Pyramid of Teti
Pyramid of Teti | |
---|---|
Teti | |
Coordinates | 29°52′31″N 31°13′18″E / 29.87528°N 31.22167°E |
Ancient name | |
Constructed | Sixth Dynasty (c. 23rd century BC) |
Type | Smooth-sided Pyramid |
Height | 52.5 m (172 ft; 100 cu)[3] |
Base | 78.75 m (258 ft; 150 cu)[3] |
Volume | 107,835 m3 (141,043 cu yd)[3] |
Slope | 53° 07' 48"[3] |
The pyramid of Teti is a smooth-sided pyramid situated in the
The funerary complex
The pyramid complex of Teti follows a model established during the reign of Djedkare Isesi, the arrangement of which is inherited from the funerary complexes of Abusir.
A valley temple, now lost, was probably destroyed in antiquity due to the place of an
This hall opened into an open courtyard surrounded on all four sides by colonnades whose main purpose was the presentation of daily offerings and ritual libations. The only way out is centered to the west and provides access to the innermost part the sanctuary.
Included in the
The last element essential to the funerary cult, the satellite-pyramid encircled in its own peribolos, is located southeast of the royal pyramid and therefore was accessible only through a corridor of stores and halls of worship. This small pyramid covers an underground plan consisting of a short ramp leading to a single underground chamber. In the middle of the courtyard of the paribolos, facing east and west, are two landscaped basins in the granite floor. Their use is disputed by Egyptologists, but the location of these basins, following the path of the sun, suggests ritual practices that shed some light on the role of this monument.
The pyramid
The orientation of the pyramid is not aligned with the four cardinal points. However, the proportions and plan of the pyramid follow exactly the same pattern as that of the pyramid of Djedkare Isesi. The internal dimensions and slope are the same and it is otherwise very similar.
Access to the burial chambers are located inside the adjoining chapel against the north face of the pyramid. The entrance hallway leads to a long descent of eighteen hundred and twenty-three metres. The entrance was once blocked by a plug of granite now lost. The descending passage was probably clogged along its length by large blocks of limestone that thieves have broken up. The debris still littered the passage at the time of discovery. In the descending corridor is a successive horizontal hallway, a vestibule, another hallway, a bedroom with harrows, a final corridor, and a final granite passage which opens into the funerary apartments of the King.
The room with harrows spans more than six metres and is designed with alternating limestone and granite. The three granite harrows, originally lowered, are now broken into several pieces leaving the way open to visitors.
The horizontal passage leads to rooms consisting of a funeral serdab, an antechamber, and a burial chamber. All three are aligned along an east–west axis. The only peculiarity of the serdab is the size of the block ensuring its coverage, measuring 6.72 metres long with a weight of forty tons. The antechamber and burial chamber are covered with huge vaulted rafters. They are connected by a passage where access was closed by a double door. The walls of these rooms are covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions commonly called the Pyramid Texts. The pyramid of Teti is the second royal monument to contain the complex theological corpus to assist and support the rebirth of the king.
The burial chamber contains an unfinished greywacke sarcophagus, a fragment of a lid and a canopic container that is nothing more than a simple hole in the ground. And for the first time, a royal sarcophagus contains inscriptions, here slightly etched on the hollow interior of the vessel.
Although looted since ancient times, remains of the king's grave goods were found during the first excavation of the monument. Consisting mainly of stone materials, these objects have been abandoned by looters, probably considered useless or worthless. Thus, a series of club heads with the names of Teti has reached us and one of the canopic jars containing the
Interior Photographs
-
Sarcophagus of Teti
-
Interior
-
Engraved texts of the Burial Chamber
-
Another view of the Pyramid Texts in the antechamber of the pyramid of Teti
-
Detail with the cartouche of Teti
-
Starry ceiling
-
Burial chamber and sarcophagus in the foreground
-
Limestone wall block fragment showing the cartouche of Teti and funerary pyramid texts. From the pyramid of Teti at Saqqara. Petrie Museum
The Necropolis of Teti
All around the funerary complex of the king extends one of the richest parts of the necropolis of Saqqara. The king, whose special destiny seems to have impressed his contemporaries, will be revered later as a divine mediator along with a few courtiers who have in some sense inherited it by reputation. The king was also accompanied by his two principal wives who each had a pyramid accompanied with a temple of worship.
Among the many tombs that form this necropolis of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt include:
- The pyramid complex of Khuit II;
- The pyramid complex of Iput;
- The pyramid complex of Sesheshet I, the king's mother;
- The mastaba of Tetiankhkem, royal prince, son of Teti and Khuit;
- The mastaba of Kagemni, Vizier of Teti;
- The mastaba of Ankhmahor;
- The mastaba of Mereruka.
During the
In the
Finally, in the Late Period, popular enthusiasm for the gods of Saqqara increased to the point that a temple dedicated to Anubis is built on the funerary complex of Teti whose pyramid continued to dominate the entire valley and would remain a sacred monument to all the devotees who borrowed while along dromos leading to the Serapeum of Saqqara and which skirted the venerable pyramid of Teti.
See also
- Egyptian pyramid construction techniques
- List of Egyptian pyramids
- List of megalithic sites
References
- ^ Verner 2001d, p. 342.
- ^ Hellum 2007, p. 106.
- ^ a b c d Lehner 2008, p. 17.
- James Edward Quibell, Cecil Mallaby Firth, Jean-Philippe Lauer, Jean Sainte Fare Garnot, and Jean Leclant
- ^ This feature can be explained by the fact that an earlier monument may not have been destroyed, preventing an alignment of different parts of the pyramid complex.
- ISBN 0-500-05084-8
- ^ Excavations undertaken by the museum of the University of Pennsylvania, led by David P. Silverman
- ^ Teti pyramid cemetery http://www.saqqara.nl
Sources
- David P. Silverman, Middle Kingdom tombs in the Teti pyramid cemetery, Abusir and Saqqara in the Year 2000, Prague, 2000
- Cecil Mallaby Firth, The Teti pyramid cemeteries, Excavations at Saqqara, Egyptian Department of Antiquities, Cairo, 1926;
- Jean-Philippe Lauer & Jean Leclant, Le temple haut du complexe funéraire du roi Téti, Bulletin d'Études n°51, 1972;
- Sydney Aufrère & Jean-Claude Golvin, L'Égypte restituée, 1997;
- Jean-Pierre Adam & Christiane Ziegler, Les pyramides d'Égypte, 1999;
- Audran Labrousse, L'architecture des pyramides à textes, 2000.
- Hellum, Jennifer (2007). The Pyramids. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-32580-9.
- ISBN 978-0-500-28547-3.
- Verner, Miroslav (2001d). The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-1703-8.