The Meidum pyramid poses one of the most puzzling and mysterious pyramids of Egypt. Its method of construction, its intention and process of development continues to be a subject of dispute and theoretical ponder between Egytologists, archeaologists, historians and even tourists.
Of all the pyramids in Egypt, this is certainly the strangest looking. Believed to be a work of Sneferu and possibly started by his father Huni, the last king of the 3rd dynasty. The Pyramid at Meidum certainly represents a transition in architecture, built of large limestone blocks. It also represents the transition from the Third to the Fourth dynasties. The site was visited in 1799 by Napoleon,. Maspero was the first to open the pyramid and some of the mastabas in the area, in the framework of a wide-ranging archeological project whose goal was to discover and document the pyramids texts. |
Location :
Meidum is located some 80 kilometres to the South of Memphis, on the Westbank of the Nile, to the East of Lake Moëris and the Fayum oasis and about 100 km south of modern Cairo, King Snefru (the first king of the 4th Dynasty, who came to the throne around 2613 BC) .
Meidum OR Maidum is the location of a large pyramid, and several large mud-brick mastabas - Because of its remoteness, it is not seen as part of the Memphite necropolis, which stretches from Abu Rawash to Dashur, even though one pyramid and several mastabas have been built there during the Old Kingdom.
Description:
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Meidum was Sneferu's first attempt at Pyramid building. Some scholars believe this unusual structure was a constructed as a step Pyramid and later additional material was added to transform it into a true Pyramid with flat triangular sides
It is difficult to be certain of the original form because the entire outer shell has collapsed, perhaps this occurred while it still was being built. What remains is a giant, 210 feet (65 meters) tall, steep sided cube with two terraced steps near the top, surrounded by deep mounds of debris. It appears that two additional steps existed in the 15th century but have collapsed since that time.
The Meidum pyramid was built in different stages, beginning as a seven-step pyramid to which an additional step was added at a later stage. It appears to have collapsed sometime during the New Kingdom. A subsidiary pyramid is located on the south side, between the main pyramid and the enclosure wall, and a memorial temple is on its east side.
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The pyramid at Meidum is thought to have been originally built for Huni, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty. It was completed and probably usurped by his successor, Sneferu, who also turned it from a step pyramid to a true pyramid by filling in the steps with limestone encasing.
The Meidum pyramid was built in different stages, Known as "the collapsed pyramid", the outer layers of the casing began to collapse, leaving the exposed core showing. Because of its appearance, it is called el-haram el-kaddab. Some believe it was the collapse of this pyramid during the reign of Sneferu that led him to change the angle on his second pyramid at Dahshur to 43 degrees. In the fifteenth century, it was described as looking like a five-stepped mountain by al-Maqrizi, gradually falling further into ruin so by the time . { Unfortunately the pyramid was unsound. Its heavy outer layers eventually slid downwards, leaving a square, three-stepped core standing in a mountain of sand and rubble and the ruins of the pyramid complex. We do not know when this disaster occurred, although as there are New Kingdom tombs incorporated in the rubble we know that the pyramid had at least partially collapsed by the time of the New Kingdom (which started around 1550 BC).
Several of these tombs were built for sons of Snofru, the founder of the 4th Dynasty, among them Nefermaat with his wife Itet and Rahotep and his spouse, Nofret. Two lovely statues representing Rahotep and Nofret respectively were found in their tomb.
Recent archaeological research has led to the assumption that Snofru built this pyramid before his 15th year, and then abandonned the site to start a new royal cemetery at Dashur, some 40 kilometres to the North. What is certain is that Snofru at one point during his reign -and some suggest a high date such as the 28th or 29th year of his reign- ordered the transformation of the original Step Pyramid into a true pyramid. It is unlikely that Snofru usurped this pyramid, since he already had built two other pyramids at Dashur. The reason why this king would have wanted 3 pyramids, making him the most productive pyramid builder in the history of Egypt, are not known. It is also not known whether the conversion of the original Step Pyramid into a true Pyramid was completed.
"The internal structure of the pyramid is fairly simple, compared to its successors, but at the same time it was an innovation that would become the standard for generations to come":-
The entrance is located in the north face of the pyramid, above ground level. A descending passage goes down to below ground level and ends in a horizontal passage. Two small chambers or niches open to the left and right of this passage. At the end of this passage, a vertical shaft leads up to the burial chamber, which is located at ground level. This is the first pyramid to have a room inside its actual core. In order to deal with the pressure of the pyramid pushing down on the burial chamber, the builders used the technique of corbelling, with each course of the roof of the chamber projecting inwards as it got higher.
The burial chamber measures 5.9 by 2.65 metres, which is quite small, yet another sign that the builders were experimenting. There is no sarcophagus and no trace of a burial.
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