Sesostris III pyramid

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Sesostris III pyramid
The pyramid of Sesostris III in Dahshur during the excavations by Jacques de Morgan (1895)
The pyramid of Sesostris III in Dahshur during the excavations by Jacques de Morgan (1895)
Egyptian name
bA nTr xpr
r 		w niwt t
Z1

Ba-netjeri-cheperu
B3-nṯr.j-ḫpr.w
Apparitions of the divine Ba
(name of the pyramid district; the name of the actual pyramid is unknown)
Data
place Dahshur
builder Sesostris III.
construction time 12th dynasty
Base dimension 105 m
Height (originally) 62.57 m
Tilt ~ 50 °
Cult pyramid Yes
Queen pyramids 6th
(Reconstructed) plan of the pyramids of Sesostris III.

The Sesostris III pyramid is a monumental building and the possible tomb of the ancient Egyptian king Sesostris III. from the 12th dynasty in the Middle Kingdom . It is located in Dahshur , northeast of the Red Pyramid of King Sneferu .

Research history

The pyramid was visited on September 8, 1839 by John Shae Perring , who worked under Richard William Howard Vyse , who also published his research. He tried in vain to find the entrance to the pyramid, but found a block with the name of Sesostris III. and could assign the building to this ruler. The Prussian Expedition to Egypt 1842-1845 under the direction of Karl Richard Lepsius stayed between February and April 1843 in Dahshur. Lepsius added the Sesostris III pyramid under the number XLVII and her southeastern queen pyramid under the number XLVIII in his list of pyramids . Lepsius was also able to locate the pathway. Gaston Maspero tried in 1882/83 with inglorious methods to find the burial chamber and the entrance to the pyramid. He had thousands of tons of bricks transported away, but was still unsuccessful and left a huge hole in the pyramid that still determines its appearance today. Jacques de Morgan , who worked on the pyramid for six months from January to June 1894 and in November 1894, was much more successful . He found the coffin chamber in the pyramid and two untouched jewelry chests in an underground gallery north of the pyramid. In April 1907, Alessandro Barsanti carried out a subsequent excavation in the de Morgans waste dumps and found numerous overlooked objects. Gustave Jéquier examined the lower area of ​​the access road between December 1924 and March 1925 and tried to locate the valley temple, but he did not succeed. More recent, large-scale excavations have been taking place since 1990 under the direction of Dieter Arnold from the Metropolitan Museum of Art . In 2002 he presented a detailed excavation publication which summarized the results of the campaigns between 1990 and 1999. So far, only preliminary reports have been published about the excavations in the following years.

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. There are two names for the Sesostris III pyramid. The name of the mortuary temple has been known since the beginning of the 20th century. This was Qebeh-Senweseret ("Sesostris is cool"). Hartwig Altenmüller suspected that this name also referred to the rest of the district, as was the case with other pyramids of the 12th dynasty. During his excavations, Dieter Arnold found another name that is only documented on a fragment of a chest in Queen Weret II's grave. This name is Ba-netjeri-cheperu ("apparitions of the divine Ba") and is taken by Arnold to denote the pyramid district. The names of the pyramid and the pyramid city are still unknown. The modern Arabic name of the pyramid is Haram Makubbub (the round or flat pyramid).

The pyramid

The superstructure

The length of the pyramid base was measured by Perring at 106.64 m and by de Morgan at 104.90 m. The base dimension sought by the builders should therefore have been 200 cubits (105 m). Since the foundations have a side length of 108.20 m, Arnold also considers a base dimension of the pyramid of 204 cubits (107.10 m). Due to the poor state of preservation of the building, there are different details about the angle of slope and thus also the height. Perring gave 51 ° 20 ′ 25 ″. De Morgan made contradicting statements by giving the slope angle in the text of his excavation publication as 56 °, in the reconstruction drawing, however, as 50 °. De Morgan's textual information was adopted by many authors, but after repeated measurements by Arnold proved to be incorrect. Arnold's measurements always gave values ​​around 50 °. The actual slope should therefore have been a ratio of 6: 5 hand's breadth (50 ° 11 ′ 40 ″). With a base dimension of 200 cubits and an angle of slope of 50 °, the original height is 62.57 m.

