Black Pyramid
| Black Pyramid | ||||||||||||||||
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| Amenemhat III | ||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 29°47′30″N 31°13′25″E / 29.79167°N 31.22361°ECoordinates: 29°47′30″N 31°13′25″E / 29.79167°N 31.22361°E | |||||||||||||||
| Ancient name |
Jmn-m-h3t-q3-nfr=f Imenemhat Qanefer Amenemhat is mighty and perfect |
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| Type | True pyramid (ruined) | |||||||||||||||
| Height | ca. 75 metres | |||||||||||||||
| Base | 105 metres | |||||||||||||||
| Slope | 59° (lower) 55° (upper) |
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The Black Pyramid was built by King Amenemhat III during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2055-1650 BC). It is one of the five remaining pyramids of the original eleven pyramids at Dahshur in Egypt. Originally named Amenemhet is Mighty, the pyramid earned the name "Black Pyramid" for its dark, decaying appearance as a rubble mound. The Black pyramid was the first to house both the deceased pharaoh and his queens. Jacques de Morgan, on a French mission, began the excavation on the pyramids at Dahshur in 1892. The German Archaeological Institute of Cairo completed excavation in 1983.
The pyramid was originally about 75 meters tall with a base 105 meters long and an incline of 57°. Typical for pyramids of the Middle Kingdom, the Black Pyramid, although encased in limestone, is made of mud brick and clay instead of stone. The ground-level structures consist of the entrance opening into the courtyard and mortuary temple, surrounded by walls. There are two sets of walls; between them, there are ten shaft tombs, which are a type of burial structure formed from graves built into natural rock. The pyramidion, which is the capstone of a pyramid, was covered with inscriptions and religious symbols. Some of these were scratched off, leading researchers to conclude the pyramidion was never used or it was defaced during Akhenaten's rule.
Below ground level in the subterranean structure lay a network of complicated passages. The king's section remains mostly intact with a sarcophagus and canopic jar; however, the king was not buried there. The section for the queens was broken into and looted. There are four other burial chambers in the subterranean structure; to whom they belong, however, is unknown. Two are thought to belong to King Amenemhet IV and queen Sobekneferu.
The Dashur pyramid was on an east-west orientation with two entrances and a complicated set of chambers. One entrance is on the south-eastern corner and the other on the south-western.
The core of the superstructure was of mud brick with no internal walls, possibly to keep the weight to the minimum considering how close the pyramid was to the Nile. The pyramid was built on clay that was unable to support the weight and began to sink, just as the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu at Dashur had begun to sink centuries before. The two pyramids are approximately 1.5 km apart.
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Wikipedia