The Bent Pyramid is a unique monument of Ancient Egypt. Bent Pyramid - a unique monument of ancient Egypt Bent Pyramid of Sneferu

Is Dahshur Necropolis of the Egyptian pharaohs. The king among all the builders of the pyramids was Pharaoh Snefru, who founded the IV dynasty 4.5 thousand years ago. This was a period of real boom in the construction of the pyramids. Pharaoh Snefru built not one, but three huge pyramids. For this, it was necessary to extract and bring about 100 thousand cubic meters of stone. Two of the three pyramids of Sneferu are located in Dahshur. The second pyramid of Sneferu is called "Broken" pyramid. The stability of a pyramid depends on the angle of inclination of its faces. It seems that there were some problems with this pyramid - the slopes of the lower part turned out to be too steep and began to collapse. I had to change the angle for greater stability. This attempt was successful - the "broken" pyramid has been standing here for several millennia. What can not be said about the pyramid located nearby - this is the last pyramid built in ancient Egypt. She became a real nightmare for the pharaohs.

Broken pyramid and "failed" pyramid

It was assumed that another pyramid would become the tomb of Sneferu - this is the first "real" pyramid in the world. Due to the reddish tint of the stones, it received its modern name - " Red" Pyramid of Sneferu(or "Pink" pyramid). The height of the pyramid is about 106 meters, this pyramid is much higher than its predecessors. It is open to tourists and definitely worth a visit. The development of the Egyptian pyramids reached its peak - now the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt were ready. They completed the experiments - the angles were accurate, it was possible to start building a new wonder of the world.

Red and Bent Pyramids of Snefru - video

Dahshur - how to get there

Dahshur is located 6 kilometers from Saqqara. As a rule, these two sights of Egypt are combined into one excursion route. From Saqqara to Dahshur can be reached by horse or camel.

Red and Bent Pyramids of Snefru on the map

- DASHUR -

Bent Pyramid of Sneferu

Dashur. Bent Pyramid of Sneferu. Senefru, Se-nefer-ru - that's what the Ancient Egyptians called her. That is how we know her. But the history of her name (which in ancient Egyptian means "double harmony") and her original purpose is shrouded in mystery for millennia. In the meantime, the most mysterious and impregnable pyramid of Egypt pleases the eye with its elegant and original forms, towering among yellow sands Dashura, sometimes in the bright radiance of the Sun, sometimes under the shadow of clouds, sometimes in the morning mist, which is inherent in Egypt. It is closed to the public due to its complex and dangerous interior, completely unsuitable for a person to stay in it. The expedition has been preparing for a year. During this time, we have raised all the material available on the Internet. But, unfortunately, there was practically no photographic material. Building on the blueprints of the early explorers of the Bent Pyramid (John Perring, Ahmed Fahri and Hassan Mustafa), we have set ourselves the task of showing you what has been hidden behind the iron door of the Northern Descending Corridor until now.

• 1839 John Perring explores the interior of the Pyramid for the first time, penetrating the upper connecting tunnel and the southern chamber.
• 1882 British archaeologist Flinders Petrie explores the northern descending corridor of the Pyramid.
• 1946-1949 Abdel-Salam Hussein spends four seasons in the Pyramid (until his death), but his records are lost.
• 1951-1955 Ahmed Fakhri works in Pyramid for 4 seasons a year. His notes concern mainly its external architecture.
• 1962 Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi publish detailed description and drawings appearance and the interior of the Pyramid, as one of the results of his 20-year work on the study of the pyramids of Memphis.
• 1997 Enryu Baiyuk publishes color photographs taken inside the Bent Pyramid for the first time on the website "Guardians Dahshur".
  
  
• 2001 Charles Rigano visits the Bent Pyramid, as described in his article in The Ostracon magazine.

Our group has been visiting Dashur since 2010. In 2011, for the first time, I managed to visit the companion of the Bent Pyramid and make a detailed photo report on its interior.

• 2012 The Bent Pyramid of Snefru opens its doors to our filming and research team.

The composition of the expedition and the administration of the ISIDA Project thank the historian Joseph Avian and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities for the opportunity to visit the Bent Pyramid.

Welcome to the Bent Pyramid of Snefru...

The amazing country of Egypt. hot climate, great resort towns and unique sights - the great pyramids - annually attract millions of tourists from all over the world. At the mere mention of this country, many have an association with the pyramid of Cheops or

However, not everyone knows what is on this mysterious land that is not so popular, but no less valuable and beautiful monuments antiquities. Each big can bear the title of "most-most" for any indicator. For example, the pyramid of Khafre is the most spectacular and interesting for tourists, the pyramid of Cheops is the highest in the country, and the pyramid of Djoser is the very first of all such structures.

The broken pyramid in Dahshur is undeniably the most mysterious in the country, and not only in an unusual, non-standard form for such structures. In this article we will try to tell about the secrets of an unusual pyramid.

Who built this amazing building?

