Talking Pyramids » sneferu

Which Pyramid Would You Most Like to See Open?

Vincent — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:01:23 +0000

It’s always fun to have a bit of interaction and feedback from you, the readers of Talking Pyramids. A small part of this interactivity is the poll that appears on the right side, just below the Delicious Links.

The last poll asked what theory you favoured to explain the construction of the Great Pyramid. Among the choices were the traditional single straight ramp, the external spiral ramp and the concrete theory.

The most popular choice was Jean-Pierre’s Internal Spiral ramp theory.

Here are the results:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Now, on to the next poll:

Which pyramid would you most like to see open?

It’s time for a new poll and this time I am asking what pyramid you’d most like to see opened next.

We’ve seen how there have long been plans to open some of the pyramids that are still closed and I’ve mentioned previously that Zahi Hawass has stated that he wanted to open all the pyramids by 2009. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. We’ve also seen how the declared dates of opening of the chambers of Sneferu’s ‘Bent’ pyramid and the ‘Black’ pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dahshur have been repeatedly pushed back and delayed.

Personally, I’d love to see the internal chambers of the Bent pyramid opened to the public so I have kicked off the poll by registering my interest in that pyramid.

Which pyramid would you most like to see open?

Millions of Mummies and Sneferu’s Pyramid

Vincent — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:16:26 +0000

Statue of Sneferu in the Egyptian Museum

Why are there a million mummies buried near Sneferu’s pyramid at Seila?

That is the question being asked by researchers from Brigham Young University.

Last year Professor Kerry Muhlestein stated that he believed the team had uncovered evidence of a unified plan and suggested we need to adjust our understanding of what the intended purpose of pyramids was.

In January the team of professionals, professors and a few students from BYU set out to map Sneferu’s fourth pyramid using GPS and continue their excavation of an ancient cemetery located nearby.

Now the team is back in the news with the quest to find out why there are, by their own estimates, over one million mummies buried there.

“We estimate over a million bodies in this cemetery…it’s very very densely populated by mummies…only a small percentage of them have been unearthed…

We’ve been digging there for 30 years and we could dig there for a hundred more and still have only done a small percentage.” – Professor Kerry Muhlestein.

These burials are not contemporary with Sneferu’s reign however, with most being from the Graeco-Roman period thousands of years later. Nor was it a local cemetery as many of the bodies are believed to have been brought from other villages.

Muhlestein continues:

“It’s such a huge cemetery it’s hard to account for where all these people would have lived – the population centres around there don’t seem to substantiate that many burials…

Maybe these are people coming from a variety of communities, all around, being buried in this place. We’re not sure what would account for such a large number of burials…

It probably is at least partially responsible for why there’s a cemetery there…

It seems very reasonable to suppose that the pyramid designated that as a sacred place.

“Once that place is a sacred place it typically will remain a sacred place.”

As well as the pyramid at Seila, Sneferu has three other pyramids built. These include the ‘Red’ pyramid & the ‘Bent’ pyramid at Dahshur, and the ‘Collapsed’ or ‘False’ pyramid at Meidum.

Image from Wikimedia. Some rights reserved.

More Dashur Pyramids To Open to the Public

Vincent — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:02:55 +0000

The 'Black' pyramid of Amenemhet III

Fresh in the news this morning is the announcement that two more pyramids will be opened to the public to visit this year.

It’s not easy keeping up with what pyramids are open and which are closed. Readers of this blog know that I am continually looking for information on which pyramids are closed and which remain open and accessible to the public.

There is no official list of open pyramids and so it is very difficult for visitors to Egypt to properly plan their trips, especially if their reason for visiting Egypt is to explore the pyramids. Often the information is conflicting and you can never be sure which pyramids are actually open.

Recently I posted a list of the pyramids detailing which were open to the public and their entry prices after many discussions with recent visitors to Egypt.

Last year Dr Zahi Hawass was reported saying that he would like to see all of Egypt’s pyramids to be open to the public this year but many still remain closed.

But within the “next month or two”, according to Dr Hawass, the ancient Bent pyramid’s internal chambers will be opened for the first time to tourists. The Bent pyramid is thought to belong to the father of Khufu who built the Great Pyramid at Giza and in the announcement yesterday Hawass stated that archaeologists believe that Sneferu’s burial chamber lies undiscovered inside this pyramid.

Sneferu actually has two pyramids at Dashur. These are the so-called ‘Bent’ pyramid, named after the slope of the pyramid which starts out with sides of about 54 degrees and then changes to about 43 degrees, and the ‘Red’ pyramid, named after the colour of the limestone from which it is built. Until now visitors to Dashur have been able to enter both the Red and the Bent pyramids for free after paying 30 L.E. to enter Dashur. However, until now only the chambers of the Red have been accessible, the Bent’s chambers being closed to visitors.

