 years before his death.
Thanks to the relatively high number of dates found, it is possible to reconstruct the progress of the work as well as its intensity over the course of the year. Dates are handed down for every twelve months. A particularly large amount of information comes from the 3rd and 4th months of the flood season ( Achet ) and from the third month of winter ( Peret ) to the third month of summer ( Schemu ). This suggests that work was particularly intense during these months. In the months before and after the flood, many workers were tied up in agriculture.
Quarries, transportation and construction methods
The main building material for all parts of the pyramid complex was local limestone. The quarries for this were located on the slopes south, south-east and south-west of the plateau on which the pyramid was built. Tura limestone for the cladding of the pyramids and for the temple walls as well as granite were delivered by ship. The transport to the construction site took place on paved roads, which consisted of a wooden structure laid on the rock floor, covered with a layer of plaster and limestone quarry. These paths ran towards the construction site from all four directions. To the south of the pyramid, a ramp was also built to transport limestone blocks from the quarries over the steep slopes to the construction site.
Workplaces for stone processing have been found at several points in the complex . This was characterized by large amounts of limestone quarry or granite dust, tools and straw, which most likely came from post structures covered with mats that provide shade. Workplaces for limestone processing were found to the west, northwest and northeast of the outer perimeter wall, workplaces for granite work to the north of the outer perimeter wall and north of the Queen's Pyramid 9. In the north-eastern area of the outer courtyard, a workstation was discovered on which both types of stone were worked. Another work site south of Imhotep's mastaba was probably related to the construction of the private tombs and not to the royal pyramid.
The remains of several construction ramps were also discovered. On the east side of the queens pyramid 3, the remains of two parallel walls were found, which run in a south-north direction towards the royal pyramid. They are each 1.40 m wide and form a space of around 3.50 m, which means that the entire structure was almost 6.5 m wide. The walls could be traced up to a distance of 51 m from the pyramid. With a gradient of 10 to 15 percent, a height between 12 and 18 m could be reached. A third, incompletely preserved wall was discovered 3 m to the west, which perhaps belonged to a phase of expansion of the ramp, with which a greater height was reached. Remnants of a ramp running towards the center of the pyramid from the west were found in the western part of the outer courtyard and on the western side of the inner wall, but they were not adequately documented. Remains of a possible further small ramp were discovered north of the queens pyramid 9, but this did not lead to the royal pyramid. Its actual purpose is unclear.
From all these findings it can be deduced that the local limestone preferentially reached the construction site from the south and west and was processed and built there over a large area. Tura limestone came directly from the east via a quay , roughly along the driveway to the construction site. Granite was unloaded further north, transported to the construction site through a wadi in a south-westerly direction and then processed to a greater extent north of the pyramid and to a lesser extent in the north-eastern outer courtyard. Bricks are likely to have been brought in mainly from the east or northeast.
Officials involved in construction
Several people can be considered as the architect and construction manager of the Sesostris I pyramid. These offices were identified in Egyptian by the title Imi-ra kat-nebet net nesu ("head of all the king's work"). The most likely candidate would have been Mentuhotep , who continued to hold the office of treasurer and has a large mastaba tomb next to the royal pyramid. Mentuhotep is also attested by several statues from the Amun temple in Karnak and by a stele from Abydos . These findings suggest that his architectural work focused on Upper Egypt , which does not rule out responsibility for the construction of the Sesostris I pyramid.
There were also two other “chiefs of all the king's work”, but they are clearly poorly documented. The first was Hornacht, which is attested by a false door in the Museo Egizio in Turin . It can generally be dated to the first half of the 12th Dynasty. The second was Nebit, attested by a stele in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo . He too cannot be dated more precisely. Another possible candidate is Samonth, who was titled “King's record clerk” and “Head of all works in the whole country”. His autobiography is recorded on a stele in the British Museum in London , which shows that he was born under the rule of Amenemhet I and made a career under Sesostris I and Amenemhet II . When exactly he took up which office and which tasks were associated with it, however, the text does not reveal.
A high official named Sesostrisanch , who owned a large mastaba tomb northeast of the mortuary temple, is identified by his title as the chief craftsman. After Dieter Arnold, he too may have played an important role in the planning of the royal pyramid. Possibly he was responsible for the unusual design of the inner perimeter wall.
Furthermore, two "troop chiefs " (Imi-ra mescha) are known from the reign of Sesostris I who were responsible for the transport of materials. One of them was Heqaib, who also held the title of "Head of Labor in the Land". He is attested by a rock inscription in Wadi Hammamat , from which it can be seen that he led a 5000-strong force into the quarries there. A cheti is named as a second troop commander on a control inscription on the Sesostris I pyramid.
The pyramid
The superstructure
The pyramid has a planned side length of 200 cubits (105 m), but is actually 22 cm wider, probably due to a measurement error. Its slope is six hand's breadth per cubit (49 ° 24 ′). The original height was therefore 116 cubits (61.25 m). Today the ruin only reaches a height of 23 m. The cladding stones are still numerous in the lower area of the building, sometimes in up to eight layers. The pyramid was destroyed from top to bottom.
The flat desert floor served as the building ground for the pyramid. In some places, unevenness was evened out by stone blocks. A trench may have been dug around the pyramid to anchor the facing masonry. The expedition of the Metropolitan Museum believed to have found one of these in 1933. Dieter Arnold could not confirm this in his follow-up examinations. Measurements at the pyramid corners and at the entrance showed differences in height of up to 15 cm - an indication that the masonry had sunk.
A new construction method was used for the pyramid core: a skeleton made of stone struts was erected as a supporting frame. Four of these run along the edges of the pyramid. Seven further struts each run vertically along the side surfaces. Roughly hewn local limestone was used as the material for the struts. Their thickness is between 3 and 5 cubits (between 1.575 and 2.625 m). A mixture of mostly uncut local limestone slabs , sand and mortar served as filling material for the core . The outer skin of the backfill was finally additionally stabilized with a further layer of mortar.
The cladding stones were made of fine white limestone and connected to one another with wooden clips. Many of these clips were found, some in situ , during Dieter Arnold's investigations. They were inscribed with Sesostris I's own and throne names . As a result of the subsidence of the masonry, numerous repairs had to be made to the cladding blocks.
Foundation deposits
Presumably under all four corners of the pyramid, foundation deposits were created before construction began . Three of these were excavated in 1932 by the Metropolitan Museum's expedition at the southeast, southwest, and northwest corners. An examination of the northeast corner was prevented by excessive accumulation of rubble.
The foundation pits are located about 3 m from the outer edge of the pyramid, have a diameter of about 2 m and a depth of about 2 m. The additions are practically identical in all three cases: the pits each contained five panels made of ( cedar ) wood, alabaster , copper , a metal alloy and faience , the skull, some ribs and the humerus of a bull , two skeletons of ducks or geese as well numerous ceramic vessels (round-bottomed bowls , bowls with stand, pointed- bottomed bottles and in one case a sieve ). The contents of the two southern depots are now in the possession of the Metropolitan Museum, that of the northwest in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo .
Further depots were apparently created directly on the outside of its corners after the pyramid was erected. These are pits dug through the already laid court pavement, of which only the south-eastern one can be reconstructed more precisely. It was rectangular, 0.6 m long, 0.7 m wide and 1.6 m deep. Its walls were covered with unbaked mud bricks and it was closed with a stone slab. The walls were badly damaged by rainwater. Only modest remains of a cattle skull were found among the additions. The other two excavated depots were found looted. The southwestern one contained the remains of a bovine skull and fragmented pottery, the northwestern one contained a single cattle tooth.
The north chapel
For the north chapel , a niche was left exactly in the middle of the north side when the pyramid superstructure was erected. The corridor leading down from there has been shifted 0.5 m to the west, so that the chapel also had to be relocated accordingly. Only remains of this were found during the excavations between 1932 and 1934. The north chapel was apparently torn down again relatively quickly after its construction, possibly by grave robbers when they penetrated the inside of the pyramid. None of the stones in the chapel were found in situ; numerous fragments lay west of the pyramid entrance. The remainder of a connecting stone between the pyramid body and the chapel allows the conclusion that the latter was erected on a base about 1.2 m high. The dimensions of the structure can only be roughly estimated. Due to the niche in the body of the pyramid, its width can be reconstructed relatively safely with about 10 cubits (5.25 m), its depth should also have been 10 cubits and the walls were about 7 cubits (3.675 m) high inside. The outer walls of the chapel were undecorated, the inner walls decorated with painted, raised reliefs . The only two remaining blocks on the north side show scenes of animal slaughter , crowned by a cheker frieze . The east and west walls each showed the mouth opening ritual and a list of victims . The south wall was largely occupied by an alabaster stele , which was flanked on each side by processions of three gods each, which can no longer be identified due to the poor state of preservation of the fragments found. Remnants of a star decoration have been preserved from the ceiling. The roof probably had two water drains in the form of lying lions , one of which has been partially preserved.
The chamber system
In addition to the actual system of chambers, the Sesostris I pyramid has preserved remains of an open excavation pit that was used during the work on the underground chambers and was filled with sand after they were completed. This pit begins 35.4 m in front of the north wall of the pyramid and has a width of 5.30 m. Due to the danger of collapse, it has so far only been insufficiently researched. Their floor was paved with bricks that sat on the rock and formed steps. There were also wooden planks on top , which showed strong signs of wear. Possibly this stair construction was already an advanced construction phase and initially only the existing floor was used.
After the underground chambers, the descending corridor was built. It begins 1.75 m in front of the north side of the pyramid and is somewhat steeper than the excavation pit with a 25 ° slope. Initially, the upper end of the pit could still be used for material transport. The angle of inclination was reduced by filling it with sand. Wooden planks covered with small limestone slabs and a layer of dried mud served as a walking surface .
The descending corridor is lined with granite blocks that are about 1.5 m (about 3 cubits) wide on the walls and arguably 2 cubits high. The soil blocks are about 4 m long, about 0.75 m thick and each weigh about 8 t. In the middle of the floor blocks, nine or ten limestone slabs are embedded at a distance of around 5 m and fixed with plaster . Their surface is badly eroded. The width of the corridor is 11 hand's breadth (0.825 m). It does not run exactly in the north-south direction, but deviates significantly to the southeast. The entrance area was closed off with a row of six or seven heavy granite blocks. The outermost one was 8.5 m long and weighed over 20 t, but was broken by grave robbers. The following blocking stones are also damaged.
