List of finds in the substructures or interiors of Egyptian pyramids that have been explored and still contained notable findings in modern times. An absence of documented finds does not imply nothing was ever found.
Pyramids not listed have either not been located or explored (e.g.: due to flooding or collapse), have no substructure, were fully looted, or contained nothing of note.
| Dyn | Pyramid names | Sarcophagi / Coffins | Human remains | Canopic jars and chests | Wall Decorations | Other noteworthy finds, sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Kingdom | ||||||
| 3rd | Pyramid of Djoser | Square granite vault | Mummy parts (later burial) | Gallery: 3 false doors with faience tiles, inscribed door frames | [1] [2] [3] | |
| Eastern shafts and galleries | 2 alabaster sarcophagi, fragments of others | Hip bone of a young woman, set of female remains predating Djoser | Undecorated | Seal impression of Djoser's Horus name, 40,000 stone vessels (primarily Alabaster), most made before Djoser [1] [4] [3] | ||
| 3rd | Buried Pyramid | Alabaster sarcophagus (with side opening) | Undecorated | Bark and decomposed wood found on top of sarcophagus [5] [6] | ||
| 4th | Meidum Pyramid | Pieces of wooden coffin | Undecorated | Cedar logs embedded in masonry [7] [8] | ||
| 4th | Bent Pyramid | Undecorated | Wood plank still holding back blocking stone, cedar logs [7] [9] | |||
| 4th | Red Pyramid | Fragments of human remains | Undecorated | [10] | ||
| 4th | Great Pyramid of Giza | Granite sarcophagus, lid missing | Undecorated | Queen's Chamber Air-Shafts: diorite ball, copper "hook", cedar plank Relieving Chambers: Hieroglyphic graffiti - incl. Khufu's names spelled out multiple times [11] [12] [13] | ||
| Queen's pyramid GI-a | Recess for sarcophagus, basalt fragments | Pieces of bone | Undecorated | [14] [15] | ||
| Queen's pyramid GI-b | Broken wood coffins (later burials) | 12 or 13 skulls, bones (later burials) | Undecorated | Bronze armlet, with a piece of brown stone shaped like part of a female hand [14] [15] | ||
| 4th | Pyramid of Djedefre | Inscribed stone fragments, copper axe blade, worker graffiti including Djedefre's cartouche [16] [17] | ||||
| Queen's pyramid | Limestone sarcophagus fragments | 2 lids possibly from canopic jars | Undecorated | Large alabaster vessel, pottery fragments, faience tiles, large Egyptian alabaster plate inscribed with the Horus name of Khufu (Djedefre's father) [18] | ||
| 4th | Pyramid of Khafre | Granite sarcophagus with lid | Pit for canopic chest | Undecorated | Bull bones found inside sarcophagus (probably later addition) [14] | |
| Subsidiary pyramid | Undecorated | Wooden shrine (nah netjer) in niche that had been ritually destroyed. [19] | ||||
| 4th | Pyramid of Menkaure | Basalt sarcophagus with palace facade; Later burial: wooden anthropoid coffin inscribed with Menkaure's name | Bones of a woman with pieces of clothing (later burial) | Paneled chamber: stylized false door motifs, lintel in reed-mat form | [15] [20] [3] [21] | |
| Queen's pyramid GIII-a | Granite sarcophagus | Undecorated | Pieces of pottery [14] | |||
| Queen's pyramid GIII-b | Granite sarcophagus | Jawbone of a young woman, fragments of bones | Undecorated | Decayed wood, roof slab inscription containing cartouche of Menkaure [14] | ||
| 5th | Pyramid of Userkaf | Basalt sarcophagus fragments | Undecorated | [22] | ||
| 5th | Pyramid of Sahure | Basalt sarcophagus fragments | Undecorated | [23] | ||
| 5th | Pyramid of Khentkaus II | Granite sarcophagus fragments | Undecorated | Mummy wrappings, alabaster pottery[ citation needed ] | ||
| 5th | Pyramid of Neferefre | Granite sarcophagus fragments | 6 pieces of mummified remains of a young man (incl. hand, clavicle, fibula) | Pieces of 4 canopic jars | Undecorated | Alabaster pottery [3] |
| 5th | Lepsius XXIV Pyramid | Granite sarcophagus fragments | Damaged mummy of a young woman | Alabaster canopic jars | Undecorated | Remains of burial equipment: models of alabaster vessels. copper tools used for the ritual of the opening of the mouth ritual |
| 5th? | Double Pyramid (east) | Scanty remains of a female burial | Fragments of limestone canopic jars | Undecorated | Model vessels of alabaster, model chisels of copper and shards of pottery. | |
