Unfinished Northern Pyramid of Zawyet el'Aryan

The Baka Pyramid ( also unfinished or Unfinished Pyramid of Saujet el- Arjan or Large excavation of Saujet el- Arjan ) is an already checked in early stages of development ancient Egyptian royal tomb from the time of the 4th dynasty. Characteristic of the pyramid started is a huge T-shaped excavation. As a builder is now generally Bicheris ( Baka ), the one, accepted to 2530 BC ruling only for a short time the son of Radjedef.

Research

A first catalog the ruins of a pyramid was made 1842-1846 by the Lepsius expedition, which she performed under the number XIII in the Lepsius pyramid list.

The pyramid was excavated 1905-1912 by Alexandre Barsanti. Further investigations were initially prevented by the outbreak of the First World War and by Barsanti's death in 1917. Over time, the ruin was again covered by desert sand. One last exposure was in 1954, when she served as the backdrop for the American feature film Land of the Pharaohs.

Later Saujet Arjan el- military zone, which makes recent research impossible until further notice. Meanwhile, the area of the pyramid is overbuilt with numerous buildings, only the excavation of the foundation is on satellite images still recognizable as mine.

Assignment

Initially, the Pyramid of the 3rd Dynasty was assigned. The reasons were typical of the 3rd dynasty form of the applied north to south pyramid complex and fragmented Baugraffiti with a royal name that was sometimes interpreted as Nebka. Today, it is rather based on the reading Baka, so the pyramid would be dated to the late 4th dynasty. This assumption is supported by a discovered by Barsanti slate, which bears the signature Radjedefs. According to Jean -Philippe Lauer Furthermore speak the architectural features rather for classification in the 4th dynasty: On the one here blocks are built of a size that it became common only during the reign of Cheops. On the other hand, the use of rose granite for brick lining of grave spaces in such a significant extent is attested only since Radjedef.

The Italian archaeologist Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi hold either Bauefre or Hordjedef, both sons of Khufu, for the builder, as they both hold as a result of the Middle Kingdom dated as rock inscription in the Wadi Hammamat for the successor of Khafre. This view is rejected by the majority of Egyptologists.

The French archaeologist Vassil Dobrev of the opinion that the pyramid in Saujet el- Arjan was attributed to the Pharaoh Radjedef and Radjedef pyramid at Abu Roasch is a temple of the sun in truth. His thesis was among Egyptologists hardly advocates.

The Pyramid

The actual superstructure of the pyramid has hardly begun. Only a square platform with a side length of about 200 meters was leveled. The dimensions suggest that a similar Great Pyramid of Cheops or Chephren as was planned in Giza. A slight depression around the platform is considered as the basis of the planned exterior cladding. The tilt angle and the envisaged level are not known, since no fairing stones were found.

The substructure

From the north, leads a 106 -meter-long, descending shaft to the center of the pyramid. Halfway up, the shaft on a horizontal section before it drops further to a depth of 21 meters. There he leads into another, east-west oriented shaft with a length of 24 meters and a width of 11.70 meters. In this excavation the grave chamber and the descending passage should be supported. From this equipment, but only the bottom portion is apparently been misplaced, since no remains could be found of the wall and ceiling constructions. The foundation of the grave chamber consists of 4.50 meters thick granite slabs, some reaching a weight of 9 tons. In its design resembles that of the excavation Radjedef pyramid. In the south wall, near the southeast corner was a rectangular bulge that already appear in Lepsius ' sketches, but was not described in detail.

In the western part of the bay there is a red granite sarcophagus. He is 3.15 meters long, 2.22 meters wide and 1.50 meters high. The sarcophagus is taken in by an unusual oval shape and more than a meter deep in the ground. The sarcophagus had to be already installed in these early stages of development, as it no longer could be introduced due to its size in the finished base. Barsanti found him in his excavations currently closed. The lid measures 2.95 × 1.90 × 0.43 meters. The coffin was empty, traces inside pointed out, however, that he had once been used for a funeral. According to IES Edwards Petrie found fragments of a similar sarcophagus during excavations of the Radjedef pyramid, indicating the proximity of the two buildings.

The grave chamber ( 1912)

View of the sarcophagus (1905 )

Drawing of the sarcophagus

The pyramid complex

To the pyramid began around the remains of a north south oriented rectangular stone enclosure wall were discovered with a size of 465 × 420 meters. The north-south orientation is similar to that of Radjedef pyramid at Abu Roasch and the pyramids of the 3rd Dynasty.

On the site no remains of a funerary temple, a cult pyramid or queens pyramids were found. As the complex was abandoned at a very early construction phase, these elements were probably not even started yet. Similarly, no traces of a causeway or a valley temple have been proven.

The broader area of the pyramid has not been explored, but there seems to be east and west of its larger cemeteries.

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