Immediately to the west of the entrance is a tomb robber tunnel. After the attempt to break through the first blocking stone, which was quickly stopped, an attempt was made to bypass it. For this purpose, a 2.5 m long tunnel was driven into the softer limestone and then dug to the east in the hope of bypassing the blocking stone. Instead, the robbers encountered the second blocking stone. They now dug along this up to a total of 13 m further through the limestone. At this point, however, the granite cladding of the corridor began. But since the third blocking stone also began there and this was damaged at the top, the grave robbers were able to break through and chisel their way through to the other side of the corridor. There they found that the corridor was encased in granite on all sides. The excavation work was therefore continued - now from two sides - from the outside along the corridor cladding. Apparently this happened right down to the burial chamber, because during the excavations of Maspero in 1882 the remains of the apparently successful raid were found in the small cavity between the 2nd or 3rd blocking stone. This included parts of wooden boxes, broken alabaster vessels, fragments of four canopic jugs and a golden dagger sheath . The canopic jugs are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (Inv.No. CG 4001-4004 and 5006-5018). The fate of the other finds is unclear. Another grave robber tunnel on the south side of the pyramid could be traced up to a length of 35 m. It is not known whether this had also reached the burial chamber.
Maspero made the first scientific attempt to penetrate the burial chamber in 1882. To do this, he had all the blocking stones removed, but was stopped after a distance of 30 m by penetrating groundwater. New attempts to investigate the Metropolitan Museum in 1934 and 1984 also failed on the groundwater. The burial chamber will therefore remain unexplored for the time being. Dieter Arnold suspects it to be between 22 and 25 m deep. Because of the corridor bending to the southeast, a system of chambers similar to those of the 5th Dynasty is to be expected: The corridor should therefore initially open into an antechamber, from which the burial chamber branches off to the west, which is exactly below the top of the pyramid. The royal sarcophagus is probably made of granite, because Arnold's follow-up examinations revealed a semicircular granite fragment in the corridor, which is probably a broken boss of the sarcophagus lid.
The pyramid complex
Valley temple and way
The valley temple of the Sesostris I pyramid has not yet been excavated or precisely located. He is believed to be under the sand dunes north of the Islamic cemetery of Saudiya (formerly al-Maharraqa). Two test excavations were carried out at this point in 1985 and 1986, whereby only destroyed Roman-era graves were found directly below the surface. Excavations in deeper layers have not yet taken place.
The access road was dug in 1895 by Joseph-Étienne Gautier at its western end and again between 1907 and 1909 by the team of the Metropolitan Museum over a length of about 100 m. Some test excavations were carried out further east, but these were not documented in detail. During his re-excavations in the 1980s, Dieter Arnold discovered that considerable parts of the excavated driveway had been severely damaged by stone robbery in the meantime, so that in some places he could only use old photographs to reconstruct the complex.
In contrast to the rest of the pyramid complex, the entrance way in its original conception was not modeled on the Memphite pyramids of the Old Kingdom, but on the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II in Deir el-Bahari . It was initially 10 cubits (5.25 m) wide and open. In a second construction phase, however, it was adapted to the models of the Old Kingdom. A second layer of stone was added to the walls to attach a roof made of limestone beams, for which the original design would have been too wide, which halved the width of the driveway. The walls were inclined slightly inwards at an angle of about 88 °. Nothing is left of the inner wall layer on the excavated section of the driveway; it is documented exclusively through the photographs of the original excavations. The former height of the path can only be estimated. Dieter Arnold assumes a minimum of around 6 cubits (3.15 m) interior height and 8 cubits (4.20 m) roof height. It is no longer possible to determine whether the walls of the access road were decorated, as it is not clear whether the few fragments found originally came from there or were relocated from the mortuary temple.
At a distance of 10 cubits, niches were left in the wall in pairs, in which statues of the king were placed. They were set in holes chiseled through the flooring and reached down to a layer of rubble . A total of nine niche pairs are known. Six statues, preserved from the knees up, probably come from there, which Gautier found in a grave shaft in the northeast corner of the inner courtyard of the pyramid complex and which are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (inv. No. CG 397-402). Two more statues were found on the way up during the excavations of the Metropolitan Museum and are now in New York (Inv.No. MMA 08.200.1 and 09.180.529). In addition, there are fragments of another statue as well as three bases and two lower halves of other statues that remained in situ.
All portraits are so-called Osiris statues, which show the king in the form of a mummy . According to Dieter Arnold's reconstruction, the roughly life-size limestone statues had a total height of around 239 cm. The lower part was a 28 cm high platform . On this, leaning on a back pillar, stood the portraits of the king, wrapped in a mummy robe. He keeps his arms crossed on his chest and wears a long ceremonial beard . A crown rests on the head, namely the red crown of Lower Egypt on the northern figures and the white crown of Upper Egypt on the southern figures . The painting on the statues was still in good condition when they were found, but has since faded a lot. The statue bases and the back pillars were kept in pink, which was supposed to imitate rose granite . The faces were painted reddish brown and the crowns were white and red, respectively.
Immediately to the west of the third southern statue niche is a doorway in the wall of the driveway. The existence of two holes for the door pivot shows that the passage was already provided for in the original building concept and was relocated during the redesign. There is no northern counterpart to this passage.
To the north and south of the actual driveway are two more, 12 cubits (6.30 m) wide paths, which are bordered by brick walls. About 20 cubits (10.50 m) in front of the outer perimeter wall, the walls bend and expand the paths to small courtyards, of which the northern one is 30 cubits (15.75 m, actually measured 15.60 m) wide and the southern one is believed to be 35 cubits (18.375 m) wide. The path ends at three gates: the middle one leads into the entrance hall of the mortuary temple, the two outer ones lead from the two small forecourts into the outer courtyard of the pyramid complex.
Numerous findings were found in the northern forecourt . In the middle of its east wall is a 60 × 60 cm cavity of unknown function. Perhaps it was used to hold magical protective objects for the royal burial. The southern half of the forecourt was originally a pit through which a construction road or ramp possibly led, as the discovery of a wooden plank common for such constructions shows. It was later backfilled in several layers with limestone rubble, earth and mud. A multi-phase use was determined for the northeast corner of the courtyard. Fragments of diorite in the oldest layer show that this area was first used as a stonecutter workshop, perhaps for the manufacture of statuettes, stone vessels or canopic boxes . Later, the area was covered with a layer of mud and a basin was built on top to prepare plaster of paris. In addition to plaster residues, some wooden tools were found here. After this workshop was also given up, a small brick building was erected at the same location, which consists of only one room and has a drain in the east wall. Because of its small size, the only possible use is as a cleaning room for priests. Since the northern forecourt has no connection to the royal mortuary temple, it should not have been used by royal funeral priests, but rather by the priests of the queen pyramids. To the west of the cleaning room, two model burials were found by officers named Bener and Wahneferhotep. They consisted of two wooden coffins, 28 cm and 24 cm long, in which lay shabtis made of calcite or gold-coated wood, wrapped in linen . Ceramic pots were included next to the coffins. The latter allow the burial of Bener to be dated to the late 12th or early 13th and that of Wahneferhotep to the advanced 13th dynasty or later. All finds are now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Two other small, only very roughly made wooden boxes were discovered south of the cleaning room, but were not kept by the excavators.
The entire area south of the Aufweg has so far been largely unexplored, the area north, however, was excavated between 1984 and 1985 (see below).
The outer perimeter wall and the outer courtyard
The outer boundary of the pyramid complex formed a rectangular, plaster-covered brick wall with a north-south length of 485 cubits (254.624 m) and an east-west length of 440 cubits (231 m). Only the foundations of it have survived today; from the excavations of the Metropolitan Museum at the beginning of the 20th century, up to 1 m high remains were preserved at the mouth of the Aufweg. The foundations are 3.10 m thick, the actual wall was 5 cubits (2.625 m) thick. In shape, it resembled the limestone wall of the inner perimeter wall, so it had sloping walls and a rounded crown . The angle of inclination and the original height cannot be determined precisely. By comparing it with the inner wall, however, the height can be estimated to be at least 10 cubits (5.25 m).
During Gautier's excavations and during follow-up examinations by Dieter Arnold in 1988, several alterations were found at the southeast corner of the surrounding wall: Gautier discovered the foundations of a previous wall, which were only 2.40 m wide, 12 m outside the south side. To the west he was able to follow them over a length of 10 m. Arnold's excavations revealed that this wall bends to the north at the level of the eastern perimeter wall and runs towards it. It initially runs over a length of 13.75 m. This is followed by a gap of 2.20 m wide. This is followed by another section of the wall, which disappears after 1 m under the southeast corner of the final enclosing wall and runs at least another 17 m below it. In a second construction phase, the dimensions of the surrounding wall were reduced and at the same time its thickness increased. A 5 ells (2.625 m) wide wall was created, which is initially identical to the final phase of the eastern perimeter wall, but already bends 39 m north of today's southeast corner to the west. In this direction it initially runs 14 m. A foundation trench can be traced for a further 16 m without built-in stones. This wall, which was finally abandoned, was probably not planned as the actual south side of the surrounding wall, but led to an unknown structure in the south-east corner of the courtyard. In a final construction phase, a southern continuation of the second wall was created, which represents the final south-eastern section of the surrounding wall.
The width of the outer courtyard is 90 cubits (47.25 m) on all four sides. Access is provided by two gates from the two atria of the outer drive-ways. Excavations of the Metropolitan Museum at the beginning of the 20th century in the northeast corner of the courtyard revealed no traces of paving. Probably the crushed rubble that had accumulated during the straightening of the terrain itself served as a walking horizon .
Depots
A total of ten landfill pits were discovered in the outer courtyard. The largest is located near the entrance of the original excavation pit for the chamber system of the royal pyramid, but is also partially covered by the surrounding wall of the queen pyramid 7. It is therefore not entirely certain which of the two construction projects the depot belongs to, Dieter Arnold rather suspects the excavation pit. The depot has a round cross-section with a diameter of about 2.5 m and a depth of 5.35 m. The contents of the pit were 33 ceramic vessels (flat and hemispherical round-bottomed bowls, flat and hemispherical bowls with stand, pots), a flint device and four broken bricks.
The other nine depots are all on the southern outside of the inner perimeter wall. Seven of them seem to be depots for the queen pyramids of the Neferu and Itakayt (see there). Pits 1 and 2, however, apparently belong directly to the royal pyramid. The westernmost, pit 1, contained 22 large pots, as many wooden carrying bars and remains of seal impressions made of mud. Deposits in the pots prove that they were used to transport beer . Other finds from pit 1 are a bottle and two sacrificial or incense stands, all of which probably ended up in the pit as later filling material and not as additions. Only one pot was found in pit 2, which is identical to the one in pit 1.