The brick core of the pyramid stands on a 25 to 30 cm high Gebel platform. Around this platform there was a ditch 0.5 to 1 m deep and 4.5 to 4.9 m wide, which was filled with four layers of bricks and supported the stone foundations of the outer casing. The core of the pyramid consists of large, gray clay bricks that come in two sizes: 12.8 × 20 × 38 cm and 14.2 × 23.0 × 43 cm. There are 24 different types of fingerprints on these bricks. In the mud of the brick there were numerous shards of vessels from the Old Kingdom, which served to strengthen the material, but also indicate that brick production was not far from a ruin or a rubble mound from the Old Kingdom. The bricks were laid without mortar and the joints were only filled with pure sand.

The entire pyramid core was then clad with fine Tura limestone, which was held together with staples . The stone cladding was once about 4.5 m thick, as indicated by the clay brick foundations of the cladding. The blocks were once very large, but none of them are intact. Vyse found another 0.59 x 1.83 x 2.52 m block.

The north chapel

On the north side of the pyramid was a small north chapel . Today it is largely destroyed and the few remains are buried under rubble. The chapel was briefly described by Perring and Lepsius, but no plan was made. Perring recorded an approximately 8.20 m long brick platform, which probably served as the foundation for the north chapel. Dieter Arnold assumes a length of 15 cubits (7.875 m) and a width of 10 cubits (5.25 m) for the chapel. According to Perring's description, the chapel had a portico and a cantilever vault . In 1993 Arnold was able to recover the remains of a fillet and a round rod that may have belonged to the north chapel.

The mortuary temple

To the east was the mortuary temple . This is also destroyed and can no longer be reconstructed . All that remained of him was the mudbrick platform, after which he took up an area of ​​about 18 × 15 m. There were still fragments of reliefs and building elements. Fragments of red granite found in the area of ​​the pyramid temple probably came from a false door .

The chamber system

In an attempt to get inside the pyramid, Jacques de Morgan dug a few tunnels in the rubble in 1895 and came across an old tomb robber tunnel that led directly to the burial chamber . So he also located the correct entrance, which is outside the pyramid in the courtyard on the west side. The descending corridor bends below the building and leads to an antechamber; from there you get to the burial chamber and another chamber.

The walls are made of granite that has been whitened with plaster . The granite vaulted ceiling is relieved again by ten limestone beams, each weighing 30 tons, arranged above it.

Redrawing of the royal sarcophagus after de Morgan

On the west side of the burial chamber stood the empty sarcophagus . It is made of rose granite and has several innovations that are characteristic of the sarcophagi of the late 12th dynasty. The sarcophagus tub has a two-tiered base, the lower part of which is smooth and the upper part of which has a niche structure. The niche structure has a height of 0.46 m. It has five gates on the eastern long side and three gates on each of the two narrow sides. The decor of the west side is unknown, as it is directly walled up with the west wall of the burial chamber. The sarcophagus lid is arched and has two endlesites. He's probably imitating a brick vault. The sarcophagus has a length of 2.55 m and a width of 1.13 m at the base. In the upper area it is 2.35 m long and 0.95 m wide. Its height is 1.20 m without or 1.425 m with the lid. The interior of the sarcophagus tub is 1.95 m long, 0.63 m wide and 0.71 m deep. Canopies were not available.

Since the corridors of the pyramid were not provided with the usual fall barriers and Sesostris III. has another large tomb in Abydos , many Egyptologists assume that he was not buried in Dahshur, but in Abydos.

The pyramid complex

Valley temple and way

The valley temple was searched in vain both by Jequier and in a renewed investigation by Arnold in 1992. Arnold probably reached the lower end of the path with a search cut. However, groundwater and the border of the fertile land prevented the excavation from continuing to the east. Nevertheless, the location of the temple seems to be able to be determined with certainty: At the western edge of the fruiting land there is a raised area within an orchard in which poor plant growth indicates stone foundations in the ground. No statements can be made about the exact appearance of the temple. The only finds from this area are some undecorated fragments of granite and alabaster found near the surface .

The drifted path is clearly visible in the terrain. It has already been recorded by de Morgan on a map of the pyramid complex and excavated at the top. Jequier carried out excavations at the lower end and Arnold dug in five locations between 1990 and 1993. The path runs from southeast to northwest towards the pyramid and ends in the southern extension of the outer courtyard in the southern temple. It is 250 m long and 22.65 m wide. It is divided into an approximately 9.15 m wide inner pathway with limestone paving and brick walls with limestone cladding, as well as two flanking outer paths that are 3.00 m wide and bordered by 3.75 m thick brick walls. The inner walls are still up to a height of about 3.50 m, the outer up to a height of 3.00 m, the original height should have been about 7.00 m. Both Jequier and Arnold found numerous fragments of relief. However, since none was found in its original location, it is not certain whether the fragments come from the wall decoration of the driveway or were relocated from the temples of the pyramid by stone robbers.

