Talking Pyramids

Name of Pyramid:

‘Amenemhet is Beautiful’

Period: 1844-1797 BC, 12th Dynasty

Base: 150 metres
Height: 75 metres
Volume: 274 625 cubic metres
Slope: 57 deg 15′ 50″

Status: The pyramid was scheduled to open June 2009 but in October 2009 Hawass wrote on his blog:

“I would like to open the Black Pyramid to the public, but much conservation and restoration work needs to be done, as it is still problematic to enter.”

The so-called ‘Black Pyramid’ of Amenemhet III is located at Dahshur east of the Bent pyramid. Built on low ground near Lake Dahshur and with clay foundations the location was perhaps not the most ideal.

During the Middle Kingdom, pyramids were built with mud brick instead of quarried stone. This meant that once the casing was removed by robbers who wanted to use it for their own building purposes, the mud brick core would be vulnerable to erosion from the elements. This is what gives the pyramid it’s unusual appearance as only the inner mudbrick blocks remain. A small section of remaining casing stone can be seen in this old black & white photo however.

Internal Features
The network of passages under this pyramid, like many Middle Kingdom pyramids, is complex and one could easily loose their way inside the many passages & corridors. It has been suggested that as well as being designed to deter theives the intricate passage system might also symbolise the paths on the journey to the other world. Dr Zahi Hawass has said that when he first entered this pyramid he had a rope tied around his ankle to ensure he didn’t get lost inside. The pyramid has an entrance on both the east and west faces of the pyramid

Sarcophagus
Amenemhet III’s sarcophagus mimics the enclosure wall of Djoser’s pyramid complete with a doorway on the east side at the south end. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the sarcophagus is the pair of eyes on the east side. It is thought that these enabled the King to witness the rising sun.

External Features
The ‘Black’ pyramid of Amenemhet III has no satellite pyramids and has no need for them as his queens are buried inside the pyramid. This pyramid returns to the Old Kingdom tradition of an east-west layout of the pyramid enclosure. The pyramid originally had a temple, causeway, and valley temple.

Capstone
Found among debri on the eastern side of the pyramid in 1900 the capstone of the pyramid was carved from a block of black granite. A pair of eyes similar to those on the eastern side if his sarcophagus, together with some other hieroglyphic components are inscribed on the eastern side of the capstone. According to Mark Lehner the composition represents Amenemhet III, resurrected from (and as) the mound of his pyramid, looking towards the sungod.

This is not Amenemhet III’s only pyramid, he had another one built at Faiyum after structural problems were observed in the pyramid’s foundations and lower courses.

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