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Eroded pyramid attributed to early pharaoh

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Bethany Beightol
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« on: June 05, 2008, 04:45:19 pm »

Eroded pyramid attributed to early pharaoh
JONATHAN WRIGHT

Reuters

June 5, 2008 at 2:07 PM EDT

SAKKARA, Egypt — Egypt's chief archeologist said on Thursday he had identified a badly eroded pyramid south of Cairo as that of the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Menkauhor, who ruled Egypt in the 24th century BC.

The identification by Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, could end the long controversy over the structure known as the Headless Pyramid, first described by the German archeologist Lepsius in the 19th century.

Some archeologists have associated the pyramid with the Tenth Dynasty pharaoh Merykare, who ruled about 400 years later, and others with the Twelfth Dynasty, which ruled Egypt between 1991 and 1786 BC during the period known as the Middle Kingdom.

But Dr. Hawass, whose teams have excavated the lower levels of the pyramid more thoroughly than any previous expeditions, said he is now convinced that the pyramid was that of Menkauhor, who is known from inscriptions to have built one somewhere.

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 "Now we are sure that this pyramid is of a style of a pyramid of Dynasty V and belongs to a king called Menkauhor," Dr. Hawass told reporters during a tour of the site.

The archeologists did not find inscriptions with the name of the pharaoh, so Dr. Hawass based his attribution on architectural features, coupled with the fact that Menkauhor is the only Fifth Dynasty ruler whose pyramid has not been identified.

He pointed out large red granite blocks at the entrance to the burial chamber and said these were characteristic of pyramids of that period, of which there are many examples.

No labyrinthine passages

He also said that, on close examination, the plain lid of the sarcophagus was made of a material – grey schist – closely associated with the Old Kingdom.

"The material of this sarcophagus was never used in the Middle Kingdom," he added.

Another deciding factor was the ground plan of the substructure, which lacks the labyrinthine pattern of passages that led to the burial chambers of Middle Kingdom pyramids.

"The Middle Kingdom pyramids ... have complicated corridors until you reach the burial chamber. Without discovering any inscription, I tell you this is Old Kingdom. The substructure is exactly Dynasty V," he said.

The top part of the pyramid disappeared many years ago, probably removed by villagers to build houses in the flood plain of the Nile, which lies about 100 metres away.

When Dr. Hawass's team started work at the site about 18 months ago, they had to remove about eight metres of sand to reach the relatively well-preserved lower levels.

In the process, they stumbled upon what Dr. Hawass said was a processional way, built in the Ptolemaic period, along which the high priest of the Apis bull cult would lead the funeral of each sacred bull toward the Serapeum, where the mummified animals were buried underground in vast stone sarcophaguses.

A stone found nearby bears the name of Ptolemy V, a pharaoh of Greek origin who ruled Egypt between 205 and 180 BC.

http://www.archaeologynews.org/Link.asp?ID=294825
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Bianca
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« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2008, 10:56:31 am »










                                             "Lost" Pyramid Found Buried in Egypt






Andrew Bossone in Cairo
for National Geographic News
June 5, 2008

The pyramid of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has been rediscovered after being buried for generations, archaeologists announced today.

The pyramid is thought to house the tomb of King Menkauhor, who is believed to have ruled in Egypt's 5th dynasty for eight years in the mid-2400s B.C.

Long since reduced to its foundations, the structure was previously known as Number 29 or the "Headless Pyramid." It was mentioned in the mid-19th century by German archaeologist Karl Richard Lepsius.

Then it disappeared in the sands of Saqqara, a sprawling royal burial complex near current-day Cairo.

It took Egyptian archaeologists about a year and a half just to remove all the sand above the pyramid.

"After Lepsius the location of the pyramid was lost and the substructure of [the] pyramid never known," said Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

"It was forgotten by people until we began to search this area and a hill of sand, maybe 25 feet [7.6 meters] high."



Hawass is a National Geographic explorer-in-residence.

(The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
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Bianca
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« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2008, 10:57:54 am »








Old Kingdom Clues



Nothing on the pyramid specifically names its owner, and the majority of the structure has been destroyed,
so Egyptian archaeologists had to put several clues together to identify it.