| Double Pyramid (west) | Tiny fragments of a female burial | Undecorated | Remnants of the burial equipment, a model vessel of alabaster, several corroded model vessels and instruments of copper. | |||
| 5th | Headless Pyramid | Broken sarcophagus lid | Undecorated | [24] | ||
| 5th | Pyramid of Djedkare Isesi | Basalt sarcophagus fragments | Mummified remains of an old man | Niche for canopic chest | Undecorated | Broken pottery, faience bead on a gold filament [25] [3] |
| 5th | Pyramid of Unas | Greywacke sarcophagus | Mummied remains of a human (incl. right arm, skull and shinbone) | Pyramid Texts, rich deorations | Wooden handles of two knives [26] | |
| 6th | Pyramid of Teti | Greywacke sarcophagus with inscriptions on the inside | Mummified remains of a human (incl. arm and shoulder blade) | Canopic jar containing viscera | Pyramid Texts | Club heads inscribed with the pharaoh's name [27] |
| Queen's pyramid of Iput (mastaba transformed to pyramid by Pepi I) | Cedar coffin in limestone sarcophagus | Iput's intact remains | 5 crude canopic jars | Pyramid Texts | Jewelry on mummy, model vessels of alabaster, pottery and copper, alabaster slabs inscribed with names of sacred oils, model gilded copper tools [28] | |
| 6th | Pyramid of Pepi I | Inscribed black stone sarcophagus | Mummy fragment | Granite canopic chest, 1 intact alabaster canopic jar and fragments of others, viscera | Pyramid Texts | Sandal (of Pepi), flint knife, inscribed linen, 2 fragments of a thin gold plate (the body rested on), 2 scraps of a loincloth [29] |
| Queen's pyramid of Nebuunet | Granite sarcophagus fragments | Cylindrical wooden weight, wooden ostrich feather, inscribed alabaster tablets | ||||
| Queen's pyramid of Inenek-Inti | Greywacke sarcopagus | Pottery | ||||
| Western pyramid | Granite sarcophagus fragments | Wooden weights, ostrich feathers, copper fish hooks, fired-clay vessels | ||||
| Queen's pyramid of Pyramid of Meritites IV | Geywacke sarcophagus fragments | Queen's titulary on hallway walls | Wooden fragments inscribed with formulas of the pyramid texts | |||
| Queen's pyramid of Ankhesenpepi II | Basalt sarcophagus with inscribed titulary | Bone fragments of the arm, leg and foot of adult woman | Pyramid Texts | |||
| Queen's pyramid of Ankhesenpepi III | Sandstone Sarcophagus with Granite Lid, inscribed with name and titulary | Bone fragments | Palace facade decoration | |||
| Queen's pyramid of Behenu | Sarcophagus fragments | Inscribed and decorated | ||||
| 6th | Pyramid of Merenre | Basalt sarcophagus with lid and traces of gilding | Mummy of young man (possibly later burial) | Granite canopic chest with lid | Pyramid Texts | 2 alabaster vessels [30] |
| 6th | Pyramid of Pepi II | Greywacke sarcophagus with lid, inscribed with Pepi II's titulary | Granite canopic chest lid, niche for chest | Pyramid Texts, niche pattern, false doors topped with King's name | Fragments of alabaster and diorite vases, golden spatula [31] [32] | |
| Queen's pyramid of Neith | Granite sarcophagus | Granite canopic chest | Pyramid Texts, starred ceiling | Descending passage: granite false door, burial chamber: miniature (inscribed) bronze tableware, stone vases [33] [34] | ||
| Queen's pyramid of Neith | Fragments of pottery, 3 alabaster vessels [34] | |||||
| Queen's pyramid of Iput II (and Ankhesenpepi IV) | Granite sarcophagus of Queen Ankhesenpepi IV inscribed with Annals of the 6th dynasty | Pyramid Texts | ||||
| Queen's pyramid of Udjebten | Pyramid Texts | |||||
| Dyn | Pyramid names | Sarcophagi / Coffins | Human remains | Canopic jars and chests | Wall Decorations | Other noteworthy finds, sources |
| First Intermediate Period | ||||||
| 8th | Pyramid of Qakare Ibi | Granite monolith once held sarcophagus | Pyramid Texts | |||
| Middle Kingdom | ||||||
| 11th | Pyramid of Reherishefnakht | Sarcophagus inscribed with Coffin Texts | Pyramid Texts | [35] | ||
| 12th | Queen's pyramid 3 of Senusret I | Quartzite sarcophagus, remains of gilded, wooden Coffin | Bone fragments | Broken but complete canopic chest | Undecorated | Deteriorated wooden staff [36] |
| 12th | Pyramid of Senusret II | Granite sarcophagus | Leg bones | Undecorated | Alabaster offering table inscribed with the pharaoh's name, gold uraeus [37] | |
