Meidum ‘Collapsed’ Pyramid Of Great Builder Pharaoh Snefru
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Pharaoh Snefru (Sneferu) was the founder of the 4th dynasty during the Old Kingdom.
Snefru is considered the greatest builder in Egyptian history, who reigned from around 2613 BC to 2589 BC, according to Manetho, an Egyptian priest, living in the third century BC.
He built at least three pyramids that survive to this day and is also contributed with several innovations regarding design and construction of pyramids in ancient Egypt.
Snefru was born and grew up in the royal palace in Memphis, not far from modern city of Cairo. His father was King Huni, who was the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty and his mother was a royal princess, Meresankh. It is believed she was Huni's sister.
Pharaohs were often wed to their sisters and it was nothing unusual in this ancient Egyptian tradition.
Snefru was the father of Khufu (2589-2566 BC), the 4th Dynasty Pharaoh who ruled during the first half of the Old Kingdom period. Khufu is widely accepted as the ruler who commissioned the Great
Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
These pyramids are the Red Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid, and the third one, Meidum Pyramid (also known as the ‘Collapsed' Pyramid. Inside the Bent Pyramid, an inscription with Snefru's name and a stela discovered by archaeologists alongside the neighboring, subsidiary pyramid shows Snofru himself.)
Despite the fact that a last ruler of the Dynasty III, pharaoh Huni and father of Snefru, erected the Meidum Pyramid, the structure was definitely completed by Snefru, most probably after his father’s death.
A Middle Kingdom papyrus recorded:
"The Majesty of King Huni died, and the Majesty of King Snofru was raised up as a benevolent King in this entire land."
The Meidum Pyramid can be found approximately 62 miles (100 km) south of modern Cairo 30 miles (48 km) south of Memphis.
It was 93m high and built with a 114m long square base. Its entrance, built about 30m above ground level, in the pyramid’s northern face, leads to a corridor descending for 54 meters. In its final form the structure stood about 311ft (95m) high.
The structure seems to have been planned to be a stepped pyramid, and its central square had to form both the nucleus and peak of the pyramid. Around it the builders added a succession of six layers around it, of which each was sloping at an angle of 75 degrees towards the structure's core. All layers were covered with white limestone, however, the last layer, therefore, rested not on solid rock but rather on three layers of limestone blocks and sand.
The pyramid became unstable. Its heavy outer layers were completely ruined in antiquity. It is not exactly known when in antiquity this collapse happened. It is believed that the structure at least partially collapsed by the time of the New Kingdom, around 1550 BC.
See also:
Sobek - Enigmatic Crocodile God of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptian Capital Tell El-Amarna Mapped Through Satellite Imagery System
Interesting Ancient Civilizations
What is important is, this pyramid-like structure seems never to have been completed.
For example, the mortuary temple, located under the rubble at the base of the pyramid, in fact, never was finished. Archaeologists have discovered that the temple’s two steles without inscriptions and the burial chamber inside the pyramid itself, has never been completed. Also wooden supports – usually removed after construction - have been found still in place.
Today, the Meidum 'Collapsed' Pyramid hardly resembles a pyramid.
Written by – A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesMore From Ancient Pages
-
Madagascar Cave Art Hints At Ancient Connections Between Africa And Asia
Featured Stories | Dec 18, 2023
-
Early Humans Used Fire To Make Stone Tool – New Study
Archaeology | Oct 16, 2020
-
Mictlan – Underworld Realm Of The Dead In Ancient Aztec Beliefs
Aztec Mythology | Jul 2, 2018
-
Is The Legendary Tsuchinoko Real?
Featured Stories | Aug 21, 2019
-
Incredible Trove Of 100,000 Ancient Coins Tied Together In Bundles Uncovered In Japan
Archaeology | Nov 13, 2023
-
Walls Of Lugo: Finest Example Of Late Roman Fortifications – Stands The Test Of Time
Featured Stories | Sep 22, 2022
-
Facial Reconstruction Of Ancient Inhabitants Of Sagalassos Make Them Almost Real
Archaeology | May 31, 2019
-
Unique Viking Age Runestone With A Cross And Animal Biting Its Own Tail Discovered By Farmer In Sweden
Archaeology | Sep 20, 2020
-
People Of India In Focus: Where Did They Come From?
Civilizations | May 11, 2017
-
Ancient Intercontinental Underground Tunnels Built By Survivors Of A Great Catastrophe And The Snake God Connection
Featured Stories | Jul 4, 2018
-
Strange 1,000-Year-Old Artifact Melted Out Of The Ice Identified With Help Of Photo!
Archaeology | Jan 31, 2023
-
Humans May Be The Result Of An Evolution ‘Accident’- Scientists Say
Evolution | Sep 8, 2023
-
Humans Started Wearing Clothes 100,000 To 500,000 Years Ago
Ancient History Facts | Mar 17, 2018
-
Killer-Of-Enemies – Mysterious Non-Human Teacher And Hero Of The Apache Indians
Featured Stories | Nov 16, 2020
-
Children’s Toys Among Roman-Era Artifacts Unearthed At Ancient City Of Beçin Turkey
Artifacts | Oct 14, 2020
-
Is A Viking Settlement And An Even Older Church Hidden Under St. Clement’s Church In Norway?
Archaeology | Apr 13, 2017
-
Mysterious Fossilized Antarctic Forest May Offer Evidence Of The Great Flood – But Some Facts Speak Against This Theory
Archaeology | Dec 27, 2017
-
The Eagle And The Condor Prophecy: A 2,000-Year-Old Message For The Future
Featured Stories | Apr 21, 2017
-
Ceibal Is The Oldest Known Ceremonial Site Of The Maya Civilization
Ancient History Facts | Oct 1, 2016
-
Discovery Of Chromosomes Offers Evidence Of Ancient Humans Living In South America Over 18,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | Aug 21, 2022