Northern Mazghuna pyramid
Northern Mazghuna pyramid | |
---|---|
13th Dynasty | |
Type | True pyramid |
Base | 52.5 m (172 ft) |
The Northern Mazghuna was really intended to be buried here since no appropriate inscription has been found.
The pyramid was rediscovered in 1910 by Ernest Mackay and excavated in the following year by Flinders Petrie.[1]
Attribution
When the two Mazghuna pyramids were rediscovered, scholars noticed many structural similarities between those two and Amenemhat III's pyramid at Hawara; for this reason the southern pyramid was attributed to the son and successor of this king, Amenemhat IV. Subsequently, the northern pyramid was attributed to the female-pharaoh Sobekneferu, sister of Amenemhat IV and last ruler of the 12th Dynasty.
However, some scholars such as William C. Hayes[2] believed that the two Mazghuna pyramids were built during the 13th Dynasty, on the basis of some similarities with the pyramid of Khendjer. In this case, the northern pyramid should have belonged to one of the many pharaohs who ruled between the beginning of the 13th Dynasty and the loss of control of the northern territory occurred during or after the reign of Merneferre Ay.[3]
Description
The pyramid superstructure seem to have never been started, and the only information that can be determined from it is that the pyramid was planned larger than its southern neighbor, which has a side length of 52.5 m (172 ft).
The
From the pyramid complex, the valley temple, the funerary temple and the enclosure walls had apparently left no traces. Only a large portion of the causeway has been discovered, as well as another blocking stone, likely abandoned due to a change of the pyramid's design.
See also
References
- ^ Flinders Petrie, G. A. Wainwright, E. Mackay: The Labyrinth, Gerzeh and Mazghuneh, London 1912, available online.
- ^ W.C. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt. A Background for the Study of American Antiquites in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the Earliest times to the End of the Middle Kingdom, New York, 1953.
- ^ McCormack, Dawn. "The Significance of Royal Funerary Architecture in the Study of 13th Dynasty Kingship." In M. Marée (ed) The Second Intermediate Period (13th-17th Dynasties), Current Research, Future Prospects, Belgium: Peeters Leuven, 2010, pp. 69-84.
- ISBN 88-18-70143-6.
- ISBN 0-500-05084-8.
- ISBN 3-8053-1142-7
- ISBN 3-499-60890-1.