| Lepsius XXIV | |
|---|---|
 Remains of Lepsius XXIV | |
| wife of Nyuserre Ini? | |
| Constructed | 5th Dynasty |
| Type | Pyramid |
| Material | limestone, sand, rubble |
| Height | 27.3 m (original); 5 m (today) |
| Base | 31.5 m |
| Slope | 60°15′ |
The Lepsius XXIV Pyramid is an Egyptian pyramid, which was probably built for a wife of King Nyuserre Ini. The largely destroyed 5th Dynasty structure is located in the pyramid field of Abusir, east of the Pyramid of Neferefre and south of the Pyramid of Khentkaus II.
On his Egyptian expedition (1842-1845), the German archaeologist Karl Richard Lepsius identified a small pyramid site and gave it the number XXIV (24) in his list of pyramids. Ludwig Borchardt, who explored the necropolis of Abusir six years later, considered the ruins to be a mastaba or double mastaba and did not investigate it further.
A Czech team led by Miroslav Verner undertook exploratory excavations in 1980-81, 1987 and 1990, as well as a full excavation in 1994 and identified the complex as a pyramid with a cult pyramid and a mortuary temple, which they assigned to the time of the 5th dynasty King Nyuserre. [1]
The inhabitant of the pyramid can not yet be identified, since no direct evidence, like inscriptions, remain. It is probable, however, that Nyuserre had the pyramid built for one of his wives, perhaps Reptynub.
With a base measuring 31.5 m x 31.5 m and a slope of 60°15′, the Lepsius XXIV Pyramid originally had a height of 27.3 m. The core structure of the pyramid was built in three layers, according to recent research. The masonry of the first layer consists of a stone casing, with the interior filled with sand, rubble and debris. A ramp structure oriented north–south and extending into the core structure was probably used for the erection of this layer. The second layer again consists of an outer stone casing with several partition walls at oblique angles, made up of irregularly shaped stone fragments. The space between was also filled with loose debris in the same way as the first layer. The third layer no longer exists. According to Verner, the mixed technique increased stability. A cladding of fine limestone appears to have been attached later, since the masonry of the mortuary temple touches the first core layer directly. [2]
The masonry of the pyramid displays a large amount of construction graffiti. [3] These graffiti regularly mention the Vizier Ptahshepses, who organised all royal construction under Nyuserre, which indicates that the pyramid was built during his reign.
The substructure was laid out as an open grave, which was eventually covered over by the pyramid. The entranceway ran from the north and led to a burial chamber on an east–west orientation. The passageway has been largely been quarried away.
The burial chamber contained fragments of a pink granite sarcophagus, parts of the grave goods and the damaged mummy of a woman aged about 23, whose identity is unknown. [2] She was probably the owner of the pyramid, but it is also possible that she is an intrusive burial from a later period, since the remains of the mummy show traces of the removal of the brains, a mummification practice which is only attested from the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. An accurate dating of the mummy by Radiocarbon dating is not yet available. The name of the tomb's occupant is not attested. [1] [4]
In addition, the area of the burial chamber contains fragments of grave goods, like alabaster vessels, copper tools for the opening of the mouth ceremony and canopic jars. [2]
In the pyramid complex ruins, a small cult pyramid and a funerary temple can be identified. The whole complex was surrounded by a wall.
In the south corner of the complex is a small cult pyramid with a base of about 10 x 10 metres, which has largely been destroyed by extensive spoliation. Only some fine limestone cladding from the northwest corner and the west side remain intact. The orientation of these structures differs a little from the north–south orientation of the main structure. [1] [4] [5]
The mortuary temple is located in the usual position on the east side of the pyramid and seems to have had a simple structure. Except for a false door on the side facing the pyramid, it seems unlikely that the temple was decorated with reliefs, since no fragments of relief were found at all. [2]
The structure was largely destroyed by spoliation in the New Kingdom and the Saite Period, especially on the south side, and as a result a reconstruction is no longer possible. [4] [5]
Huni was an ancient Egyptian king and the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom period. Following the Turin king list, he is commonly credited with a reign of 24 years, ending c. 2613 BC.
Userkaf was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He probably belonged to a branch of the Fourth Dynasty royal family, although his parentage is uncertain; he could have been the son of Khentkaus I. He had at least one daughter and very probably a son, Sahure, with his consort Neferhetepes. This son succeeded him as pharaoh.
Neferirkare Kakai was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son of Sahure with his consort Meretnebty, was known as Ranefer A before he came to the throne. He acceded the day after his father's death and reigned for eight to eleven years, sometime in the early to mid-25th century BCE. He was himself very likely succeeded by his eldest son, born of his queen Khentkaus II, the prince Ranefer B who would take the throne as king Neferefre. Neferirkare fathered another pharaoh, Nyuserre Ini, who took the throne after Neferefre's short reign and the brief rule of the poorly known Shepseskare.
Menkauhor Kaiu was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24th century BC.
Neferefre Isi was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II. He was known as prince Ranefer before he ascended to the throne.
Nyuserre Ini was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He is credited with a reign of 24 to 35 years depending on the scholar, and likely lived in the second half of the 25th century BCE. Nyuserre was the younger son of Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II, and the brother of the short-lived king Neferefre. He may have succeeded his brother directly, as indicated by much later historical sources. Alternatively, Shepseskare may have reigned between the two as advocated by Miroslav Verner, albeit only for a few weeks or months at the most. The relation of Shepseskare with Neferefre and Nyuserre remains highly uncertain. Nyuserre was in turn succeeded by Menkauhor Kaiu, who could have been his nephew and a son of Neferefre.