There are five main pyramids at Dashur, these are as follows:

‘Red’ pyramid of Sneferu – Dynasty 3
‘Bent’ pyramid of Sneferu – Dynasty 3
Pyramid of Amenemhet II – Dynasty 12
‘Black’ pyramid of Amenemhet III – Dynasty 12
Pyramid of Senusret III – Dynasty 12

It was also announced in the same press release that a second pyramid at Dashur, that of Amenemhet III, otherwise known as the ‘Black’ pyramid will also be opened to the public in the next year.

The labyrinth of passages underneath this particular pyramid are so elaborate that upon first visiting the pyramids Hawass feared he would be forever lost within the network of corridors.

“Twenty-five years ago, I went to enter this pyramid, and I was afraid I would never come back, and I had to ask the workmen to tie ropes around my leg so I wouldn’t lose my way,” – Hawass.

Only 5 percent of tourists that travel to Egypt visit Dashur. Hawass wants to change this by bringing more visitors to Dashur. He stated that a joint effort between the United Nations and several Egyptian Government agencies aims to give villagers near Dashur more economic opportunities to increase local development.

In the words of Zahi Hawass:

“This is going to be an adventure!”

Sources:
Zahi Hawass
Huffington Post

Egyptian Pyramids Entry Prices for 2009

Vincent — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:47:30 +0000

One of the main functions of Talking Pyramids is to provide up-to-date information on the Egyptian pyramids. Last year Zahi Hawass announced that he wanted all Egyptian pyramids to open to the public by 2009 though I do not think this is the case. Although I try to keep the entry prices up to date on the Pyramid Fields pages, it is very difficult to get confirmation on which pyramids are open and which are closed. If anyone has any information on the entry prices of pyramids I have missed please contact me and let me know.

The following list contains the latest prices that I have been able to confirm by speaking with people who have recently returned from Egypt. These prices are not necessarily fixed for the whole year, however, and may change throughout the year.

Abu Roash: Open
Djedefre’s Pyramid: open

Giza Plateau: 60 L.E. Open to the public: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Khufu’s Pyamid: 100 L.E.
Khafre’s Pyramid: 30 L.E.
Menkaure: 25 L.E.
Solar Boat Museum: 50 L.E.

Sound & Light Show: 60 L.E.
Three shows a day.
Winter: 6:30 pm, 7:30pm, 8:30 pm
Summer: 8:30pm, 9:30pm, 10:30pm

Zawiyet el-Aryan: Open
Khaba: closed
Nebka: closed

Abu Sir: 20 L.E.
Sahure: sometimes open
Niuserre: closed
Neferirkare: closed
Neferefre: closed

Saqqara: 60 L.E. (includes several tombs, Teti’s pyramid & the funerary temple of Djoser)
Sesheshet: closed
Teti: Free having paid to enter Saqqara
Userkaf: closed
Djoser: closed
Djoser funerary Temple: Free having paid to enter Saqqara
Unas: closed
Sekhemkhet: closed
New Tombs: 30 L.E.

South Saqqara:
Pepi I: ?
Djedkare-Isesi: ?
Merenre: ?
Ibi: ?
Pepi II: ?
Shepseskaf: ?
Khendjer: ?

Dashur: 30 L.E. (inludes entry to the Red and Bent pyramids)
Sneferu (Red): Free having paid to enter Dashur (all chambers are accessible)
Sneferu (Bent): Free having paid to enter Dashur (all chambers are closed)
Amenemhet II: closed
Amenemhet III: closed
Senusret III: closed

Mazghuna:
Amenemhet IV: closed
Sobekneferu: closed

Lisht:
Amenemhet I: closed
Senusret I: closed

Meidum:
Sneferu: 35 L.E.

Faiyum:
Senusret II: 35 L.E.
Amenemhet III: 35 L.E.

Other Sources:
Egyptian Monuments: Su Bayfield’s website contains lots of good information on travelling to the pyramids & other Travel Tips.

Dr Zahi Hawass: The Official Website of Dr Hazwass has just been revamped and contains good information on the latest happenings in Egypt.

AERA’s 2009 Field Season: Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) field work at Giza for this year can be found on their blog.

Dahshur Pyramids From the Space Station

Vincent — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:06:43 +0000

The Red and Bent pyramids as seen from the ISS

The Pyramids of Dahshur were recently photographed by an Expedition 17 crewmember on the International Space Station.

Easily observable in the image are the Red pyramid and Bent pyramid both built by Khufu’s father Sneferu.

The pyramid complexes of Amenemhat III and Senwosret III can also be seen in the larger image.

South-east of the Bent Pyramid can be seen an irrigation feature extending west into the desert.

View the Large image (1.5 mb)
View the Small image ( 63 kb)

Read the full story at Space Ref