| 12th | Pyramid of Senusret III | Granite sarcophagus with palace facade | Undecorated | Pottery vases, broken bronze dagger with ivory handle [38] | ||
| Queen's pyramid of Nofrethenut | 2 sarcophagi, one inscribed with titulary | Undecorated | ||||
| Queen's pyramid of Itakayt | Sarcophagus | Canopic chest, two canopic jars | Undecorated | |||
| 12th | Pyramid of Amenemhat III (Dashur) | Decorated granite sarcophagus | Unused canopic chest for the king | Undecorated | (Substructure was collapsing, pyramid not used for the king) Chambers for queens (or daughters): 6 mummies found total [39] | |
| Burial chamber of Aat | Sarcophagus | Mummy of Aat | Canopic chest, 1 canopic jar | Undecorated | 2 mace heads, 7 duck-shaped alabaster cases, alabaster unguent jar, pieces of jewelry [39] | |
| Burial chamber of Chenmetneferhedjet | Sarcophagus | Mummy of Chenmetneferhedjet | Undecorated | |||
| Burial chamber of unknown queen | Undecorated | Obsidian vase with gold bands, 3 duck-shaped alabaster vessels, granite and alabaster mace heads, jewelry | ||||
| 12th | Pyramid of Amenemhat III (Hawara) | Quartzite sarcophagus | Bone fragments | 2 canopic chests | Undecorated | Alabaster offering table, duck-shaped bowls in baring the name of his Amenemhat III's Queen Neferu-ptah [40] |
| 12th | Southern Mazghuna pyramid | Granite sarcophagus | Undecorated | 3 limestone lamps, duck-shaped alabaster vessel [41] | ||
| Second Intermediate Period | ||||||
| 13th | Pyramid of Ameny Qemau | Great quartzite monolith with separate cavities for the mummy, and the canopic equipment | 4 broken calcite canopic jars inscribed with the pharaoh's name | Undecorated | [42] | |
The pyramid of Djoser, sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser, is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis. The 6-tier, 4-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The pyramid is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration. Its architect was Imhotep, chancellor of the pharaoh and high priest of the god Ra.
Pepi I Meryre was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, third king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled for over 40 years at the turn of the 24th and 23rd centuries BC, toward the end of the Old Kingdom period. He was the son of Teti, the founder of the dynasty, and ascended the throne only after the brief intervening reign of the shadowy Userkare. His mother was Iput, who may have been a daughter of Unas, the final ruler of the preceding Fifth Dynasty. Pepi I, who had at least six consorts, was succeeded by his son Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, with whom he may have shared power in a coregency at the very end of his reign. Pepi II Neferkare, who might also have been Pepi I's son, succeeded Merenre.
Merenre Nemtyemsaf was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, fourth king of the Sixth Dynasty. He ruled Egypt for six to 11 years in the early 23rd century BC, toward the end of the Old Kingdom period. He was the son of his predecessor Pepi I Meryre and queen Ankhesenpepi I and was in turn succeeded by Pepi II Neferkare who might have been his son or less probably his brother. Pepi I may have shared power with Merenre in a co-regency at the very end of the former's reign.
The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt.
The pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three main pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex, located on the Giza Plateau in the southwestern outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It is thought to have been built to serve as the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure.
Muhammed Zakaria Goneim was an Egyptian archaeologist, known for his discoveries in and around Saqqara. He is best known for discovering the Step Pyramid of Sekhemkhet.
John Shae Perring (1813–1869) was a British engineer, anthropologist and Egyptologist, most notable for his work excavating and documenting Egyptian pyramids.
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.
Major General Richard William Howard Howard Vyse was a British soldier and Egyptologist. He was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Beverley and Honiton.