The statue pit
Between the north-western end of the outer mortuary temple and the southern wall of the queens pyramid 8, Gautier discovered ten excellently preserved limestone seated statues of Sesostris I standing next to each other in a covered pit. Today the pieces are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (inv. No. CG 411-420). All ten statues are largely identical and only differ in details. They are each 194 cm high and show the king sitting on a throne. He wears an apron , a ceremonial beard reaching to his chest and a pleated Nemes headscarf with a uraeus snake on his forehead. He has placed his left hand flat on his thigh and in his right hand, clenched into a fist, he is holding a folded cloth. Remnants of the painting have been preserved on all statues. On the sides of the throne there are reliefs with Nile deities or with Horus and Seth , which symbolically unite the two countries of Upper and Lower Egypt.
It is unclear where and in what period the statues were originally erected. The most common view is that they originally stood in the ambulatory of the columned courtyard and were hidden during the Second Intermediate Period . Dieter Arnold raised weighty objections to both. Since the Osiris statues on the way up were not set up at ground level, but rather embedded in shallow pits, the same should be expected for the seated figures. However, there were no traces of such pits in the courtyard. Arnold considers the entrance hall, the transverse hall and the outer storage rooms of the mortuary temple as alternative locations. The most plausible to him seems to be that the seated figures belonged to the original construction program of the Aufweg and were replaced by the Osiris statues in the second construction phase. This would explain the excellent state of preservation of the portraits, which is more suited to being dumped shortly after their creation than to a multi-century display.
Graves and shafts
Several hundred simple graves were dug in the immediate and wider vicinity of the royal pyramid. While the inner courtyard remained untouched, 198 graves were discovered in the outer courtyard alone. Judging by the pottery finds and other additions, most of them come from the Middle Kingdom. From the second interim period onwards, el-Lischt was largely abandoned as a private cemetery and it was not until the Roman era that some modest flat graves were laid again.
The shaft grave of the Anchti (shaft 7/12) is of particular importance, as it is the only private grave in the outer courtyard that has remained untouched. Its entrance is partly covered by the surrounding wall of the queens pyramid 5, so it was apparently only built after the grave. The tomb was discovered by the Metropolitan Museum expedition in 1932. It consists of a simple 5 m deep shaft and a roughly south-facing niche to accommodate the coffin. It was rectangular, made of cedar wood, and painted and labeled on the outside and inside. The body of the Anchti, a woman around 65 to 70 years old, was mummified and wrapped in bandages soaked in oil. The face was covered with a mask made of linen, painted plaster and wooden ears. Around the neck the dead woman was wearing a made beads made Collar . Other additions in the coffin were a copper or bronze mirror , a headrest and a hes vase, both made of cedar wood. Outside the coffin, 13 ceramic vessels (a plate, several bowls and pots) were found. Most of the grave goods and half of the pottery are now in the Metropolitan Museum, the whereabouts of the coffin are unknown.
In other graves, too, individual remains of mummy accessories and grave goods were found. These were often beads from collars and bracelets as well as ceramic vessels, but also sacrificial tablets and fragments of statues and models. A special find is a so-called magic knife that is now in the possession of the Metropolitan Museum (Inv.-No. 08.200.19).
Other important finds come from the shaft grave in shaft 21/44, originally called "Puit A" in French by Gautier and "Pit A" in English. It is located in the central area of the southern outer courtyard, near the outer perimeter wall. It consists of a vertical shaft, a horizontal corridor leading to the south and another tunnel leading downwards that leads into the original burial chamber. Nothing is known about this, as the upper passage was used for a secondary burial and the shaft was blocked. According to the found sarcophagus, this burial took place in the Ptolemaic or Roman times. Old materials from the area were used to clad the floor, walls and ceiling of the tomb, including 13 sacrificial tablets from priestesses of the 12th Dynasty.
Shaft 31-32 / 6, probably part of an abandoned grave, is also important. Here, in 1895, Gautier found six statues of Sesostris I of Osir, which originally belonged to the path of the pyramid.
Houses
During their excavations at the beginning of the 20th century, the Metropolitan Museum's expedition discovered the remains of a total of five houses in the outer courtyard of the pyramid complex. One is located in the southwest area, west of the Queen's Pyramid 3. It was built from adobe bricks and has a floor plan of 8.5 × 9.0 m. The entrance faces south and leads into a small courtyard, on the east side of which there are two rooms. According to Arnold, it may have dated to the Middle Kingdom and perhaps served as accommodation for guards or other personnel. There is also a (grave?) Shaft in the house, the time of which is unknown.
A second house is in the western area of the courtyard. It is also made of bricks and forms an irregular structure of at least three main areas, the western one of which has some additional partitions. Its walls are also thicker, which suggests that it was the only area with a roof. Since it was built on the same ground level as the neighboring queen pyramid 4, it should have been built around the same time. The bricks are laid very carelessly, which is why Arnold suspects that the building served as temporary accommodation for craftsmen or guards during the pyramid construction.
To the south-east of the temple, a plaster worker's house was discovered either directly on the inside or the outside of the outer perimeter wall, which was probably built when the pyramid complex was first used as a private necropolis . The house consists of just one rectangular room adjoined by a pit in which plaster of paris, broken ceramic vessels and wooden tools have been found.
Two other houses were due to ceramic and glass finds in the Roman period dated. The first was near the cult pyramid and was built on the ruins of its southern perimeter wall. It measured at least 20 x 20 m and was irregular in shape. Three rooms could be made out, the easternmost of which had underground pantries . The second house was on the rubble of the northeast corner of the inner perimeter wall. Both houses were likely farm buildings.
Silos
Between 1918 and 1934, thirty beehive-shaped mud-brick silos were discovered in the rubble on the southeast corner of the royal pyramid and along the north side of the Itakayt queen pyramid . They were dug into the rubble of the collapsed pyramid and consist of several layers of brick rings that taper towards the top in a dome shape. The opening at the top was closed with a stone slab. No remains of the originally stored goods were found in any of the silos. At least three of them were later converted into graves. The time of origin of the silos is uncertain; the earliest possible point in time is in the 18th dynasty, as the pyramid was destroyed during this time. Comparisons with very similar, somewhat better dated complexes in the pyramid complex of Amenemhets I in the north of Lisht suggest that it was built during the 22nd dynasty.
The boat pit
To the south of the enclosure wall of Queen's Pyramid 5, an east-west facing boat pit was discovered in 1924 , but was not recognized as such and only insufficiently documented. Arnold could only find one crater during his follow-up examination. A shaft grave and several objects were found in the pit, although it is not entirely clear whether they were additions from the grave. The objects are small faience figures depicting women, a cow, a dog , a cat and various fruits , as well as a club head , an eye inlay from a coffin and several pearls.
The mortuary temple
The mortuary temple of the Sesostris I pyramid is very badly damaged; only a few wall stones were found in their original location. However, the floor and the wall foundations are very well preserved. In addition, over 600 relief fragments were found during the excavations of the Metropolitan Museum. This makes the sanctuary of Sesostris I the best preserved mortuary temple of a royal pyramid of the 12th dynasty.
It was erected on an approximately 1.2 m thick foundation layer made of Nile mud, which had been laid on the smoothed sand or gravel soil. The temple walls consist almost entirely of limestone , only in a few places rose granite was used. No other types of rock were used.
In its structure, the temple is very similar to models of the 5th and 6th dynasties. It is divided into an outer area with an entrance hall, an open courtyard surrounded by pillars and some side storage rooms as well as an inner temple section separated by a transverse hall with a five-niche chapel , a vestibule , an antichambre carrée , a sacrificial hall and other storage rooms. From the outside, the outer and inner part of the temple are separated from each other by the inner wall of the pyramid complex.
The entrance hall
The entrance building has a width of 32 cubits (16.80 m) and a length of 45 cubits (23.625 m, only 23.55 m are preserved). The north and south outer walls are each 11 cubits (5.775 m) thick, so that the actual hall is only 10 cubits (5.25 m) wide with an estimated length of 40 cubits (21 m). The entrance to the hall was a 3 cubits (1.575 m) wide gate, of which only the door sill made of rose granite and a hole for the door peg have been preserved.
The height of the hall can only be estimated. After comparing it with the better preserved entrance hall of the Teti pyramid , it was probably about 6.80 m. Similar to the facilities of the Old Kingdom, the entrance hall of the Sesostris I pyramid may have had a false vault and a stone roof. Almost nothing of the wall decoration has survived, but three fragments allow the conclusion that at least the narrow walls were based on models from the Old Kingdom and show the enthroned king accompanied by Ptah or Anubis in front of deities of the south ( Osiris , Nechbet , Amun ).
The yard
The entrance to the courtyard is formed by a doorway that is largely identical to the one between the driveway and the entrance hall, but is somewhat better preserved. By significantly reducing the outer storage rooms, the courtyard could be designed to be significantly larger than the facilities of the Old Kingdom. While its length of around 45 cubits (23.625 m, actually measured 23.6 m) is within the normal range, at 37 cubits (19.425 m, actually measured 19.34 m) it is significantly wider than its counterparts. The courtyard was surrounded by 24 limestone pillars (eight each on the long and six on the narrow sides). Your measurements can only be estimated. Dieter Arnold reconstructed square floor plans with a side length of 15 hand widths (1.125 m) or a rectangular floor plan for the four corner pillars of 15 × 21 hand widths (1.125 × 1.575 m) and a distance of 21 hand widths between the pillars. Neither the height of the pillars nor that of the courtyard walls can be reliably reconstructed.
Near the north-west corner of the courtyard stood a well-preserved altar made of gray granite, which was discovered by Gautier in 1884 and is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (Inv.No. CG 23001).
There are three holes in the floor of the courtyard to the southeast of the altar. One is clearly from treasure hunters who did not work until after 1884. Two other, smaller holes, however, seem to come from the original builders. They were driven through the floor that had already been laid and carefully closed again with limestone slabs. Dieter Arnold's team discovered ceramic shards and scorch marks in these holes. It is possible that these were foundations that, in contrast to the other landfills in the pyramid complex, were not related to the beginning but to the completion of the construction. On the north side of the courtyard, the remains of a drainage canal can be seen that runs under the wall.
The transverse hall
Little more than the floor plans of the transverse hall have been preserved. The room is 76 cubits (39.90 m) wide and 6 cubits (3.15 m) long. The original height can only be assumed as a proportion (twice the room width) with 12 cubits (6.30 m).