It is officially believed that the Bent Pyramid, the photo of which you can see in this article, was erected by order of Pharaoh Sneferu, who was the first ruler of the IV dynasty of the pharaohs of Egypt. This version is not sufficiently confirmed, and among scientists there is no unity in its assessment. Only a few facts point to this version. The main one is the stele, which was found near the satellite pyramid. The name of Pharaoh Sneferu is carved on it. It can be seen today in the Cairo Museum.

Bent pyramid: description (dimensions, corridor, chamber)

This pyramid is sometimes called the Cut Pyramid. It differs from similar structures in its irregular shape - during construction, when the structure was already half completed, the builders sharply changed the angle of inclination. The broken pyramid of Snorfu was built approximately in 2600 BC. e. She was the first structure to be planned as a flat structure rather than a stepped one.

Today its height is about 100 meters, although after the completion of construction it was four meters higher. The broken pyramid, unlike other similar structures, has two entrances. Northern (traditional) is located at a height of twelve meters. It leads into a sloping corridor 79.5 meters long and just over a meter high, descending deep underground into two rooms. From them, through the shaft, there is a passage into another small chamber, which has a ledge in the form of a roof.

In the south wall of this room are doors leading to two corridors. One of them leads to a vertical shaft that is not connected to any corridor or room. Higher in the wall, at a distance of 12.6 meters from the floor surface, there is another passage that rises slightly upward. It is very crooked, incorrectly carved, but this corridor, ending, goes into a high-quality horizontal passage, stretching from east to west. The entrance to the King's Chamber is hidden on its eastern side.

The western entrance is at a height of thirty-three meters. Why it became necessary to create a western entrance has remained a mystery to this day. It is absolutely unique and has no analogues either in direction or in the degree of preservation. The entrance leads to the western side of the pyramid, where the casing remains intact. It was closed with a locking rotary plate, which was removed and transferred to the Egyptian Museum in the 50s of the last century.

Surprisingly, no sarcophagus or even a trace of it was found in this pyramid. But Snorfu's name was inscribed in two places in the cell with red paint. The broken pyramid in Egypt, according to researchers, could get such an unusual shape for two reasons. Firstly, the sudden death of the pharaoh could be the reason for the rapid completion of construction. Secondly, the large steepness of the edges could cause the structure to collapse, and this required the builders to change the angle of inclination from 54 to 43 degrees in order to preserve the foundation.

At a height of about fifty meters, the faces of the pyramid break. Scientists believe that the Bent Pyramid of Snefru in Dahshur was rebuilt three times. This is due to the presence of premises of two levels, which are not interconnected. The pyramid is oriented to the four cardinal directions. The laying of stone blocks is quite primitive, and the blocks themselves are roughly processed. There is another feature of this structure: red lines appear on the walls and floor of the pyramid, the nature of which is unknown.

burial complex

It consists of the main pyramid of the pharaoh, as well as the satellite pyramid. They are surrounded by a stone wall two meters thick. A stone fence connects the burial temple with an artificial long road. It is located 704 meters from the pyramid, so it was called the Meeter.

In addition, traces of another road were found here, which goes from the temple deep into the valley. Such a unique arrangement of the burial complex is not found anywhere else in Egypt.

Saved cladding

The broken pyramid has retained its lining on almost the entire surface of the structure to this day. All major monuments in the country had their exterior trim removed long ago and reused. local residents as a building material. Tourists have a unique opportunity to see the pyramid with lining.

To understand what the pyramids looked like in antiquity is possible only in Dahshur. Surprisingly, the Bent Pyramid is the only one from which the cladding has not been removed. Egyptologists have not yet found any reasonable explanation.

satellite pyramid

To the south of the Bent Pyramid at a distance of fifty-five meters is a small satellite pyramid. There is a version that it was built for the Ka (soul) of the pharaoh. Initially, its height was 26 meters, now it is 23 meters, the length of the sides is 52.8 meters.

Scientists have found that the limestone for this pyramid was delivered from the southern suburbs of Cairo, which was located on east coast Nile. It has not had a lining for a long time, so erosion is rapidly destroying it. The entrance to the satellite pyramid is located on the north side at a height of just over a meter above the ground. It starts with a tunnel that goes at an inclination of 34°. Its length is 11.60 m. Then follows a horizontal corridor. Parallel to it is a tunnel with stone blocks. There is a small void at the end of this passage.

Interior spaces

The location of the premises of this pyramid resembles the location in the pyramid of Cheops. In the chamber, which is only 1.6 m long, scientists found a sarcophagus, but the structure was probably not used as a tomb. This is the only satellite pyramid in Egypt of such an impressive size and with such a complex camera system.

Initially, researchers assumed that this pyramid became the tomb of Queen Hetepheres. However, this version was later rejected, since no traces of burials were found. Most likely the pyramid cult value(sacrifices, rituals). This hypothesis is also confirmed by the fact that an altar made of alabaster with two five-meter steles on both sides was found not far from the eastern side.

upper temple

At the eastern side of the Bent Pyramid are the remains of a very small temple. Scientists have discovered two ruined limestone stelae nine meters high with the name Sneferu engraved on them. This temple has never been used as a tomb. Archaeologists have found that the temple has been reconstructed many times.

| Bent pyramid - a unique monument of ancient Egypt

Bent pyramid - a unique monument of ancient Egypt

The broken pyramid is surrounded by an aura of mystery. It is considered the first pyramid on earth, its shape, purpose and internal structure raise many questions among scientists, and the location of the burial complex makes it truly unique.