The pyramid of Unas is a smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty. It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but significant due to the discovery of Pyramid Texts, spells for the king's afterlife incised into the walls of its subterranean chambers. Inscribed for the first time in Unas's pyramid, the tradition of funerary texts carried on in the pyramids of subsequent rulers, through to the end of the Old Kingdom, and into the Middle Kingdom through the Coffin Texts that form the basis of the Book of the Dead.
The pyramid of Ameny Qemau is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located in southern Dahshur. It was constructed for Ameny Qemau, a obscure king of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period.
Jean-Philippe Lauer, was a French architect and Egyptologist. He was considered to be the foremost expert on pyramid construction techniques and methods.
The Buried Pyramid is an unfinished step pyramid constructed c. 2645 BC for Sekhemkhet Djoserty. He was the second pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, which reigned over Egypt c. 2686–2613 BC and is usually placed at the beginning of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Many historians believe that the third dynasty played an important role in the transition from Early Dynastic Period of Egypt to the Age of the Pyramids.
The pyramid of Pepi I is the pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty in the 24th or 23rd century BC. The complex gave its name to the capital city of Egypt, Memphis. As in the pyramids of his predecessors, Pepi I's substructure was filled with vertical columns of hieroglyphic texts, Pyramid Texts. It was in Pepi I's pyramid that these texts were initially discovered in 1880 by Gaston Maspero, though they originated in the pyramid of Unas. The corpus of Pepi I's texts is also the largest from the Old Kingdom, comprising 2,263 columns and lines of hieroglyphs.
Khamerernebty II was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th Dynasty. She was a daughter of Pharaoh Khafre and Queen Khamerernebty I. She married her brother Menkaure and she was the mother of Prince Khuenre.
Gustave Jéquier was an Egyptologist and one of the first archaeologists to excavate ancient Persian cities in what is now Iran. He was a member of Jacques de Morgan's 1901 Susa expedition, which led to the discovery of the famous Code of Hammurabi, now on display in the Louvre.
The Headless Pyramid, otherwise identified as Lepsius XXIX, is the remain of a pyramid complex built in Saqqara. The identity of the pyramid owner is unclear, though it is suspected to belong to either pharaoh Menkauhor of the Fifth Dynasty or pharaoh Merikare of the Tenth Dynasty, both of whom are known to have built a pyramid. If associated with Menkauhor, the pyramid's name is Nṯr-ỉswt Mn-kꜣw-ḥr meaning 'Divine are the places of Menkauhor'; if associated with Merikare, the pyramid's name is Wꜣḏ-swt Mry-kꜣ-rꜥ meaning 'Fresh are the places of Merikare'. Other candidates for the pyramid owner that have been proposed are Amenemhat I of the Twelfth Dynasty and an ephemeral pharaoh Ity of the Eighth Dynasty.
Bernard Mathieu is a French Egyptologist who was director of the Institut français d'archéologie orientale from 1999 to 2005.
The pyramid of Pepi II was the tomb of Pharaoh Pepi II, located in southern Saqqara, to the northwest of the Mastabat al-Fir’aun. It was the final full pyramid complex to be built in Ancient Egypt. Long used as a quarry, the pyramid was excavated for the first time by Gaston Maspero in 1881. Its ruins were studied in exhaustive detail by Gustave Jéquier, who was able to reconstruct the funerary complex and the texts on the walls of the funerary chamber in the course of his excavation campaigns from 1932-1935. Since 1996, thorough investigations of the pyramid and its surroundings have been being carried out by the Mission a.
The pyramid of Khentkaus I or step tomb of Khentkaus I is a Fourth Dynasty two-stepped tomb built for the Queen Mother Khentkaus I in Giza. The tomb, built in two phases coinciding with its two steps, was originally known as the fourth pyramid of Giza. In the first phase, a nearly square block of bedrock, around which the stone had been quarried for the Giza pyramids, was utilised to construct her tomb and encased with fine white Tura limestone. In the second phase, most likely in the Fifth Dynasty, her tomb was enlarged with a large limestone structure built on top of the bedrock block. The Egyptologist Miroslav Verner suggests that this may have been intended to convert her tomb into a pyramid, but was abandoned as a result of stability concerns. South-west of the tomb was a long boat pit, which housed the Night boat of Re. A companion day boat has not been found. A chapel was built into the tomb superstructure, with a large granite entrance bearing the queen's name and titles. One of her titles was of particular interest because it had not been known of prior to its discovery at her tomb.
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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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