The entrance to the hall is a 3 cubits (1.575 m) wide doorway. Two smaller, 2 cubits (1.05 m) wide passages on the two narrow sides lead into the inner courtyard of the pyramid complex. Two further passages on the eastern long side lead into the outer magazine rooms.
Nothing of the wall decoration of the hall has survived. In 1914, during the excavations of the Metropolitan Museum in the north of the room, the base of a royal limestone statue was found, which probably did not come from there, but was originally placed in the five-niche chapel. It is now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (Inv.-No. MMA 14.3.2). The base obtained has a width of 57.5 cm and a depth of 73.5 cm. The remains of the king's feet are preserved on it, who trod down the nine bows (a symbol of the enemies of Egypt). In front of it there is an inscription which names Horus , Nebti and Throne of Sesostris I. Dieter Arnold reconstructs the original total height of the statue to about 270 cm without the crown.
The five-niche chapel
The area of the five-niche chapel has been too badly damaged for an exact reconstruction of this room to be carried out. Only the foundations and remains of the core masonry of the adjoining wall to the west have been preserved. The dimensions of the chapel cannot be deduced from this. Based on the neighboring antichambre carrée , however, it can be said that the chapel was about 10 hand's widths (0.75 m) higher than the transverse hall and was probably connected to it by a staircase. A fragment of the wall decoration has survived, which contains a name cartouche of the king and star decorations.
The vestibule
No stone blocks have been preserved in the vestibule area. Its existence can therefore only be inferred by comparing it with the temple complexes of the Old Kingdom. A more precise reconstruction of the room is not possible.
The antichambre carrée
Very few remains of the antichambre carrée have survived . This includes some stones from the floor, but none from the walls. The dimensions of the room can still be assumed to be 10 × 10 cubits (5.25 × 5.25 m), since all known rooms of this type have the same floor area. Only the rose granite base of the central column is preserved, the actual column has apparently been removed. It can be reconstructed as a papyrus bundle column by making impressions on the base . This would be a peculiarity, since all known comparative pieces from the Old Kingdom are either octagonal columns or palm columns . Only in the mortuary temple of the Niuserre pyramid could there have been a papyrus bundle column, but this is not certain.
Remnants of the architrave have also been preserved. This shows inscriptions with the name of the king on both sides. Remarkably, the artists made a mistake here, because according to the accompanying title , both the proper name Sesostris and the throne name Cheperkare should appear here. In both cases, however, the proper name was used.
The original height of the antichambre carrée can only be estimated. Based on the thickness of the column, Dieter Arnold estimates it to be 7.08 m to 7.98 m. It should have been the highest room in the temple complex.
The sacrificial hall
The sacrificial hall has also been largely destroyed. The western narrow side has been completely removed, only the foundations of the long sides have been preserved. The floor was torn out. The width of the room can be given with certainty as 10 cubits (5.25 m), but the length can only be assumed; it is probably 30 cubits (15.75 m).
Some remains of the wall decoration have been preserved. These show victims. A granite sacrificial table, which is only known to have been found on the east side of the pyramid, is likely to have been part of the furnishing of the room. A larger than life granite statue of the king may have been placed in the sacrificial hall. The arm of such a portrait was found near the grave of Senwosretanch and is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (Inv.-No. MMA 33.1.7).
The outer and inner magazine spaces
The outer magazine rooms are greatly reduced compared to the mortuary temples of the Old Kingdom and consist of only four rooms each. The two systems on the side of the courtyard are L-shaped and mirror images of each other. They each consist of a corridor to the east and a corridor to the north or south, both of which end in smaller rooms. The room at the north end of the north wing is more than 1 m lower than the surrounding rooms. It may be a crypt . Due to the poor state of preservation and the lack of comparable rooms in other mortuary temples, no more precise information on the original purpose of this room can be given. Its southern counterpart is not sunk into the ground.
Of the two rooms at the east end of the magazine, only the southern one is better preserved. In front of this are two water basins embedded in the floor of the corridor. The room has several phases of construction, all of which, according to the found pottery, took place during the reign of Sesostris I. The floor, which was originally completely laid in stone, was removed and the entire room was covered with plaster and brick walls. In the eastern half, a recess was left free, in which an unknown object was set up and fixed with a layer of plaster. The object was later removed and the remaining hole filled with rubble, shards and model vessels. Another, smaller object was temporarily set up on this, which left a further impression. This was later straightened by a layer of mud.
Like the outer, the inner magazine spaces are arranged in mirror image. Since this part of the temple is extremely badly damaged, an exact reconstruction of these rooms can only be made by comparing them with other mortuary temples. The magazines consisted of four groups of five long rooms each, which were presumably all accessible via a transverse corridor in front. Only in the north-eastern group is this reconstruction not secured because of the poor state of preservation; A group of two and another of three rooms would also be possible. The individual rooms are 4 cubits (2.10 m) wide and 18 cubits (9.45 m) long. It is known from other mortuary temples that such magazine rooms were two-story, but no traces of this have been preserved in the Sesostris I pyramid.
The Protodoric Columns
At the eastern end of the driveway, Gautier found several fragments of so-called Protodoric columns. This prompted him to reconstruct the entrance to the mortuary temple as a columned propylon . However, through the investigations of the Metropolitan Museum, this proved untenable. In the meantime, the pyramid of Amenemhet I was assumed to be the place of origin, as such a column was discovered there too. Since the majority of the finds come from the Sesostris I pyramid, Dieter Arnold suspects the original installation site there too. Possibly they belonged to a building south of the cult pyramid or to a building complex southeast of the pyramid district.
The queen pyramids
Nine queen pyramids are arranged around the king pyramid between the inner and outer walls. Starting from the southeast, they are numbered counterclockwise. The pyramids 1, 4, 8 and 9 were already discovered by Joseph-Étienne Gautier and Gustave Jéquier during their excavation in 1894/95, but with the exception of number 1 they were mistakenly regarded as mastabas . This view has been corrected by the excavations of the Metropolitan Museum. Five other queen pyramids were discovered between 1917 and 1934. The name of the owner is known only for two buildings: Neferu (III.) , A daughter of Amenemhet I and wife of Sesostris I, was to be buried in number 1, and Itakayt (I) , a wife or daughter of Sesostris , in number 2 I.
The queen pyramid of the Neferu
The Pyramid of Neferu is the largest queen pyramid in the complex. It has a side length of 21 m (40 cubits) and an original height of 18.9 m (36 cubits) at an angle of inclination of 62.5 °.
The foundations consist of an upper layer of very high quality limestone and an underlying layer of coarser, irregularly shaped limestone slabs. The core of the pyramid is made of very coarse local limestone and the cladding is made of very high quality limestone. The recesses for brackets on the cladding stones are noticeable, as these do not match their counterparts on the neighboring stones. The fairing blocks have obviously been reused, but their original purpose is unknown. Arnold thinks it is possible that they either come from an abandoned queen pyramid elsewhere or from the first construction phase of the cult pyramid. However, there is no direct evidence for either of the two possibilities.
The entrance to the chamber system is directly in front of the middle of the north side. From there a vertical shaft leads down 14 m. Then a slightly sloping corridor leads south into a 3 × 4 m chamber below the center of the pyramid. The corridor and chamber are paved with limestone slabs. Limestone cladding was also planned for the walls, but it is only incomplete. The workers' markings are still preserved on the chamber cladding. A vertical opening in the floor of the chamber leads into the sarcophagus chamber below. The floor and walls are covered with limestone slabs. A niche was started on the south wall to accommodate the canopic box, but was not completed. No remains of the funeral were left. The only finds from the chamber system were an oil jar and an oil lamp that had been left behind by grave robbers.
The pyramid was surrounded by a rectangular enclosure wall, which measured 100 cubits (52.5 m) in the east-west direction and 75 cubits (39.375 m) in the north-south direction. The wall thickness should have been 2 cubits (1.05 m). The foundation and paving of the courtyard are identical to the two-layer foundation of the pyramid. Neither the mortuary temple to be expected on the east side nor the north chapel have been preserved. However, a cladding block has been preserved on the north side, which has a recess that was probably used to accommodate a false door . A paving stone directly in front of it indicates the position of the offering table. A north chapel with outer sides of 10 cubits (5.25 m) can be reconstructed from this finding.
Six depots have been discovered in the Queen's Pyramid area. Four of them are on the northern perimeter wall. Since they are partly covered by it, it must be a foundation deposit that was built before it was built. Two other depots in the southern Pyramidenhof are designed quite unusual. It is about 2.64 m and 2.72 m deep, rectangular pits, which were driven into the limestone and were clad with limestone slabs and probably also covered. Both pits were robbed, and from the east there is a short tomb robber tunnel leading towards the pyramid of the queens. The only find from the pits is a cattle bone. The function of these two pits cannot be clearly explained. When they were discovered, Gautier initially thought they were sarcophagi. Arnold, on the other hand, excludes graves because, given their careful execution, they were dug far too shallowly in the ground. He sees depot pits as the only plausible possibility.
The pyramid is identified as the tomb of Neferu by the found fragments of three labeled objects. This is a sacrificial bowl, a statue and an altar or another statue. Due to the complete lack of burial remains and the unfinished state of the chamber system, it is unclear whether Neferu was buried here or her final resting place in a (as yet undiscovered) tomb in the pyramid complex of her father Amenemhet I in Lisch-Nord or in the complex of her son Amenemhet II found in Dahshur.
The Itakayt Queen's Pyramid
The Itakayt pyramid has a side length of 16.8 m (32 cubits) and an original height of 16.8 m (32 cubits) at an inclination angle of 63.6 °. The pyramid core consists of roughly hewn limestone blocks connected by mortar. When the Metropolitan Museum was examined in 1934, five to seven layers were still preserved. The covering had already been completely removed.
The chamber system has two vertical access shafts on the north side of the pyramid. The western one is covered by the north chapel, so it was only used during construction. Later it was probably closed with a brick vault and filled in from above. The eastern shaft was finally used for the burial. Both shafts lead into a horizontal passage, which continues after the western shaft 4 m to the west. The western shaft leads a few meters down after the connecting corridor. At its bottom a gently descending corridor leads south and opens into a horizontal chamber. The corridor and chamber are completely clad with limestone slabs. The east wall of the burial chamber has a niche for the canopic box. Large cavities behind the wall cladding of the chamber indicate that it was originally designed to be much larger and that it probably had to be completed quickly after the Itakayt's untimely death. A niche to accommodate a blocking stone was also left unfinished. No remains of a funeral have been found and the pyramid may have remained unused. This is indicated by two locking stones at the entrance to the descending corridor, which had only been opened a crack by thieves, which actually made it impossible to remove a burial completely.
