The amazing country of Egypt. The hot climate, wonderful resort towns and unique attractions - the great pyramids - attract millions of tourists from all over the world here every year. At the mere mention of this country, many have an association with the Pyramid of Cheops or the tomb of Tutankhamun.
However, not everyone knows that there are not so popular, but no less valuable and beautiful monuments of antiquity on this mysterious land. Each large pyramid of Egypt can carry the title of "most-most" for any indicator. For example, the Chefren pyramid is the most spectacular and interesting for tourists, the Cheops pyramid is the highest in the country, and the Djoser pyramid is the first of all such structures.
The broken pyramid in Dakhshur is undoubtedly the most mysterious in the country, and the matter is not only in the unusual, non-standard form for such structures. In this article we will try to talk about the secrets of an unusual pyramid.
Who built the amazing building?
It is officially believed that the Broken Pyramid, a photo of which you can see in this article, was erected by order of Pharaoh Snofru, 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 suggest this version. The main one is the stella, which was discovered near the satellite pyramid. The name of Pharaoh Snofru is carved on it. It can be seen today at the Cairo Museum.
Broken pyramid: description (dimensions, corridor, camera)
This pyramid is sometimes called Cut. It differs from similar structures in irregular shape - during construction, when the construction was already half completed, the builders sharply changed the angle of inclination. The broken pyramid of Snorf was erected approximately in 2600 BC. e. She became the first design, which was planned as smooth, and not step.
Today its height is about 100 meters, although after construction it was four meters higher. The broken pyramid, unlike other similar structures, has two entrances. Northern (traditional) is located at an altitude of twelve meters. It leads into an inclined corridor with a length of 79.5 meters and a height of a little more than a meter, descending deep into the ground into two rooms. Of these, another small chamber with a ledge in the form of a roof passes through the shaft.
On the south wall of this room are doors leading into two corridors. One of them leads to a vertical shaft, which is not connected to any corridor or room. Above the wall, at a distance of 12.6 meters from the floor surface, there is another passage, which rises slightly upward. It is very crooked, incorrectly cut down, but this corridor, ending, goes into a high-quality horizontal passage, stretching from east to west. On its eastern side is the entrance to the King’s Chamber.
The west entrance is thirty-three meters high. Why there was a need to create a western entrance has remained a mystery to this day. It is absolutely unique and has no analogues in either direction or degree of preservation. The entrance leads to the west side of the pyramid, where intact casing remains. 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, in this pyramid there was no sarcophagus or even its trace. But the name of Snorf 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 cause the rapid completion of construction. Secondly, the large steepness of the faces could cause the collapse of the structure, and this required the builders to change the angle of inclination from 54 to 43 degrees in order to maintain the foundation.
At an altitude of about fifty meters, the faces of the pyramid break. Scientists believe that the Snofru Broken Pyramid in Dakhshur was rebuilt three times. This is due to the presence of premises of two levels that are not interconnected. The pyramid is oriented on four cardinal points. The laying of blocks of stone is rather 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 a satellite pyramid. They are surrounded by a stone wall two meters thick. A stone fence connects the funerary temple with an unmade long road. It is located 704 meters from the pyramid, therefore it is called the Meeting.
In addition, traces of another road that goes from the temple deep into the valley are found here. Such a unique structure of the burial complex is not found anywhere else in Egypt.
Retained cladding
The broken pyramid to this day has preserved the cladding on almost the entire surface of the structure. At all major monuments in the country, the exterior decoration was removed long ago and used by local residents as building material. Tourists have a unique opportunity to see the pyramid with the cladding.
You can understand how the pyramids looked in antiquity only in Dakhshur. Surprisingly, the Broken Pyramid is the only one with which the lining was not removed. Egyptologists have not yet found any reasonable explanation.
Satellite pyramid
To the south of the Broken 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 the east bank of the Nile. It has not been facing for a long time, therefore, it is rapidly destroyed by erosion. The entrance to the satellite pyramid is located on the north side at a height of just over a meter above the surface of the earth. It starts with a tunnel that runs at an angle 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.
Indoor facilities
The layout of the premises of this pyramid resembles that of the Cheops pyramid. In a chamber with a length of only 1.6 m, scientists discovered a sarcophagus, but probably the structure was not used as a tomb. This is the only satellite pyramid in Egypt of such an impressive size and with such a complex camera arrangement.
Researchers initially assumed that this pyramid became the tomb of Queen Hetepherez. However, later this version was rejected, since no traces of burials were found. Most likely, the pyramid was of cult significance (making sacrifices, performing rituals). This hypothesis is also confirmed by the fact that not far from the eastern side was found an altar from alabaster with two five-meter stella on both sides.
Upper temple
On the eastern side of the Broken Pyramid are the remains of a very small temple. Scientists have discovered two destroyed limestone stella nine meters high with the name Snofru incised on them. This temple has never been used as a tomb. Archaeologists have found that the temple was repeatedly reconstructed.
Tourists reviews
Many travelers advise everyone who is planning to visit hospitable and sunny Egypt to remember that this is not only a country of bright and hot sun, magnificent resorts and a fun carefree pastime. Egypt is a country with a rich history, unique ancient monuments and, of course, the famous pyramids, among which the Broken Pyramid occupies a special place. Seeing her once, you will get a lot of vivid impressions, take amazing photos and, we are sure, want to return to these places more than once.