At the lower end, an underpass running north-south made it possible to pass the Aufweg. It consists of a 22 m long tunnel with an original height of about 2.30 m. The plaster, the walls and probably also the ceiling were made of limestone slabs. Brick arches were installed between the tunnel and the driveway to divert the pressure.

The outer paths and the walls that border them end at the outer enclosure wall. A large number of model vessels were found at the northern end, which were probably originally deposited in a pit here. The middle path leads through the main gate of the enclosure and opens into the forecourt of the south temple. About halfway between the enclosure and the south temple, de Morgan discovered a robbed Ptolemaic shaft grave, whose owner, according to an inscription, was the police chief Herenpawerupenneith. The statue of a Senbebu from the Middle Kingdom was also found here. It is unclear whether this was only relocated or whether the grave was laid out in the Middle Kingdom and usurped in the Ptolemaic period.

The outer perimeter wall and the outer courtyard

The pyramid complex was expanded to the north and south during the king's reign. The southern part enclosed the southern temple, which Dieter Arnold was able to partially reconstruct. The relatively small building contained a forecourt with papyrus columns and the adjoining sanctuaries. The fragments of the reliefs show the king at the Sed festival and the gods Khnum and Herischef .

The queen pyramids

Plan of the four northern pyramids with the burial chambers and the connecting passage

Within the surrounding wall there are four queen pyramids in the north and two queen pyramids in the south. There is also a cult pyramid here , which is slightly larger than the others. The name of the owner has been passed down from two of the northern pyramids. They are Queen Nofrethenut and Queen Itakayet . The two southern pyramids, which were slightly larger than the northern, belonged to the king's wife Weret (II.) And the queen's mother Weret (I). However, the rooms in the pyramid of the latter were so small that it can be assumed that Weret ( I.) was not buried here, but probably in el-Lahun . The cult pyramid to the west was again larger than the other two southern pyramids.

The substructure shows that the northern side pyramids were all connected by a vaulted corridor, from which four groups branched off with chambers for the sarcophagi, canopic jars and other burial equipment. An even deeper corridor led to eight more sarcophagi. The names of some people could be identified: the princesses Menet and Senet-senebtisi are documented by sarcophagus inscriptions , de Morgan found a chest with 333 pieces of jewelry from a Sathathor , and from Mereret an even larger treasure trove.

It was not until 1994 that another grave shaft was discovered in the area of ​​the southern side pyramids. This led over a long tunnel to below the southwest corner of the main pyramid and ended in an antechamber with a burial chamber, in which Queen Chenmetneferhedjet I was once buried. Chenmetneferhedjet I. was the mother of Sesostris III. and wife of Sesostris II.