In 1934 there were still a few stones from the surrounding wall, but they were later completely removed. The wall measured 72 cubits (37.8 m) in an east-west direction and 54 cubits (28.35 m) in a north-south direction. Their thickness was 2 m at the foot. The foundation of the wall was made up of limestone slabs connected with brackets and resting on a layer of rubble. On the inside of the eastern half of the north wall, the remains of an adobe wall were discovered, which was probably needed during the construction of the pyramid and was later never torn down.
There are no remains of a possible mortuary temple on the east side of the pyramid. The north chapel, on the other hand, can be reconstructed quite well from numerous finds. A trench in front of the north side of the pyramid indicates it was 8 cubits (4.2 m) wide and 7 cubits (3.675 m) deep. The architectural remnants include a round bar , several fragments of fluted columns and over 130 fragments of the wall decoration. The columns are strangely painted in red to imitate rose granite, although this type of column was never executed in granite. They also have inscriptions with the name and title of Sesostris' daughter Itakayt. The wall decoration can no longer be completely reconstructed, but individual scenes can be recognized. Some fragments clearly belong to the false door. Others show bringers of gifts, a dancing girl and birds flying in the papyrus thicket.
Two depot shafts were discovered in the pyramid courtyard, one of which was empty. The second is in front of the east wall of the pyramid and is 8 m deep. There Gautier found a wooden box under a stone slab that contained a black wig . Six further depots are located immediately outside the north and east sides of the enclosure wall. Most of them were looted; Only remains of small ceramic vessels, a completely preserved wooden sledge and possible remains of another sledge were found among the additions.
The Queen's Pyramid 3
Pyramid 3 has a side length of 16.8 m (32 cubits) and an original height of 16.8 m (32 cubits) with an inclination angle of 63.25 °.
The pyramid superstructure is almost completely removed. In the 1930s, the team at the Metropolitan Museum was only able to identify the foundation pits and numerous foundation slabs made of limestone. Both the core masonry and the cladding had already completely disappeared. Only remains of the pyramidion made of rose granite were still preserved.
The chamber system of pyramid 3 is similar to that of the Itakayt pyramid, but is much more complex. It has two vertical shafts on the north side of the structure, of which the west is covered by the north chapel. Both are connected by a corridor. At the bottom of another shaft leading down from here is a doorway on the south side closed by a limestone slab. This was still in situ during the investigations of the Metropolitan Museum, but had been bypassed by grave robbers from above through a vertical shaft. Behind the door, a two-part corridor leads to the burial chamber. The corridor initially leads horizontally to the south and after another barrier made of two blocking stones with a slight slope, until after a third blocking device, consisting of a single stone, it opens into the burial chamber below the center of the pyramid. The corridor and chamber have a wall and ceiling cladding made of limestone slabs. The chamber also has a paving made of limestone slabs; In the corridor, the rock serves as a walking surface. The wall cladding of the corridor has an interesting peculiarity, because the panels are not held together by wooden clips, but by elongated flint bulbs. The well-preserved sarcophagus is still in the burial chamber. It is rectangular, undecorated and made of quartzite . The base of the sarcophagus tub is formed by four strips that are worked out again as a negative inside the sarcophagus. The lid was pushed down by grave robbers, but is undamaged. It is slightly arched and has four bosses on the narrow sides. The tub and lid were connected to each other on both narrow sides by a rectangular peg made of basalt . The sarcophagus originally contained a wooden coffin, from which some remains of the gold leaf decoration have been preserved. Only a few small bone fragments remain from the actual burial. Other finds were a rotten stick and a clam shell. At the northeast corner of the burial chamber there is a niche for the canopic box. This is also still preserved. Although grave robbers had smashed it, the excavators were able to put it back together completely. It is cube-shaped, is also made of quartzite and has two strips as a base.
In addition to this chamber system, there is a second one. This begins 2.3 m above the southern foot of the eastern entrance shaft. A corridor that is only 1 m high begins here and provides access to at least five burial niches. One is at the end of a long corridor leading to the south, a second is carved into the west wall just before its end. About a third of the way along the corridor, a wide niche opens up to the east, which then continues as a narrow corridor further to the east and opens to another niche east of the pyramid, from which a corridor branches off to the north and south.
The square enclosing wall had a side length of 50 cubits (26.25 m). Only the foundation trench has survived from it, which still contained numerous foundation blocks when the Metropolitan Museum was investigating. The existence of a mortuary temple on the east side of the pyramid and a north chapel is also evidenced by foundation trenches and some blocks. The mortuary temple was about 4 m wide and about 4.2 m deep. In addition to the foundations of the north chapel, relocated in the grave shaft, the foot of a woman's statue made of diorite, a granite fragment (perhaps from a statue shrine) with the name Mentuhotep, a sacrificial table and a fragment of the wall decoration have been preserved. A fillet and a round bar cannot be assigned with certainty. From smaller pits in the area of the Queen's Pyramid without a detailed description of the location come some vessel fragments, a uraeus , fragments of a hippopotamus statuette, inlays, a ring, numerous pearls (all made of faience), a copper hook and a vessel lid made of alabaster as well as a group of seven other faience -Figures (a man with a hippopotamus, a monkey, a frog, a hippopotamus, a rodent and two fruits). Two scarabs , a ring, several pearls, vessel fragments, fragments of partly gilded objects made of wood, stucco and granite, a relief fragment and an inscribed wooden door wing, which probably originally belonged to a statue shrine of a vizier Mentuhotep, come from the rubble around the pyramid Tomb southeast of the royal pyramid complex was discovered.
Although the pyramid was apparently used as a tomb, the identity of its owner is uncertain. Since no titles were found, it is unclear whether a wife or daughter of Sesostris I was buried here. The only clue is the granite fragment with the name Mentuhotep. It could have belonged to the grave of the vizier of the same name . Since Mentuhotep was used both as a male and female name, there is a possibility that it was referring to the owner of the queen pyramid. Some ceramic vessels found in the western entrance shaft of the pyramid date the burial to around the middle of the 12th dynasty.
The Queen's Pyramid 4
Pyramid 4 has a side length of 16.8 m (32 cubits). The original height and the angle of inclination are unknown due to the poor state of preservation. The foundation of the pyramid consists of rough, unhewn field stones. The same material was used for the core of the structure, which was carried out in several stages. Remnants of the cladding were not found, only parts of its foundations have been preserved.
The chamber system of the pyramid, which has apparently remained unfinished, has only been insufficiently investigated. Gautier published a flawed plan, there are no records of the Lythgo excavations and Arnold only excavated a small part of the chamber system. The pyramid has several grave shafts, of which it is unclear which belongs to the original chamber system and which are secondary. Arnold suspects that a shaft northeast of the pyramid, which is partially covered by the surrounding wall, denotes the original entrance. It has a square cross-section with a side length of 3.8 m. Its further course is unclear. Gautier made a sketch of a corridor leading to the west that ended in a chamber.
A second chamber system has two entrance shafts. The first is west of the north chapel, the second north of the first, outside the enclosure wall. From the southern of the two shafts, two passages lead under the pyramid body. The first and probably older one leads diagonally to the southeast and opens into a chamber under the center of the pyramid. In the case of a rectangle drawn in Gautier's sketch, it is unclear whether it denotes a pit or a sarcophagus. Above the sloping corridor, another corridor leading to the south was created, which ends in a chamber only 1.05 m high. Its walls were covered with limestone slabs. On its east side it has a niche for a canopic box, which, however, was too small to actually be used. The northern entrance shaft had been laid out for a third burial, which was to find its place at the northern end of the corridor leading to the south. There a niche was created on the west wall in which a quartzite sarcophagus was placed. Two smaller niches were attached to the east wall. The whole ensemble remained unfinished and the funeral apparently never took place. In the sarcophagus chamber, the paving of the floor was only begun; in some places plaster of paris was used instead of limestone slabs. The sarcophagus, the lid of which leans against the side of the tub, remained unfinished. In some places the roughly hewn stone was no longer smoothed. In the two eastern niches, of which the southern one was probably intended for a canopic box, remains of the pavement were found and in the northern one a wall paneling that had been started. Small fragments of a bowl and a bottle as well as a shard of a Canaanite pot came to light. The two Egyptian sherds can be traced back to the early reign of Amenemhet III. date, but cannot be clearly assigned to one of the burials in the pyramid. Another tunnel opens to the southwest of the sarcophagus, followed by a cross passage. It is only roughly hewn and it is unclear whether this is a test tunnel for a funeral or a tomb robber tunnel.
The rectangular enclosure wall measured 46 cubits (24.15 m) in the east-west direction and 43 cubits (22.575 m) in the north-south direction. When the Metropolitan Museum was investigating, the foundations and small remains of the actual masonry were still present. The thickness of the wall was 1.5 cubits (0.7875 m), its height can therefore be reconstructed to about 2 to 2.5 m. A sewer runs through the south side of the wall. The existence of an eastern mortuary temple and a north chapel is only documented by appropriate expansions of the pyramid foundation and by a few architectural remains. To the north and east of the pyramid, two more shafts were discovered, about which no further information is available. The remains of other mud brick walls were discovered between the enclosing wall of the queen's pyramid and the inner enclosing wall of the king's pyramid. The oldest are undulating and may have served as the original surrounding wall for the shaft northeast of the pyramid. In a second construction phase, a wider, straight brick wall was erected. Both walls were ultimately torn down and the area straightened and paved. More brick walls were discovered north of Queen's Pyramid 4. Its purpose is unclear; it is probably the remains of a construction ramp. Remnants of a transport road were also found east of the area of the Queen's Pyramid.
The Queen's Pyramid 5
Pyramid 5 has a side length of 16.275 m (31 cubits) and an original height of 16.275 m (31 cubits) at an inclination angle of 63.917 °. The pyramid core consists of roughly hewn field stones and is laid out in steps. Fragments of several cladding blocks made of white limestone and the pyramidion made of rose granite were found relocated in a shaft .
As with pyramid 4, the problem with pyramid 5 is that it is surrounded by several grave shafts, of which it is not certain which belongs to the original burial and which are secondary. Presumably the chamber system for the original owner was supposed to be created by means of two shafts on the north side of the building, similar to other queen pyramids. The southern of the two is directly under the north chapel, but work on it was given up prematurely after only 5 m. Ambrose Lansing widened the shaft to a depth of 17.5 m, then dug further in the direction of the pyramid center and then vertically again until he encountered groundwater at a depth of 22.5 m without being able to make out a burial chamber.