This majestic building, located in the Necropolis of Dashur, near Cairo, has a height of 101.1 meters, and is so named because of its irregular shape and the angle of the faces. It has two entrances - on the northern and western sides, and the purpose of the second entrance remains a mystery to this day. Despite its antiquity, the pyramid is well preserved. Part of the cladding and the locking plate remained in place, which is now in the museum.

The broken pyramid has a satellite pyramid, which also adds to its uniqueness. They are surrounded by a stone two-meter wall.

Presumably, the Bent Pyramid was built during the reign of Pharaoh Sneferu and was originally called the Southern Radiant. Scientists believe that the pharaoh was buried not in it, but in the Northern Pink Pyramid, which was built simultaneously with the Bent Pyramid.

Some historians have come to the conclusion that it was rebuilt three times - either due to the early death of the pharaoh, or because of the instability of the original structure. Little is known about her, since no documents shedding light on her purpose have survived to our time.

It is believed that it is the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu that is the progenitor of all pyramids. She was the first of her kind and the era of the construction of the Great Pyramids began with her, which, however, quickly ended.

The presence of a satellite pyramid, from which two roads lead to the temple, suggests that this building also had a religious purpose.

Attractions near the Bent Pyramid

Of course, the main significant building near the Bent Pyramid is the Pink Pyramid. Another visited place is the Dark Pyramid, which is located in a dilapidated complex. Curious travelers will certainly be interested in visiting as more complexes- in Saqqara, Abusir, Meidum and in Giza, where the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx are located. It will not be superfluous to visit the ruins ancient city Memphis - excavations are still underway there.

Start visiting interesting places stands from Cairo. Be sure to visit the mausoleums and mosques of the capital of Egypt, as well as National Museum Antiquities, where exhibits from the times of the ancient Egyptian civilization are presented.

How to get to the Bent Pyramid

To see this attraction and its surroundings, it is most convenient to purchase a two-day ticket to Dahshur at a travel agency - one day may not be enough to see all the sights and walk around Cairo.

You can also go on your own - first by bus to Saqqara, then by taxi to Dahshur. There is also an option to order a taxi for the whole trip or rent a car.

The Bent Pyramid is one of those places worth spending time visiting while traveling in Egypt. Being near this monument, as if you are immersed in history, you feel its greatness, and time seems to cease to exist. The construction of the Bent Pyramid was the impetus for the development of the most important stage in the history of Ancient Egypt, called the era of the Great Pyramids.

In all Egyptian pyramids one entrance, one tunnel system and one main burial chamber. There are only two in the Bent Pyramid.

Of course, more than a dozen burial chambers and several entrances can be found in the step pyramid of Djoser, but in this case it is clear that one burial chamber was intended for the pharaoh, and the rest for members of his family.

Inside the Bent Pyramid are two independent tunnel systems and two large burial chambers. One entrance is located on the western surface of the building, and the second on the northern side.

There are no reasonable theories about this. It is believed that the pharaoh did not like the first burial chamber, and he ordered a second one. This justification “the pharaoh did not like it” is very common in Egyptology. It is always used when there is nothing more to say.

The most reasonable theory says that the builders provided false premises from the robbers. If so, then it clearly didn't work. At the time of the “first transitional period”, all the tombs of the Old Kingdom were plundered, and the Bent Pyramid is no exception.

Naturally, information about the secrets of burials is always transmitted orally from the builders to their descendants. There are ways to completely hide it, as the Chinese did. When it was closed - the first emperor of China, all the workers were simply executed. Fortunately, the Egyptians were not fond of such excesses.

At the time of the discovery of the tomb by archaeologists from Europe, both systems of tunnels and chambers were already empty.

It turned out that someone had made a passage connecting these two tunnel systems. This passage was clearly not conceived by the builders of the monument, it looks very “handicraft”. It was impossible to break through it so accurately without knowing the exact location of both tunnel systems. That is, someone first opened both entrances, and only then cut through this passage. Who and why it was needed is another mystery.

Riddle - purpose

There are no traces of sarcophagi inside, which is very unusual for Egypt. It was supposed to bury someone in the pyramids, but obviously no one was buried in this monument.

Riddle - Satellite Pyramid

The largest of the satellite pyramids is located here. It is 26 meters high and 53 meters long at the base. Many pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom could not afford such large tombs.

At first, archaeologists assumed that Sneferu's wife, Queen Hetepheres, should have been buried here. Her real tomb was found at Giza, and there is no sign of a burial at all in this small pyramid. Now it is difficult to say whether her mummy ever lay here or not.

It is believed that the satellite pyramid played the role of the residence of one of the parts of the pharaoh's soul - Ka. The Egyptians had very complex ideas about the soul, it consisted of 9 parts. Ka is one of the parts that remained on earth.

This version is very doubtful, since there is no clear evidence for it. Only the alabaster altar indirectly confirms this hypothesis.