Shepseskare or Shepseskara was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the fourth or fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. Shepseskare lived in the mid-25th century BC and was probably the owner of an unfinished pyramid in Abusir, which was abandoned after a few weeks of work in the earliest stages of its construction.
Abusir is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis of the Old Kingdom period, together with later additions – in the vicinity of the modern capital Cairo. The name is also that of a neighbouring village in the Nile Valley, whence the site takes its name. Abusir is located several kilometres north of Saqqara and, like it, served as one of the main elite cemeteries for the ancient Egyptian capital city of Memphis. Several other villages in northern and southern Egypt are named Abusir or Busiri. Abusir is one relatively small segment of the extensive "pyramid field" that extends from north of Giza to below Saqqara. The locality of Abusir took its turn as the focus of the prestigious western burial rites operating out of the then-capital of Memphis during the Old Kingdom 5th Dynasty. As an elite cemetery, neighbouring Giza had by then "filled up" with the massive pyramids and other monuments of the 4th Dynasty, leading the 5th Dynasty pharaohs to seek sites elsewhere for their own funerary monuments.
Khentkaus II was a royal woman who lived in Ancient Egypt. She was a wife of Egyptian king Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty. She was the mother of two kings, Neferefre and Nyuserre Ini.
The Layer Pyramid is a ruined step pyramid dating to the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt and located in the necropolis of Zawyet El Aryan. Its ownership is uncertain and may be attributable to pharaoh Khaba. The pyramid architecture, however, is very similar to that of the Buried Pyramid of king Sekhemkhet and for this reason is firmly datable to the 3rd Dynasty.
Miroslav Verner is a Czech egyptologist, who specializes in the history and archaeology of Ancient Egypt of the Old Kingdom and especially of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt.
The Pyramid of Neferirkare was built for the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai – referred to as Neferirkare – in the 25th century BC. It was the tallest structure located on the highest site at the necropolis of Abusir – found between Giza and Saqqara – and still towers over the necropolis today. The pyramid is also significant because its evacuation led to the discovery of the Abusir papyri.
The Pyramid of Sahure is a late 26th century BC to 25th century BC pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty. Sahure built the inaugural pyramid in Abusir after his direct predecessor, Userkaf, built his sun temple in the same area. Sahure's successors, Neferirkare Kakai, Neferefre, and Nyuserre Ini all built their monuments in the general vicinity. The complex's early visitors, John Shae Perring, Karl Richard Lepsius and Jacques de Morgan, did not conduct a thorough investigation, perhaps they were discouraged by its ruined state. It was first properly excavated by Ludwig Borchardt between March 1907 and 1908, who penned the seminal work on the topic Das Grabdenkmal des Königs Sahu-Re between 1910 and 1913.
The Pyramid of Neferefre, also known as the Pyramid of Raneferef, is a 25th century BC unfinished pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Neferefre of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferefre's unfinished pyramid is the third and final one built on the Abusir diagonal – a figurative line connecting the Abusir pyramids with Heliopolis – of the necropolis, sited south-west of Neferirkare's pyramid.
The Pyramid of Djedkare Isesi is a late 25th to mid 24th century BC pyramid complex built for the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Djedkare Isesi. The pyramid is referred to as Haram el-Shawaf by locals. It was the first pyramid to be built in South Saqqara.
Ptahshepses was the vizier and son-in-law of the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Nyuserre Ini. As such he was one of the most distinguished members of the royal court. Ptahshepses' mastaba complex in Abusir is considered by many to be the most extensive and architecturally unique non-royal tomb of the Old Kingdom.
The Double Pyramid also known as Lepsius XXV designates a pair of adjacent monuments located on the south-eastern edge of the Abusir necropolis, south of the pyramid Lepsius XXIV and of the pyramid of Khentkaus II. The pair of monuments was built during the mid-Fifth Dynasty, likely during Nyuserre Ini's reign, for two female members of the extended royal family.
The Unfinished Pyramid of Abusir is an ancient Egyptian royal tomb which was probably abandoned shortly after the start of construction in the 5th Dynasty, which is located in the necropolis of Abusir. Shepseskare, a Pharaoh about whom almost nothing is known, who is known only from a single roughly contemporary seal impression from the mortuary temple of Neferefre, has been suggested as the pyramid's builder.
The Pyramid of Khentkaus II is a queen's pyramid in the necropolis of Abousir in Egypt, which was built during the Fifth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. It is attributed to the queen Khentkaus II, who may have ruled Egypt as a reigning queen after the death of her husband Neferirkare Kakai. The pyramid is now a heavily damaged ruin, which only stands 4 metres high.
The Pyramid of Nyuserre is a mid 25th century BC pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Nyuserre Ini of the Fifth Dynasty. During his reign, Nyuserre had the unfinished monuments of his father, Neferirkare Kakai, mother, Khentkaus II, and brother, Neferefre, completed, before commencing work on his personal pyramid complex. He chose a site in the Abusir necropolis between the complexes of Neferirkare and Sahure, which, restrictive in area and terrain, economized the costs of labour and material. Nyuserre was the last king to be entombed in the necropolis, whilst his successors chose to be buried elsewhere.
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| Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BC) |
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| 1st Intermediate Period (2181–2040 BC) |
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| Middle Kingdom (2040–1650 BC) |
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| Second Intermediate (1650–1570 BC) |
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| New Kingdom (1570–1070 BC) |
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Coordinates: 29°53′36.7″N31°12′10.3″E / 29.893528°N 31.202861°E