Another possible candidate for the original burial is a rather elaborately constructed shaft on the west side of the pyramid. Since the subsoil at this point consists of a deep layer of loose sand, the shaft was built using a caisson and covered with bricks that were later removed, making the excavators' work much more difficult. At depths of 14 m and 18.7 m, two corridors lead east from the shaft towards the pyramid. Since both had collapsed, they could not be fully examined.
A third chamber system is located south of the pyramid. Because of the rough execution, it is probably a secondary system. From there a shaft leads 18.5 m down. At its base, a gently descending corridor leads 12 m to the north and opens into a chamber 20 m below the south side of the pyramid. Presumably in a later construction phase, a chamber with four sarcophagi was created east of the shaft and another chamber with two sarcophagus niches to the south.
The approximately square enclosing wall measured 48 cubits (25.2 m) in the east-west direction and 47 cubits (24.675 m) in the north-south direction. When the Metropolitan Museum was examined, remains of the foundations were still present. The thickness of the wall was 2.5 cubits (1.31 m), its height can therefore be reconstructed to about 5 cubits (2.625 m). The existence of an eastern mortuary temple and a north chapel is evidenced by extensions to the pyramid foundations. In addition, a fragment of a round rod was found that belonged to one of the two structures.
At the outer southern end of the eastern enclosure wall, the remains of another chapel made of bricks were discovered. It had an enclosure wall that could be walked through from the south-east, about 8.6 m long and 5 m deep, which enclosed two small buildings. One was located in the northeast corner of the wall, was accessible from the south and measured 2.60 × 2.85 m. It probably served as a priestly quarters. The second, square building with a side length of 3.2 m was built on the surrounding wall of the queen pyramid and probably served as a shrine. Whether the chapel was used for the cult of the dead for one of the burials in the pyramid or the cult for a deity is unknown due to the lack of relevant finds.
Six other small brick structures were discovered around the western grave shaft that can be dated to Roman times through ceramic finds. Because of their small size, at most one could have served as shelter, while the others may have been small animal stalls.
Several finds from the Middle Kingdom also come from the area around the western grave shaft, which may belong to the original burial. These include a granite stele fragment with the incompletely preserved attribution “… kat…”, a fragment of a list of victims, a fragment of a mummy mask, two fragments of canopic jars made of alabaster and a shell. There is also an ostracon of the New Kingdom .
The Queen's Pyramid 6
Pyramid 6 has a side length of 15.75 m (30 cubits). The original height and the angle of inclination are unknown due to the poor state of preservation.
The pyramid was built on the rock in which a construction pit was sunk. It shows the position of a planned burial chamber and a shaft leading to the north. The work was abandoned prematurely because a thick layer of sand was discovered 3 m below the rock layer. The core of the pyramid consists of roughly hewn or not worked at all field stones. Only the foundations of the cladding are preserved. Workers' inscriptions on the foundation blocks of the pyramid and the surrounding wall indicate the 13th year of Sesostris I's reign as the start of construction of the complex.
A chamber system of the pyramid is not known. A tomb complex on the west side of the pyramid is probably secondary. From there a shaft leads 22 m into the depth. The upper area is lined with bricks where it pierces a layer of sand. Rotten wood from a caisson was also found. At the bottom of the shaft a wide chamber opens to the west, from which nine coffin niches lead off. A horizontal corridor leads to the east, from which a further niche leads off first to the south and shortly thereafter to the north. A half-height brick wall was built between the two. The passage finally opens into a cave-like chamber, from which another small chamber branches off to the north and a gently descending passage to the east. This leads under the west side of the pyramid, where its further course could no longer be followed due to the ingress of groundwater.
The rectangular enclosing wall measured 56 cubits (29.4 m) in the east-west direction and 49 cubits (25.725 m) in the north-south direction. It forms a unit with the surrounding wall of pyramid 7; both districts are separated from each other by a transverse wall. The thickness of the wall was 2 cubits (1.05 m). The foundation consisted of a layer of irregular stones and a layer of limestone slabs resting on it. The courtyard was paved with bricks, gravel, and rubble. Only the foundation trench of the north chapel has been preserved, the foundations of the eastern mortuary temple have still been discovered. These allow the reconstruction of a 3.5 m wide and 3.15 m deep structure with an estimated interior height of 5 cubits (2.625 m). Apart from a limestone lamp, there are no known finds from the chamber system. In addition to the tomb complex, three other holes or shafts were found in the area of the queen pyramid, about which no further information is available. Two of them appear to be depot pits.
Four fragments of slightly larger-than-life granite statues of women were found in the rubble around the pyramid. None of the pieces bears a name inscription, but they do prove that a death cult for a queen or princess took place.
The Queen's Pyramid 7
Pyramid 7 has a side length of 15.75 m (30 cubits). The original height and the angle of inclination are unknown due to the poor state of preservation. In terms of its dimensions and its design, it is almost identical to pyramid 6. Here, too, an excavation pit was built in the rock that was abandoned after a depth of 1 m, possibly at the same time as the pit of pyramid 6.
15 m east of the pyramid is an east-west running ditch, which was clad with bricks and covered with a vault. It was created to penetrate a thick layer of sand. A vertical shaft leads down at its eastern end. It is 18 m deep in total. It is clad with bricks up to a depth of 11 m. At its bottom, a descending corridor leads west under the pyramid. This is filled with mud and groundwater, so that the burial chamber has not yet been examined.
The courtyard, bounded by the common surrounding wall, had the same north-south dimensions as in pyramid 6, but was minimally shorter in the east-west direction, probably because of the directly adjacent excavation of the king's pyramid. Only the foundation trenches of the mortuary temple and the north chapel have been preserved.
The Queen's Pyramid 8
Pyramid 8 has a side length of 15.75 m (30 cubits). The original height and the angle of inclination are unknown due to the poor state of preservation.
The pyramid was examined by Gautier and again between 1913 and 1914 by the Metropolitan Museum, but not documented in detail. A follow-up examination by Dieter Arnold found a clear deterioration in the state of preservation. The core masonry was made of field stones that were held together by mortar or mud and formed several steps. At the beginning of the 20th century, four steps were still well preserved, but Arnold's investigation showed that only insignificant remains of the core remained. Cladding stones could no longer be found, and their foundations were also missing.
The access to the chamber system is provided by a vertical shaft north of the pyramid, which is partially covered by the surrounding wall. From the bottom of the shaft, a gently sloping corridor leads south and opens into a chamber with a sarcophagus pit. To the south of this first chamber, directly below the pyramid center, there is a second, elongated chamber. The floor, walls and ceiling of the corridor are clad with limestone slabs. The two chambers were also originally clad, but the panels were removed by thieves, which led to the partial collapse of the chambers. Due to the risk of collapse, Gautier did not enter the chamber system through the actual grave shaft during his investigations, but dug a tunnel from a neighboring shaft to the descending corridor. He did not excavate the buried chambers.
Pyramids 8 and 9 shared a common perimeter wall. It measured 47 cubits (24.675 m) in north-south direction and 86 cubits (45.15 m) in east-west direction. Their thickness was 1.5 cubits (0.787 m), their height should therefore have been a maximum of 4 cubits (2.1 m). Only the foundations and two rounded end stones from the top of the wall have been preserved. In the west, the wall was attached to the existing inner wall surrounding the king pyramid. Neither a mortuary temple nor a north chapel could be clearly traced, only a foundation ditch east of the pyramid could have belonged to the mortuary temple.
The Queen's Pyramid 9
Pyramid 9 has a side length of 15.75 m (30 cubits). The original height and the angle of inclination are unknown due to the poor state of preservation. The core of the pyramid is made of bricks and its foundations are made of a mixture of bricks and stones. The foundations of the cladding consist of a layer of rough limestone slabs covered with a second layer of machined slabs of better quality limestone. The plates were connected to one another by clips. Only the backing stones remain of the cladding , only an outer cladding stone is still preserved.
Foundation deposits have been discovered under all four corners of the pyramid. These were square pits with a side length of 0.8 m and a depth of 1 m, which were covered with limestone slabs. The additions are model vessels, faience pearls, skulls and bones of cattle and model bricks. The finds are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago . Typologically, the vessels date to the reign of Amenemhet II or Sesostris II, which would mean a remarkably late construction date for the pyramid.
The pyramid's chamber system, if any, has not yet been discovered. A shaft in the southwest corner of the structure turned out to be a tomb robber tunnel. It descends 15 m and opens to the east to a small chamber, from which a shaft leads northeast to the pyramid center. Another shaft in the north-east corner of the pyramid leads almost 5 m into the depth and then leads to a roughly designed chamber. This is obviously a secondary grave. In 1989 Dieter Arnold tried to find the burial chamber by drilling a shaft directly from the pyramid center. He penetrated to a depth of 13.7 m, but without finding anything. In the same year he examined a third shaft north of the perimeter wall of the pyramid, which had already been recorded by Gautier. This shaft is 10.3 m deep. At a depth of 5 m a passage or a chamber leads to the south, at a depth of 6.7 m another chamber leads to the north. Both have collapsed and have not been investigated. At the bottom of the shaft another chamber with a sarcophagus opens to the south. In addition to some bones, ceramic shards dating back to the 13th dynasty were found here. Dieter Arnold thinks it is possible that the uppermost shaft leading to the south leads to the original burial chamber of the pyramid.
From the mortuary temple and the north chapel, only the remains of the stone foundations have survived, some of them made of bricks for the north chapel. In the vicinity of the pyramid, a few other brick structures were discovered that do not belong to its foundations and were probably connected to temporary building structures.
To the north of the enclosure wall, directly on the northern grave shaft, Arnold excavated a ramp rising from east to west, which is not connected to the construction of the pyramid complex, but according to ceramic finds only in the reign of Sesostris III. or Amenemhet III. was built. Its purpose is unclear. Another find in the immediate vicinity is a single bundle of linen with labels, which was probably used during a mummification and was later deliberately put down.
The inner perimeter wall and the inner courtyard
The inner wall has been almost completely removed today. The original investigations of the Metropolitan Museum at the beginning of the 20th century revealed remains on the south and west sides, but these have also largely disappeared. The wall had a thickness of 5 cubits (2.625 m) and tapered towards the top with an angle of inclination of 82 ° 25 'in the west and 82 ° 21' in the south, which in Egyptian dimensions corresponds approximately to an embankment ratio of 1 hand's breadth per cubit. The original height was believed to be 10.5 cubits (5.5125 m). The wall consisted of limestone blocks that were partially connected by wooden brackets. A series of individual, rounded stones formed the end. The wall core was made up of small, unhewn field stones.
