Pyramid of Menkaure

The Menkaure Pyramid is the Pyramid, the ( 4th dynasty ) about 2540-2520 BC, was built as his tomb of Pharaoh Menkaure.

Edification

Menkaure, actually Menkaure was the son of Pharaoh Khafre, who had also built his pyramid at Giza previously. Menkaure succeeded his father to the throne, but possibly only after an interim reign by the king Bicheris. Since Khafre was the son of Khufu and this is the Son of Sneferu, who built two 100 -meter-high pyramids ( the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid ) at Dahshur, almost all of the great pyramids of Egypt from a royal line were built over several generations. The inner core is built as a step pyramid, as on the two exposed in the breach steps is evident.

Size and Construction

The Pyramid of Mycerinus is by far the smallest of the three pyramids in Giza (Egypt), but still the eighth highest of all Egyptian pyramids. At 65 meters, this is not even half as high as the other two pyramids on the Giza plateau ( Pyramid of Cheops, Chephren and 146 meters, 143 meters). There are three possible reasons why the Pyramid of Mycerinus is smaller than the Cheops and Chephren pyramid:

The Pyramid of Menkaure was built with local limestone and then, as usual, covered with polished limestone slabs. In the lower 16 layers but granite slabs were used, which remained untouched except for a few polished points at the entrance and mortuary temple. The previously held view, the pyramid was completely covered with granite slabs, is now refuted. The lack of editing is one of the indications that the king died before the completion of his tomb.

Substructure

The entrance to the pyramid is approximately four meters in height on the north side. An obliquely downwardly extending shaft of 32 meters in length leads into a vestibule of 3.63 x 3.16 meters with narrow false doors, the so-called panel - chamber. Behind this chamber three case - lock blocks are installed. From here, the tunnel turn leads horizontally in the center of the building, the atrium, which was carved below ground level in the bedrock. Above this access to the antechamber leads from above, another access shaft, which, however, in the bottom plate ends blindly and has been abandoned during construction. About an access in the floor of the antechamber leads a short passage into the deeper actual grave chamber. From the passage a few steps deeper branches off a side chamber from the niche chamber (each approximately 2.50 x 0.60 meters and measuring 1.4 meters high) is provided with six niches, whose significance is unclear. The actual grave chamber measures 6.59 x 2.62 meters and 3.43 meters high. She was completely covered with granite; the granite ceiling beams were machined such that the ceiling acts as a barrel vault.

In the grave chamber was Richard William Howard Vyse, as he penetrated into the pyramid in 1837, a magnificent, ornate palace facade patterns with dark stone sarcophagus without a lid before. When transporting the sarcophagus to England but the ship Beatrice caught in a storm and sank in 1838 along with his charge. Vyse discovered the remains of a human- shaped wooden coffin with the name of Menkaure as well as human bones. The coffin comes after Kurt Sethe from the Saite period, the bones according to radiocarbon tests only from the Christian era.

A thorough investigation of the pyramid was only in the years 1906 to 1924 by a team from Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston under the direction of George Andrew Reisner. Among the most important results of the investigations includes the recognition that the substructure was changed three times during construction.

The pyramid complex

As the two older pyramids of Giza was surrounded by a wall and that of the Menkaure. In the south, there are three satellite pyramids, which are now known with atomic numbers GIII -a, -b and GIII GIII c. All three have chapels made of mud brick. GIII was most likely a smooth lined with pink granite and perhaps, intended for the Queen Chamerernebti II, one of the wives of Menkaure. GIII GIII b and -c were step pyramids. In the grave chamber of GIII -b the mummy of a young woman was found whose name is not known.

Queens pyramid G III -b

Queens pyramid G III c

As usual, is located east of the pyramid in front of the built of limestone blocks mortuary temple. With more than 200 tons of weight is one of those square on the northwest corner of the largest monolith found so far in Giza. Reisner noted that the expansion of the walls set with a granite cladding and the mortuary temple was built from simple mud brick. When removing the brick he found red Nivellierlinien, names of workers and dimensions, which are unfortunately lost today. In the temple itself fragments of a larger than life statue of the king were found in alabaster. Also, the 600 -meter-long causeway to the mortuary temple was built of mud bricks and probably never completed (not dressed, not covered). So Reisner determined the location of the valley temple by the extended axis from the mortuary temple to the causeway. The foundations of the valley temple still consist of limestones, also accomplished this was with simple mud-brick walls, presumably his son and successor was built Shepseskaf. Here in the valley temple and the king's famous statues were found:

Menkaure and his wife Chamerernebti II
Three statues of Menkaure with the goddess Hathor and one each Gaugöttin (Bat - Gau, Gau - dog, rabbit Gau ).

Ship mines ( bark tombs ) have not been found in the district.

Attempted destruction

Towards the end of the 12th century, the Sultan of Egypt tried Abd al -Malik al - Aziz Uthman bin Yusuf, Saladin's son and heir, to let the pyramids wear away, he began the Pyramid of Mycerinus. Finally, it emerged during the course of eight months that the destruction would probably be just as expensive as the establishment. It proved impossible to remove more than one or two stones per day. Using wedges, levers and ropes was trying to move the upper stones and crashing, with the result that the stones were difficult to liberate in the sandy ground after a fall and impact. With wedges some stones were cleaved and removed by means of carts. To have reached its destination Far from left end Othman bin Yussuf the demolition action. The pyramid was only damaged on the north side, which today bears witness to one of up to 8 m deep, vertical breach.

From the side

From the desert

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