literature

General overview

Excavation publications

  • Dieter Arnold : The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. Architectural Studies (= Publications of the Metropolitan Museum Egyptian Expedition. Volume 26). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2002, ISBN 0-87099-956-7 (online) .
  • Alessandro Barsanti : Quelques recherches à Dahshour. In: Annales du service des antiquités de l'Égypte (ASAE). Volume 8, 1907, p. 192 ( online ).
  • Nicolas Grimal , Emad Adly : Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 2000–2002. In: Orientalia. Volume 72, 2003, pp. 51-52 ( online ).
  • Nicolas Grimal, Emad Adly: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 2003-2004. In: Orientalia. Volume 74, 2005, pp. 233-234 ( online ).
  • Nicolas Grimal, Emad Adly, Alain Arnaudiès : Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 2004–2005. In: Orientalia. Volume 75, 2006, p. 217 ( online ).
  • Nicolas Grimal, Emad Adly, Alain Arnaudiès: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 2005–2007. In: Orientalia. Volume 76, 2007, pp. 217-218 ( online ).
  • Nicolas Grimal, Emad Adly, Alain Arnaudiès: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 2006–2008. In: Orientalia. Volume 77, 2008, pp. 210-211 ( online ).
  • Nicolas Grimal, Emad Adly, Alain Arnaudiès: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 2008–2009. In: Orientalia. Volume 78, 2009, pp. 158-160 ( online ).
  • Gustave Jéquier : Report préliminaire sur les fouilles exécutées en 1924–1925 dans la partie méridionale de la nécropole memphite. L'avenue de la pyramide de Senousrit III. In: Annales du service des antiquités de l'Égypte (ASAE). Volume 25, 1925, pp. 56-61.
  • Gustave Jéquier: Douze ans de fouilles dans la nécropole memphite 1924–1936. Secretariat de l'Université, Neuchâtel 1940.
  • Jean Leclant , Gisèle Clerc : Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1990–1991. In: Orientalia. Volume 61, 1992, p. 251 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Gisèle Clerc: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1992–1993. In: Orientalia. Volume 63, 1994, p. 387 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Gisèle Clerc: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1993-1994. In: Orientalia. Volume 64, 1995, pp. 264-265 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Gisèle Clerc: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1994–1995. In: Orientalia. Volume 65, 1996, pp. 279-280 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Gisèle Clerc: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1995–1996. In: Orientalia. Volume 66, 1997, pp. 272-273 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Gisèle Clerc: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1996–1997. In: Orientalia. Volume 67, 1998, pp. 360-361 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Anne Minault-Gout : Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1997–1998. Première partie. In: Orientalia. Volume 68, 1999, pp. 362-363 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Anne Minault-Gout: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1998–1999. In: Orientalia. Volume 69, 2000, p. 249 ( online ).
  • Jean Leclant, Anne Minault-Gout: Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1999–2000. In: Orientalia. Volume 70, 2001, p. 389 ( online ).
  • Jacques de Morgan : Fouilles a Dahchour. Mars – Juin 1894. Holzhausen, Vienna 1895 ( online ).
  • Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. 1894-1895. Holzhausen, Vienna 1903 ( online ).

Questions of detail

  • Hartwig Altenmüller : The pyramid names of the early 12th dynasty. In: Ulrich Luft (Ed.): The Intellectual Heritage of Egypt. Studies Presented to László Kákosy (= Studia Aegyptiaca. Volume 14). Budapest 1992, ISBN 963-462-542-8 , pp. 33-42 ( online ).
  • Dieter Arnold: New architectural insights from the pyramid Sesostris III. in Dahshur. In: Sokar. Volume 23, 2011, pp. 70-77.
  • Dieter Arnold: Further findings on the encirclement of the pyramid Sesostris' III. in Dahshur. In: Sokar. Volume 24, 2012, pp. 24-31.
  • Dieter Arnold: Transport routes to the pyramid construction sites in Dahshur. In: Sokar. Volume 30, 2015, pp. 68-77.
  • Dieter Arnold: A model of the pyramid district Sesostris' III. Modern reconstruction issues - ancient construction problems. In: Sokar. Volume 31, 2015, pp. 26-37.
  • Dieter Arnold, Sara Chen, Adela Oppenheim: A cult temple of Sesostris III. in Dahshur. In: Sokar. Volume 36, 2018, pp. 42-55.
  • Pearce Paul Creasman : The Cairo Dahshur Boats. Master thesis, Texas A&M University 2005 ( online ).
  • Pearce Paul Creasman: An Exploratory Geophysical Survey at the Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur, Egypt in Search of Boats. In: International Journal of Nautical Archeology. Volume 38, 2009, pp. 386-399 ( online ).
  • Pearce Paul Creasman: A Further Investigation of the Cairo Dahshur Boats. In: Journal of Egyptian Archeology. Volume 96, 2010, pp. 101-123 ( online ).
  • Pearce Paul Creasman: Ground-penetrating Radar Survey at the Pyramid of Senwosret III at Dahshur. In: Journal of Archaeological Science. Volume 37, 2010, pp. 516-524 ( online ).
  • 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. 62–65.
  • Peter Jánosi: The cult pyramids of the Old and Middle Kingdom. In: Sokar. Volume 7, 2003, pp. 4-25.
  • Pierre Lacau : Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 28100-28126. Sarcophages antérieurs au Nouvel Empire, Tome II. Imprimiere de l'Institut Français d'Archeologie Orientale, Cairo 1906 ( online ).
  • Björn Landström : The ships of the pharaohs. Ancient Egyptian shipbuilding from 4000 to 600 BC Bertelsmann, Augsburg 1970, pp. 90-93.
  • Diana Craig Patch : The Pharao's Boat at the Carnegie. Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh 1990, ISBN 0-911239-22-7 .
  • George Andrew Reisner : Catalog Général des Antiquités Égyptienne du Musée du Caire. Nos. 4798-4967 et 5034-5200. Models of Ships and Boats. Imprimiere de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale, Cairo 1913, pp. 83-89 ( online ).
  • Arno Sauerbier: The sarcophagus Sesostris' III. in his pyramid in Dahshur. In: Sokar. Volume 9, 2004, pp. 42-45.
  • Arno Sauerbier: The niche-structured surrounding wall of the pyramid districts in the Middle Kingdom. In: Sokar. Volume 12, 2006, pp. 50-55.
  • A. Schwab: The sarcophagi of the Middle Kingdom. A typological study for the 11th to 13th dynasties. Dissertation, Vienna 1989.
  • Isabel Stünkel: The relief decoration of the cult chapels of royal women in the pyramid complx of Senusret III at Dahshur. In: M. Barta, F. Coppens, J. Krjci (eds.): Abusir and Saqqara in the Year 2005: proceedings of the Conference Held in Prague (June 27-July 5, 2005). Prague 2006, ISBN 80-7308-116-4 , pp. 147-166.
  • Cheryl A. Ward : Sacred and Secular: Ancient Egyptian Ships and Boats (= Archaeological Institute of America Monographs. New Series. Volume 5). University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia 2000, ISBN 0-7872-7182-9 , pp. 83-102.