At a distance of around 5 m on the wall, both inside and outside, flat, decorated panels were attached, the fertility deity who brought gifts from bottom to top, a palace facade and a lettering, either the name of Horus and the proper name or the name of Horus and shows the throne name of Sesostris I. The tables are crowned by a Horus falcon wearing a double crown . Several of these panels are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and a few more are still in situ. The panels are a specialty of the Sesostris I pyramid area and are not found in any other surrounding wall.
The courtyard is 65 cubits (34.125 m) wide on the east side, where it encloses the inner mortuary temple and the cult pyramid, and 20 cubits (10.50 m) on the other three sides. It is paved with local limestone slabs. In contrast to the outer courtyard, it has no additional structures such as houses or grave shafts. Only on the south side of the pyramid did Gautier discover a tomb robber tunnel, which apparently had already been built shortly after the cult had ceased, probably during the Hyksos period. In the 19th century the courtyard was almost completely covered by the rubble of the sacked pyramidal body and was cleaned first by Gautier and later by the expedition of the Metropolitan Museum. Most of the south side and the northeast corner have not been excavated to this day.
Drainages
Drainage systems were installed under all four sides of the inner wall to drain rainwater from the inner courtyard. Originally, two drainage channels were apparently planned on all four sides, running at right angles under the wall and draining the water into large collecting basins that were located in the outer courtyard. This scheme was only carried out on the south and west sides. Only a drain was built on the east side, which was moved a second time to the north after the construction of the surrounding wall of the cult pyramid and for reasons that are not clear. Since the queen pyramid 8 was built very close to the east side of the inner wall, no second drain could be created at this point. To compensate for this, the north side has three drains, of which the westernmost corresponds to the original concept. The middle one bends sharply to the northeast, as the construction of a collecting basin was dispensed with and an unfinished grave shaft was converted for this purpose instead. The third shaft is near the east end of the north side.
The depot near the pyramid entrance
On the inside of the inner perimeter wall, directly opposite the pyramid entrance, the original Metropolitan Museum expedition found a small dumping pit that was between 48 and 60 cm wide and 37 cm deep. Additions were not found. Possibly the pit was created for the dedication of the north chapel or for a royal burial.
The bronze hoard
On the north side of the pyramid, during the 1933/34 excavation season, a basket was found inside the rubble hill about 36 m west of the pyramid entrance, 1.30 m north of the pyramid edge and 0.28 m above ground level, in which a sealed bundle of linen was located . This contained about 70 objects made of copper and bronze . These are vessels, tools, toilet devices, fragments and raw copper. The objects were tightly folded to take up as little space as possible. According to Dieter Arnold, this is a clear sign that the depot was only created because of the material value of the objects. Some of the objects found could date to the Middle Kingdom, but most of them come from the New Kingdom, more precisely the Thutmosid period ( 18th dynasty ). The seal of the linen bundle allows a fairly precise dating of the laying down, because it shows the name of Tutankhamun's throne .
The cult pyramid
The cult pyramid has an original side length of 15.72 m (30 cubits) and an original height of 15.72 m (30 cubits) at an inclination angle of 63.435 °. In a later construction phase it was enlarged to a side length of 18.34 m (35 cubits) and a height of 18.34 m (35 cubits).
The cult pyramid is located at the southeast corner of the royal pyramid and south of the inner mortuary temple. The system was built in several phases: The original design saw a pyramid with a square floor plan of 30 cubits (15.72 m) side length and the same height with an inclination ratio of 3.5 hand widths per cubit (63 ° 26 ′ 6 ″). The superstructure of the pyramid consisted of a limestone cladding that was filled with sand and mortar.
In a second construction phase, the pyramid was surrounded with its own wall. The east and south sides were formed by the inner wall of the royal pyramid, the north and west sides were newly built. The access to the courtyard is on the northeast corner.
In a third and final construction phase, the courtyard paving of the cult pyramid was raised by two additional layers of stone. The pyramid itself was enlarged by two additional layers of facing stones on the north and west side. It now reached a side length and height of 35 cubits (18.375 m). This reconstruction was probably done in order to adapt the size ratio of the cult and king pyramids to that of the models of the Old Kingdom. There the ratio is usually 1: 5. In order to achieve this value, the Ka-pyramid Sesostris' I should actually have had a side length of 40 cubits, but there was no space for such a large extension. After the final construction phase was completed, a depot was created between the west side of the pyramid and its surrounding wall.
The original entrance to the underground chamber system is under the southeast corner of the pyramid. It was originally covered by its foundations, so the chamber system must have been completed in its entirety before construction of the cult pyramid began. A vertical shaft with a depth of 17.85 m and a cross-section of 3 × 5 cubits (1.575 × 2.625 m) forms the access. It was closed by a stone slab that was broken by the activities of grave robbers.
Two corridors lead from the shaft to the north and south, where they each end in a single room. The southern room has a length of 5 cubits (2.625 m), a width of 2 cubits (1.05 m) and a height between 1.42 m and 1.44 m. The floor, walls and ceiling are clad with limestone, but the ceiling cladding was apparently not completely finished. On the south wall of the room there is a niche for storing an unknown item. The northern area is slightly larger with a length of 3.60 m, a width of 1.18 m and a height of 1.54 m. It does not have a wall niche and is completely clad in the ceiling. When construction began on the pyramid, the shaft was closed with two limestone slabs. These were 77 cm and 82 cm thick and 9.90 m deep in a niche-like extension of the shaft.
For unknown reasons, a second entrance was created in a later construction phase. The complicated structure of this corridor system reveals that the workers at that time no longer knew the exact location of the chambers. First, a little east of the northern courtyard of the pyramid, another vertical shaft was created, but it only reaches a depth of 14.75 m. From there, a slightly sloping corridor leads to the south. After 5 m and 11 m respectively, two tunnels were driven to the east. Another vertical shaft was built in the second, with the help of which the northern chamber could apparently be located. A sloping corridor was then dug from the main corridor, which eventually reached the northern corridor of the old chamber system.
In addition to this subsequent corridor system, there are two more obvious grave robber tunnels. One was driven from the top of the main shaft towards the inside of the pyramid, but abandoned for unknown reasons. A second shaft was probably driven from the north outside of the enclosure wall to the entrance of the north shaft. The fact that such a detour was chosen leads Dieter Arnold to the assumption that the area within the surrounding wall was built up, perhaps by a north chapel, of which no traces have been preserved.
Private graves in the vicinity of the Sesostris I pyramid
Several larger private tombs were built in the immediate vicinity of the royal pyramid. To the north is a single large mastaba. The name of its owner is incomplete, possibly it was Intef. The dating of the tomb is difficult and can only be done by naming three royal Horus names. The first belongs to Amenemhet I, the following two are destroyed. There is the possibility of a chronological order so that the mastaba would be dated to the reign of Amenemhet II. On the other hand, the names could name the kings for whose death cult the grave owner was responsible, so that the complex could be significantly younger. At the southwest corner of the north mastaba, Gauthier discovered another large grave, which consisted only of an underground chamber system without a superstructure. This so-called "French Tomb" can be traced back to the reign of Sesostris III through some architectural features and ceramic finds. be dated.
To the north of the access road and to the northeast of the pyramid are two other large mastaba systems. The larger of the two belongs to a Sesostrisanch who probably lived during the reigns of Sesostris I and Amenemhet II. He carried numerous titles that identified him as a high-ranking priest and craftsman, but also as an ophthalmologist . Numerous secondary tombs were created around the complex in later times , one of which, the Tomb of Wosret, was dismantled during the excavations and is now on display in the Metropolitan Museum. The second large grave complex in the northeast is the mastaba of a Sesostris. It is located directly southwest of the mastaba of Sesostrisanch and is significantly smaller than this. Sesostris held the office of steward and probably lived under Sesostris I and Amenemhet II. Next to him, a Hepi was buried here, who was probably his wife or daughter.
The mastaba of Imhotep is located north of the mortuary temple and directly east of the outer wall . Among other things, this carried the title of keeper of the seal and head of all works. He too seems to have lived under Sesostris I and Amenemhet II. Another man is buried next to him in the mastaba, but his name is unknown. The mastaba has an inner wall made of stone and an outer wall made of brick, which also encloses a second, smaller mastaba-like structure. Several extraordinary finds were made in the grave district, including two pits with two solar barges each and a shrine in the outer surrounding wall, which has not been documented anywhere else in this form and which contained two wooden statues of Sesostris I. To the east and north of the Imhotep grave complex there is an only partially excavated complex of smaller shaft graves.
On the opposite side of the mortuary temple there is a larger complex of tombs, the southern end of which is the mastaba of Mentuhotep, the possible architect of the royal pyramid. The grave had its own driveway and possibly a talc chapel, the remains of which could be hidden under today's Islamic cemetery. Directly to the north of the Mentuhotep grave complex is a brick enclosure of an unclear function. Since a platform-like structure was found in it, Dieter Arnold believes it is possible that justice has been pronounced here. On the other hand, the complex could have been associated with the royal burial or the statue cult. In the 13th Dynasty , numerous simple grave shafts were created here. Furthermore, seven pits with numerous dog carcasses were discovered, which were probably created in the Middle Ages or modern times. To the north-east of the enclosure is another grave, the so-called East Grave. Since it has only been partially excavated, nothing is known about its owner. Since this grave was taken into consideration when the brick enclosure was built, it can be assumed that it was built under Sesostris I.
A little south of the southeast corner of the outer perimeter wall there are at least two other large graves. These facilities, known as “South- Khor Tomb A” and “South- Khor Tomb B”, are poorly documented because their location was used as a dump and the excavation took place in a very short time. Only grave A was excavated to a large extent, no clues about its owner were found. It can generally be dated to the 12th Dynasty. Also in the 12th dynasty, a small shaft grave was built as a post-burial, in which the well-preserved and richly decorated coffin of a cheti was found. Only the southwest corner of grave B was cut. More detailed information on this system is not available.
