Sneferu Bent Pyramid - Giza

Overview

The Rhombus Pyramid (also Bent Pyramid) is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located in the Dakhshur necropolis, about 40 km south of Cairo, and was built by the Pharaoh of the ancient kingdom of Snefru (c. 2600 BC). A unique example of the early development of pyramid construction is the second pyramid built by Snefrou.

The lower part of the pyramid was built at an angle of 54 degrees, but the upper part continued at an angle of 43 degrees, giving the pyramid this "curved" appearance.

Archaeologists today believe that the rhombus pyramid is a transition from a stepped pyramid to a flat pyramid. It has been suggested that due to the large slope of the sides with which construction began (54 degrees), the building showed signs of instability, forcing builders to continue with a smaller slope to prevent it from collapsing. This theory started from the fact that the pyramid built by Snefrou immediately after, started from the beginning with the smallest inclination of 43 degrees. This theory contradicts the theory that the change in inclination chooses to shorten the completion of the pyramid, as Snefru was dying. In 1974, Kurt Mendelssohn suggested that the change of slope was a precautionary measure due to the collapse while the Pyramid of Snefru was being built in Maidum.

The pyramid is also unique among the approximately 90 pyramids found in Egypt, for the fact that the original polished limestone exterior has been preserved for the most part.

Internal passages

The Curved Pyramid has two entrances, one relatively low on the north side, where a wooden staircase has been constructed for the convenience of tourists, and a second entrance high on the west side of the pyramid. Each entrance leads to a high-ceilinged chamber with stepped stone slabs. The north entrance leads to a chamber that is below ground level, while the west to a chamber located inside the pyramid. A hole in the roof of the north chamber (now accessible by a wooden staircase 15 meters high) leads through a passage to the passage of the west entrance.

The western passage is blocked by two stone blocks that have not been placed vertically as in other pyramids, but with a slope of 45 degrees. One of them is placed from the time of the construction of the pyramid, and a hole has been drilled in it, while the other remains supported on an ancient cedar beam. The passage from the north chamber mentioned above, meets the western passage between these two gates which are blocked by boulders.

Temple of the Pyramid

On the west side of the pyramid are the ruins of the pyramid temple. Like the temple of the pyramid of Maidum, behind the temple there are two columns which today are left only as one-piece stones, while there are also no inscriptions in the area. The remains of the temple are fragmentary, but we assume that it was similar to the temple of the pyramid of Maidum.

The pyramid of the queen

On the south side of the pyramid there is a much smaller pyramid, commonly known as the Queen Pyramid, but more precisely as an auxiliary or "satellite" pyramid. Unlike other auxiliary pyramids, for example the Great Pyramid of Giza, which have a downhill passage leading to the burial chamber, the downhill passage of this pyramid leads to a horizontal passage, followed by an uphill passage which can was used to store stone blocks to seal the passage. The chamber at the end of this uphill passage is too small to have been used for human burial, which supports the hypothesis that these auxiliary pyramids were intended to guard the king's internal organs, thus making them analogous to the canopies of later seasons.

Corridor and Temple of the Valley

The Curved Pyramid was surrounded by a precinct, from the north-west side of which a corridor started to the Temple of the Valley (from which there is a possibility that another corridor continued to the river bank). It is believed that this was the first pyramid with a Temple in the Valley, an element that would become permanent for the next pyramids. Here the parts of the Temple were the corridor leading to the entrance, in which on both sides there were storage rooms, open enclosure, and the inner sanctuary, with ten square columns, in which there were statues of Senefros, builder of the pyramid and the complex. Unlike most temples of later times, this one was decorated with scenes depicting the prefectures of Egypt