Web links

Commons : Sesostris III.-Pyramid  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Shae Perring, EJ Andrews: The Pyramids of Gizeh. From Actual Survey and Admeasurement. Volume 3, Fraser, London 1843, p. 18, plate 13 ( online ).
  2. ^ John Shae Perring, Richard William Howard Vyse: Operations carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837: With an Account of a Voyage into Upper Egypt, and Appendix. Volume 3, Fraser, London 1842, pp. 57-63 ( online ).
  3. ↑ Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia. Text. First volume. Lower Egypt and Memphis. Edited by Eduard Naville and Ludwig Borchardt, edited by Kurt Sethe. Hinrichs, Leipzig 1897, p. 205 ( online ).
  4. ↑ Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. Mars – Juin 1894. 1895, p. 4.
  5. ↑ Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. Mars – Juin 1894. 1895.
  6. ↑ Alessandro Barsanti: Quelques recherches à Dahshour. 1907, p. 192.
  7. ↑ Gustave Jéquier: Report préliminaire sur les fouilles exécutées en 1924–1925 dans la partie méridionale de la nécropole memphite. L'avenue de la pyramide de Senousrit III. 1925, pp. 56-61.
  8. ↑ Gustave Jéquier: Douze ans de fouilles dans la nécropole memphite 1924-1936. 1940, pp. 133-138.
  9. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002.
  10. ↑ Hartwig Altenmüller: The pyramid names of the early 12th dynasty. 1992, pp. 34, 36, 41.
  11. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, pp. 15, 75.
  12. ↑ Hartwig Altenmüller: The pyramid names of the early 12th dynasty. 1992, p. 41.
  13. ^ 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, p. 57 ( online ).
  14. ^ A b Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, pp. 26-27.
  15. ^ 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, p. 63 ( online ).
  16. ↑ Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. Mars – Juin 1894. 1895, p. 47, fig. 109.
  17. ↑ Mark Lehner: Secret of the pyramids. 1997, p. 17; Rainer Stadelmann: The Egyptian pyramids. 1991, p. 241; Miroslav Verner: The pyramids. 1999, p. 509, with unsuitable height information.
  18. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, p. 27.
  19. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, p. 28.
  20. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, pp. 54-55.
  21. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, pp. 46-55.
  22. ↑ Arno Sauerbier: The sarcophagus Sesostris' III. in his pyramid in Dahshur. 2004, pp. 43-44.
  23. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, p. 97.
  24. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, pp. 92-94.
  25. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, pp. 94-95.
  26. ^ Dieter Arnold: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur. 2002, pp. 95-96.
  27. ↑ Jacques de Morgan: Fouilles a Dahchour. Mars – Juin 1894. 1895, p. 74, fig. 175 bis, p. 81, fig. 200.

Coordinates: 29 ° 49 ′ 8 ″  N , 31 ° 13 ′ 32 ″  E