The Bent Pyramid in Dahshur (Egypt): description, dimensions, photo

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The amazing country of Egypt. The hot climate, wonderful resort towns and unique sights - the great pyramids - attract millions of tourists from all over the world every year. At the mere mention of this country, many associate with the pyramid of Cheops or the tomb of Tutankhamun.

However, not everyone knows that there are not so popular, but no less valuable and beautiful monuments of antiquity on this mysterious land. Each large pyramid of Egypt can bear the title of "most-most" for any indicator. For example, the Pyramid of Khafre is the most spectacular and interesting for tourists, the Pyramid of Cheops is the highest in the country, and the Pyramid of Djoser is the very first of all such structures.

The Bent Pyramid in Dahshur is undeniably the most mysterious in the country, and not only because of its unusual, non-standard form for such structures. In this article we will try to tell about the secrets of the unusual pyramid.

Who built this amazing structure?

It is officially believed that the Bent Pyramid, the photo of which you can see in this article, was erected by order of Pharaoh Sneferu, who was the firstruler of the IV dynasty of the pharaohs of Egypt. This version is not sufficiently confirmed, and among scientists there is no unity in its assessment. Only a few facts point to this version. The main one is the stele, which was found near the satellite pyramid. The name of Pharaoh Sneferu is carved on it. It can be seen today in the museum of Cairo.

Bent pyramid: description (dimensions, corridor, chamber)

This pyramid is sometimes called the Cut Pyramid. It differs from similar structures in its irregular shape - during construction, when the structure was already half completed, the builders sharply changed the angle of inclination. The broken pyramid of Snorfu was built approximately in 2600 BC. e. It was the first structure to be planned as a flat rather than stepped structure.

Today its height is about 100 meters, although after construction it was four meters higher. The broken pyramid, unlike other similar structures, has two entrances. Northern (traditional) is located at a height of twelve meters. It leads into a sloping corridor 79.5 meters long and just over a meter high, descending deep underground into two rooms. From them, through the shaft, there is a passage to another small chamber, which has a ledge in the form of a roof.

In the south wall of this room are doors leading to two corridors. One of them leads to a vertical shaft that is not connected to any corridor or room. Higher in the wall, at a distance of 12.6 meters from the floor surface, there is another passage that rises slightly upward. He is very crooked, wrongcut down, but this corridor, ending, goes into a high-quality horizontal passage, stretching from east to west. The entrance to the King's Chamber is hidden on its eastern side.

The western entrance is at a height of thirty-three meters. Why it became necessary to create a western entrance has remained a mystery to this day. It is absolutely unique and has no analogues either in direction or in the degree of preservation. The entrance leads to the western side of the pyramid, where the casing remains intact. It was closed with a locking rotary plate, which was removed and transferred to the Egyptian Museum in the 1950s.

Surprisingly, no sarcophagus or even a trace of it was found in this pyramid. But Snorfu's name was inscribed in two places in the cell with red paint. The broken pyramid in Egypt, according to researchers, could get such an unusual shape for two reasons. Firstly, the sudden death of the pharaoh could be the reason for the rapid completion of construction. Secondly, the large steepness of the edges could cause the structure to collapse, and this required the builders to change the angle of inclination from 54 to 43 degrees in order to preserve the foundation.

At a height of about fifty meters, the sides of the pyramid break. Scientists believe that the Bent Pyramid of Snefru in Dahshur was rebuilt three times. This is due to the presence of premises of two levels, which are not interconnected. The pyramid is oriented to the four cardinal directions. The laying of stone blocks is quite primitive, and the blocks themselves are processedrough. There is another feature of this structure: red lines protrude on the walls and floor of the pyramid, the nature of which is unknown.

Funeral complex

It consists of the main pyramid of the pharaoh, as well as the satellite pyramid. They are surrounded by a stone wall two meters thick. A stone fence connects the burial temple with an artificial long road. It is located 704 meters from the pyramid, so it was called the Greeter.

In addition, there are traces of another road that goes from the temple deep into the valley. Such a unique structure of the burial complex is not found anywhere else in Egypt.

Saved cladding

The broken pyramid has retained its cladding on almost the entire surface of the structure to this day. At all major monuments in the country, the exterior decoration was removed long ago and used by local residents as building material. Tourists have a unique opportunity to see the pyramid with lining.

Understand what the pyramids looked like in ancient times, only in Dahshur. Surprisingly, the Bent Pyramid is the only one from which the cladding has not been removed. Egyptologists have not yet found any reasonable explanations.

Satellite Pyramid

South of the Bent Pyramid at a distance of fifty-five meters is a small satellite pyramid. There is a version that it was built for the Ka (soul) of the pharaoh. Initially, its height was 26 meters, now it is 23 meters, the length of the sides is 52.8 meters.

Scientists have found that limestone for thispyramids were delivered from the southern suburbs of Cairo, which was located on the east bank of the Nile. It has not had a lining for a long time, so erosion is rapidly destroying it. The entrance to the satellite pyramid is located on the north side at a height of just over a meter above the ground. It starts with a tunnel that goes at an inclination of 34°. Its length is 11.60 m. Then follows a horizontal corridor. Parallel to it is a tunnel with stone blocks. There is a small void at the end of this passage.

Indoors

The location of the premises of this pyramid resembles the location in the pyramid of Cheops. In the chamber, which is only 1.6 m long, scientists found a sarcophagus, but the structure was probably not used as a tomb. This is the only satellite pyramid in Egypt of such an impressive size and with such a complex camera system.

Initially, the researchers assumed that this pyramid became the tomb of Queen Hetepheres. However, this version was later rejected, since no traces of burials were found. Most likely, the pyramid had a cult significance (sacrifices, rituals). This hypothesis is also confirmed by the fact that an altar made of alabaster with two five-meter steles on both sides was found not far from the eastern side.

Upper Temple

On the eastern side of the Bent Pyramid are the remains of a very small temple. Scientists have discovered two ruined limestone steles nine meters high with an incisedthem by the name of Sneferu. This temple has never been used as a tomb. Archaeologists have found that the temple has been reconstructed many times.

Reviews of tourists

Many travelers advise everyone who is going to visit hospitable and sunny Egypt to remember that this is not only a country of bright and hot sun, great resorts and fun, carefree pastime. Egypt is a country with a rich history, unique ancient monuments and, of course, the famous pyramids, among which the Bent Pyramid occupies a special place. Seeing her once, you will get a lot of vivid impressions, take amazing photos and, we are sure, you will want to return to these places more than once.