A group of at least five graves borders directly on the middle of the south side of the enclosing wall. The northernmost of these are graves A and B. The owner and the exact time of grave A are unknown. Grave B belonged to a magazine keeper named Djehuti. The exact date is unclear, but it is believed to be the youngest grave in this group. Grave C is the southernmost facility. It belonged to a royal keeper of the seals, whose name is incomplete and began with Ip ... He is believed to have lived during the reign of Sesostris I. Grave D is located between graves B and C and is likely to be a little younger than the latter. Nothing is known about the owner. To the west of grave D some walls were discovered that belong to a possible grave E. Since this area has not yet been examined in more detail, the existence of this grave must remain hypothetical for the time being. To the east of grave D is grave F. Here, too, nothing is known about the owner and the exact date.
A little north of this group is the grave of the headmaster Sehetepibreanch. It can only be identified based on the finds. A statue of the tomb owner fits stylistically into the reign of Amenemhet II or Sesostris II. A gold pendant was also found that bears the name of Sesostris III. wearing. Because of the way it was found, it is plausible that he ended up in the grave through a subsequent burial.
literature
General overview
- Zahi Hawass : The Treasures of the Pyramids. Weltbild, Augsburg 2004, ISBN 3-8289-0809-8 , pp. 330–331.
- William C. Hayes : The Scepter of Egypt. A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1. From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1978, ISBN 978-0870991905 , pp. 182-195 ( online ).
- Mark Lehner : Secret of the Pyramids. ECON, Düsseldorf 1997, ISBN 3-572-01039-X , pp. 170-173.
- Bertha Porter , Rosalind LB Moss : Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings. IV. Lower and Middle Egypt (Delta and Cairo to Asyût). Griffith Institute, Oxford 1968, pp. 81-85 ( PDF; 14.3 MB ).
- 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. 234-235.
- Miroslav Verner : The pyramids (= rororo non-fiction book. Volume 60890). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-499-60890-1 , pp. 437-445.
Excavation publications
- Dieter Arnold : The Pyramid of Senwosret I (= Publications of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition. Volume 22). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1988, ISBN 0-87099-506-5 ( online ).
- Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I (= Publications of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition. Volume 25). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1992, ISBN 0-87099-612-6 ( online ).
- Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht (= Publications of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition. Volume 28). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2008, ISBN 978-1-58839-194-0 ( online ).
- 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 978-0-30009-161-8 ( online ).
- Joseph-Étienne Gautier, Gustave Jéquier : Fouilles de Lisht. In: Revue archéologique . Ser. 3, Vol. 29, 1896, pp. 39-70 ( online ).
- Joseph-Étienne Gautier, Gustave Jéquier: Memoires sur les Fouilles de Lisht (= Memoires de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire. Volume 6). Cairo 1902 ( online ).
- Ambrose Lansing: The Egyptian Expedition 1916-1919: I. Excavations on the Pyramid of Sesostris I at Lisht. Seasons of 1916-17 and 1917-18. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Volume 15, No. 7, July 1920, pp. 3-11 ( JSTOR 3254174 ).
- Ambrose Lansing: The Museum's Excavations at Lisht. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Volume 19, No. 12, December 1924, pp. 33-43 ( JSTOR 23031110 ).
- Ambrose Lansing: The Museum's Excavations at Lisht. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Volume 21, No. 3, March 1926, pp. 33-40 ( JSTOR 3254818 ).
- Ambrose Lansing: The Egyptian Expedition 1931–1932: The Museum's Excavations at Lisht. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Vol. 28, No. 4/2, April 1933, pp. 3-22 ( JSTOR 3254981 ).
- Ambrose Lansing, William C. Hayes: The Egyptian Expedition: The Excavations at Lisht. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Volume 28, No. 11/2, November 1933, pp. 4-38 ( JSTOR 3255344 ).
- Ambrose Lansing, William C. Hayes: The Egyptian Expedition: The Excavations at Lisht. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Volume 29, No. 11/2, November 1934, pp. 4-41 ( JSTOR 3257012 ).
- Albert M. Lythgoe: The Egyptian Expedition: II. The Season's Work at the Pyramids of Lisht. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Volume 3, No. 9, September 1908, pp. 170-173 ( JSTOR 3252935 ).
- Albert M. Lythgoe: The Egyptian Expedition. In: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Volume 4, No. 7, July 1909, pp. 119-123 ( JSTOR 3252459 ).
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 ).
- 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 ).
- Julia Budka : The cult pyramid. Considerations on the history of development, meaning and function. In: Susanne Bickel, Antonio Loprieno (Ed.): Basel Egyptology Prize 1. Junior Research in Egyptian History, Archeology, and Philology (= Aegyptiaca Helvetica. Volume 17). Schwabe & Co., Basel 2003, ISBN 3-7965-1993-8 , pp. 145-162 ( online ).
- Karin Dohrmann: Work organization, production processes and work technology - an analysis of the seated statues of Sesostris I from Lischt. 2 volumes, dissertation, Göttingen 2004 ( online ).
- Hans Gerhard Evers : State made of stone. Monuments, history, and importance of Egyptian sculpture during the Middle Kingdom. 2 volumes. F. Bruckmann, Munich 1929.
- Wolfram Grajetzki : The title "Head of all the king's works" or who were the pyramid architects in the Middle Kingdom? In: Sokar. Volume 14, 2007, pp. 60-65.
- 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. 54–59, 116–120.
- Ahmed Bey Kamal : Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 23001-23256. Table d'offrandes. Imprimiere de l'Institut Français d'Archeologie Orientale, Cairo 1909 ( online ).
- James M. Weinstein: Foundation Deposits in Ancient Egypt. Dissertation, Ann Arbor 1973.
Web links
- The Pyramid of Senusret I at Lisht in Egypt . On: touregypt.net from June 20, 2011 (last update); last accessed on November 2, 2015.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Years after Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , p. 264.
- ↑ John Shae Perring, EJ Andrews: The Pyramids of Gizeh. From Actual Survey and Admeasurement. Volume 3, Fraser, London 1843, p. 19, plate 17 ( online ).
- ^ 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. 77-78 ( online ).
- ↑ 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. 216 ( online ).
- ↑ Gaston Maspero: Étude de mythologie et d'archéologie égyptiennes. Volume 1, Paris 1893, pp. 148-149 ( online ).
- ↑ Joseph Étiennte Gautier, Gustave Jéquier: Fouilles de Lisht. In: Revue archéologique. Series 3, Volume 29, 1896, pp. 39-70 ( online ).
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1988 ( online ).
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1992 ( online ).
- ^ Felix Arnold: The South Cemeteries of Lisht II. The Control Notes and Team Marks. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1990 ( online ).
- ↑ Hartwig Altenmüller: The pyramid names of the early 12th dynasty. 1992, pp. 33-34, 41.
- ↑ Hartwig Altenmüller: The pyramid names of the early 12th dynasty. 1992, p. 36.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 69-70.
- ↑ Julia Budka: The cult pyramid. Considerations on the history of development, meaning and function. 2003, pp. 157-158.
- ↑ Peter Jánosi: The pyramids of the queens. 1996, pp. 52-54.
- ↑ Peter Jánosi: The pyramids of the queens. 1996, pp. 122, 176.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 66.
- ↑ Peter Jánosi: The pyramid district Amenemhet I in Lisht. In: Sokar. Volume 14, 2007, p. 57, note 10.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 66.
- ^ Felix Arnold: The Control Notes and Team Marks. 1990, pp. 30-31.
- ^ A b c Felix Arnold: The Control Notes and Team Marks. 1990, p. 31.
- ^ Felix Arnold: The Control Notes and Team Marks. 1990, pp. 31-32.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 100.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 92–94, plate 101.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 94–95, plate 101.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 95-96.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 92, plate 101.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 93-94, plate 101.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 95.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 97, 99.
- ↑ Wolfram Grajetzki: The title "Head of all the king's work" or who were the pyramid architects in the Middle Kingdom? 2007, p. 61.
- ↑ Wolfram Grajetzki: The title "Head of all the king's work" or who were the pyramid architects in the Middle Kingdom? 2007, pp. 61-62.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 14.
- ↑ Wolfram Grajetzki: The title "Head of all the king's work" or who were the pyramid architects in the Middle Kingdom? 2007, pp. 62-63.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 64.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 64-65.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 65-66.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 87-90.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 90.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 76-82.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 66-67.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 67.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 68-69.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 69-70.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 70-71.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 18.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 18, 41.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 18-19.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 19, 21-22.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 21-22.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 19-20.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 20.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 23-24, 42.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 25.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 26-30.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 34-40.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 15.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 15-17.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 17-18.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 92.
- ^ 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, pp. 21–29.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 56.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 41.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 54-58.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 65-69.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 69.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 46.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 41-42.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 50.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 51.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 50-51.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 51-52.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 52-53.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 41.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 42.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 42-43.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 43.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 43-44.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 44.
- ↑ Ahmed Bey Kamal: Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 23001-23256. Table d'offrandes. Imprimiere de l'Institut Français d'Archeologie Orientale, Cairo 1909, pp. 1-3.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 44-45.
- ↑ a b c Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 45.
- ↑ a b c Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 46.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 46-47.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 47.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 48.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 50-53.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 51-53.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 49-50.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 54.
- ↑ Peter Jánosi: The pyramids of the queens. 1996, p. 54.
- ↑ Peter Jánosi: The pyramids of the queens. 1996, pp. 54-55.
- ↑ Peter Jánosi: The pyramids of the queens. 1996, p. 56.
- ^ Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, London 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3 , pp. 92-93, 96 ( PDF file; 67.9 MB ); retrieved from the Internet Archive .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 19.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 20.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 21.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 22.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 22-23.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 24.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 25.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 23-24.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 24-25.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 26.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 27.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 27-28.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 28-29.
- ↑ a b c d Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 29.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 28.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 27, 60-64.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 29-30.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 30.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 30-31.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 31.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 31-32.
- ^ A b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 32-33.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 33.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 34.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 33, 43 (No. 30).
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 34, 64-65.
- ↑ a b c Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 35.
- ↑ a b c d Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 36.
- ^ A b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 37.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 37-38.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, p. 38.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 38-39.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 39-40.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I. 1992, pp. 40, 83.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 58-59.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 59-63.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 58.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 84-86.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 93.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 99-105.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 72-73.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 72.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 73.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 73-74.
- ↑ a b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 74.
- ↑ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, pp. 74-75.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid of Senwosret I. 1988, p. 75.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 26-27.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 31.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 13-14.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 24.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 24, 26.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 33-36.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 38-39.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 60-61.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 61.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 50-51.
- ^ A b Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 51.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 52.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 55.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 57.
- ^ A b Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, p. 58.
- ^ Dieter Arnold: Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. 2008, pp. 58-59.
Coordinates: 29 ° 33 ′ 36 ″ N , 31 ° 13 ′ 16 ″ E