Pyramid of Khui

The Chui - pyramid is a monumental tomb from the first intermediate time in Egypt, probably 9th or 10th dynasty. It is located near the modern city at Dara Manfalut, between Asyut and Mair. The classification of the building is controversial - it could be a pyramid or a Stufenmastaba.

Research

The first mention of the building took place in 1912 in an edition of the magazine of the Egyptian Museum. An exploration of the structure was carried out from 1946 to 1948 by the Egyptologist Raymond Weill and Ahmed Kamal. Weill suspected that it has traded here for a step-pyramid, while Kamal thought it was a Mastaba. The poor degree of preservation of the structure does not allow a clear conclusion on the original appearance of the building.

Assignment

The tomb is assigned to a local ruler named Chui due to the funds of a block with its name. The block was in a grave south of the pyramid located and may have come from the mortuary temple of the tomb. A direct assignment of the structure could not be done so far.

Pyramid

The base length of the slightly rectangular building is 146 m × 136 m and reaches the magnitude of the Sekhemkhet pyramid at Saqqara. The corners of the building were rounded with a radius of curvature of 23 m, which is the case with any other pyramid. The walls are made of mud brick and forms an approximately 35 m thick coat to the interior, which was probably filled with sand and gravel. The structure of the masonry is only detectable unclear, but seems to indicate a stepped design. The inwardly sloping walls of the exterior is still recognizable, but casing stones were not found. With a remaining height of only 4 m the appearance of the structure is not clearly reconstructed. Thus, it is unclear how far the tomb was completed. The building is roughly north -oriented.

Grave chamber

At the grave chamber in the center led a walk to start an open corridor, which then went into a descending arched tunnel. The descending area was covered with eleven arches. The completely empty grave chamber itself is nine meters below ground level and has the dimensions of 3.5 m × 7.0 m. Both the chamber and the last transition section consisted of rough-hewn blocks of limestone, which were probably stolen from the nearby cemetery of the 6th Dynasty. The base of the pyramid is deprived and largely destroyed, leaving traces of a burial were no longer recognizable. The structure of the substructure similarity with that of the great mastaba K1 Bait Challaf from the 3rd dynasty, which may be due to the fact that a Mastaba of the Early Dynastic period was usurped and remodeled.

Complex

On the north side, some remains were found, which may come from a mortuary temple, but not sufficient for a reconstruction of the structure. Remains of a portion of a perimeter wall of mud bricks were indeed found, however, the area is now built over the village of Dara.