Pyramid of Amenemhet I
Pharaoh Amenemhat I, founder of the 12th Dynasty, moved his capital to the north and called it Itj - taui ( The two countries will take ). Main reason for moving to the interface of the two countries was safe control of the until that point strong Gaufürstentümer.
His pyramid the king built close to the new capital, midway between Dahshur and Meidum on a hill. With a side length of 84 meters and an inclination of 54 ° 27 ' they had a height of 55 meters and was named The sites of occurrence of Amenemhet.
The Pyramid
Amenemhet I. tied with its pyramid back to the shape of the buildings of the late Old Kingdom. The pyramid core was prepared with limestone blocks that you herholte from the environment. Here the King also did not stop before stone removal from the Cheops Pyramid and the Pyramid of Chephren, as can be seen in the reliefs of the blocks. Whether this reuse of stones is done because of the " spiritual power " in them, may be undecided. The limestone skeleton of the pyramid was filled with loose sand, mud brick and rubble and received the mandatory limestone mantle.
The substructure
As usual, the entrance to the pyramid is centrally located on the north side at ground level. Above the entrance there was a chapel with a false door of rose granite. From the entrance, a downward sloping passage leads to the center of the pyramid and opens into an entrance hall. The passage was blocked with granite blocks. The hall includes a vertical shaft is in the depth, which ends in groundwater. The grave chamber found there is therefore flooded and not previously accessible.
The pyramid District
The pyramid was surrounded by two walls. The inner wall of limestone comprised the building itself and the lying to the east front of the mortuary temple. This was on a terrace that had been carved into the hill on which stood the pyramid. Perhaps the terrace temple of Mentuhotep II who served in Deir el- Bahari here as a model. The temple itself is completely destroyed, they found only foundation deposits, a false door and an altar made of granite. The altar shows figures as emissaries of the Egyptian nomes ( the king? ) Sacrifice. The causeway from the valley temple to the mortuary temple was not roofed and consisted of richly ornamented limestone masonry. The reliefs mimic aware of the style of the Old Kingdom after and are hardly to be distinguished from these. The Valley Temple is underwater and has therefore not been documented yet.
The outer perimeter wall of mud brick castle next to the pyramid and mortuary temple a few mastabas and 22 shaft tombs in which family members and courtiers were buried. There was an offering table with the name of " Queen Mother " Nofret and the mastabas of Vizier Antefiqer, the Treasurer Rehuerdjersen and top asset manager night. In addition to the pyramid of Sesostris Mastababezirk a shaft grave found with the burial of the pristine Senebtisi, which still contained rich jewelry. The grave is dated to the end of the 12th Dynasty.