Past archaeologists have disputed the date of the pyramid, usually putting it in either the Old Kingdom,
between 2575 and 2150 B.C., or the Middle Kingdom, between 1975 and 1640 B.C.

But the recent research determined that the pyramid lacked the winding mazes typical of a Middle Kingdom
temple.

Instead, the lack of artwork and inscriptions, as well as the structure's red granite blocks, were typical of Old Kingdom pyramids, according to Hawass.

The burial chamber also contained the lid of a sarcophagus made of gray schist, a type of rock often used in
the Old Kingdom.

What's more, the newfound pyramid resembles the pyramid next to it, which belongs to the first pharaoh of the 6th dynasty, Teti, who ruled from 2345 to 2181 B.C. That suggested the lost pyramid could also come from the 5th dynasty.

The neighboring pyramid also pointed to the owner of the pyramid as Menkauhor, since he was without a discovered burial tomb.

"There were missing pyramids of the kings, and this is one of them," Hawass said.
« Last Edit: November 17, 2008, 11:00:56 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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Bianca
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« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2008, 11:03:15 am »









Sacred Road



Archaeologists also announced the discovery of new parts of a sacred road, dating to the Ptolemaic period, some 2,000 years after the Old Kingdom.

The discovery shows the sustained importance of Saqqara, which was located in the ancient capital
of Memphis, the researchers added.

Ola El Aguizy is a professor of ancient Egyptian languages at Cairo University.

"During the whole history of Egypt, Memphis and Saqqara had remained very, very important,"
El Aguizy said.

"I am discovering tombs of people of the 26th dynasty [in Saqqara] that were reusing tombs of the
19th dynasty. It is a sacred place, and so many important people wanted to be buried there."

Another reason people wanted to be buried in Saqqara was the sacred road, which was used for the procession of mummified bulls of the god of the dead, Osiris.

"[Osiris] was enthroned like a king and when he died they made funerals like those of a king," El Aguizy said.

The bulls also had a historical significance: Their deaths were used to determine when a pharaoh reigned.

"It's a way of dating the pharaohs," El Aguizy said. "Sometimes we know how many bulls died during
the reign of a king, or vice versa."
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Bianca
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« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2008, 11:04:51 am »



A covered sarcophagus is seen on June 5, 2008, inside the Saqqara Serapeum, a long tunnel of underground
tombs for sacred bulls near a recently rediscovered pyramid in Egypt.

Ancient Egyptians revered Saqqara as an important place to be interred, perhaps partly because the necropolis was also the burial site for bulls bred by pharaohs.

When the animals died, they were embalmed and carried along a ceremonial road nicknamed the Way of the Sphinxes, which runs near the newfound pyramid and leads to the Serapeum.










More Discoveries Expected



The sacred path, first discovered by French archaeologist Auguste Mariette in 1850, is nicknamed
the Way of the Sphinxes because of its long row of statues often found at the gates of Egyptian temples.

(See a photo gallery of Egyptian landmarks.)

"The modern name of ancient Memphis is Mit Rahina … which means the way of the Sphinx," El Aguizy said.

"So [this path is] presumably the Way, with sphinxes [formerly] on the two sides."

Archaeologists hope the path will lead to more discoveries in the area. Plans are underway to relocate modern-day workers who live in a village beside the Menkauhor site to allow an expanded search for more temples.

"When I say we've discovered 30 percent of the Egyptian monuments, I take Saqarra as the first example," Hawass said.

"Saqqara is a virgin site," he added. "It's very important for us to do this excavation to understand
more about the pyramids of the Old Kingdom."
« Last Edit: November 17, 2008, 11:08:47 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2008, 11:10:02 am »



The long-lost foundations of an ancient Egyptian pyramid (pictured) have been found at the royal burial grounds of Saqqara, archaeologists announced on June 5, 2008. Hidden by sand for generations, the newly excavated structure may hold the tomb of a pharaoh, Menkauhor, who ruled more than 4,000 years ago.

The discovery of a ceremonial avenue called the Way of the Sphinxes was also announced.

Photograph by Mohamed Megahed/Supreme Council on Antiquities
« Last Edit: November 17, 2008, 11:11:16 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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