Broken pyramid in Dahshur (Egypt): description, measurements, photo

Awesome country Egypt. The hot climate, wonderful resort towns and unique attractions - the great pyramids - attract millions of tourists from all over the world every year. At one mention of this country, many people have an association with the pyramid of Cheops or the tomb of Tutankhamun.

However, not everyone knows that there are on this mysterious land not so popular, but from this no less valuable and beautiful monuments of antiquity. Each large pyramid of Egypt can be called the "most-most" by some indicator. For example, the pyramid of Chephren 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 first of all such structures.

The broken pyramid in Dakhshur is undoubtedly the most mysterious in the country, and it's not just an unusual, non-standard form for such structures. In this article, we will try to talk about the mysteries of the unusual pyramid.

Who built the amazing structure?

Officially it is believed that the Pyramid, the photo of which you can see in this article, was built by order of Pharaoh Snofru, who was the first ruler of the IV dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs. This version is not sufficiently confirmed, and among scholars there is no unity in its assessment. Only a few facts lead to this version. The main one is a stella, which is found near the satellite pyramid. It is carved the name of Pharaoh Snofru. It can be seen today in the Cairo Museum.

Broken pyramid: description (dimensions, corridor, camera)

This pyramid is sometimes called Cut. It differs from similar structures in the wrong form - during construction, when the construction was already half completed, the builders sharply changed the angle of inclination. The broken pyramid Snorfu was erected tentatively in 2600 BC. E. It was the first design that was planned as smooth, not stepped.

Today its height is about 100 meters, although after the construction was completed it was four meters higher. The broken pyramid, in contrast to other similar structures, has two entrances. The northern (traditional) is located at an altitude of twelve meters. He leads to an inclined corridor 79.5 meters long and a little more than a meter high, descending deeply into the ground into two rooms. From them through the shaft goes the passage to another small chamber, which has a protrusion in the form of a roof.

In the south wall of this room there are doors leading to two corridors. One of them leads to a vertical shaft that 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, rising slightly upward. It is very curve, incorrectly cut down, but this corridor, ending in a qualitative horizontal passage, stretching from east to west. On its eastern side is the entrance to the King's Chamber.

The western entrance is at an altitude of thirty-three meters. Why there was a need to create a western entrance, until our days remained a mystery. It is absolutely unique and has no analogues either in the direction or in the degree of safety. The entrance leads to the western side of the pyramid, where the undamaged skin remained. It was closed with a shut-off rotary plate, which was removed and in the 50s of the last century it was transferred to the Egyptian Museum.

Surprisingly, in this pyramid there was not found a sarcophagus or even its trace. But the name Snorfu was inscribed in two places in the cell with red paint. The broken pyramid in Egypt, according to researchers, could get this unusual shape for two reasons. First, the sudden death of the pharaoh could be the reason for the rapid completion of construction. Secondly, the great steepness of the facets could cause the collapse of the structure, and this required builders to change the angle of inclination from 54 to 43 degrees to save the ground.

At an altitude of about fifty meters the edges of the pyramid break. Scientists believe that the Slonfru Broken Pyramid in Dahshur was rebuilt three times. This is due to the presence of two levels of premises, which are not connected with each other. The pyramid is oriented to the four directions of the world. The laying of blocks of stone is pretty primitive, and the blocks themselves are treated roughly. There is another feature of this structure: on the walls and the floor of the pyramid appear red lines, the nature of which is unknown.

Funerary complex

It consists of the main pyramid of the pharaoh, as well as the pyramid-satellite. They are surrounded by a stone wall two meters thick. A stone fence connects the funerary church with a long bulk road. It is located 704 meters from the pyramid, so it was called the Meetman.

In addition, there are traces of one more road that goes from the temple deep into the valley. Such a unique device of the burial complex is not found anywhere else in Egypt.

Preserved lining

The broken pyramid has preserved its cladding almost to the whole surface of the structure. At all large monuments in the country, exterior decoration was removed long ago and used by local residents as a building material. Tourists have a unique opportunity to see the pyramid with the cladding.

To understand how the pyramids looked in antiquity, it is possible only in Dahshur. It's amazing that the Pyramid is the only pyramid with which the lining was not removed. Egyptologists have not found any reasonable explanations.

Pyramid-satellite

To the south of the Pyramid at a distance of fifty-five meters is a small pyramid-satellite. There is a version that it was built for 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 out that limestone for this pyramid was delivered from the southern suburb of Cairo, which was located on the eastern bank of the Nile. It has long been uncovered, so it rapidly erodes erosion. The entrance to the pyramid-satellite is 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. In parallel, there is a tunnel with stone blocks. At the end of this passage there is a small emptiness.

Indoor facilities

The location of the premises of this pyramid resembles the location in the pyramid of Cheops. In a cell having 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 pyramid-satellite in Egypt of such impressive dimensions and with such a complex camera arrangement system.

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

The Upper Temple

On the eastern side of the Pyramid is the remains of a very small temple. Scientists have discovered two ruined limestone stellas nine meters high with Snofru, inscribed on them. This temple was never used as a tomb. Archaeologists have found out that the church was repeatedly reconstructed.

Reviews of tourists

Many travelers advise all who are going to visit hospitable and sunny Egypt, remember that this is not only a country of bright and hot sun, magnificent resorts and a fun and carefree pastime. Egypt - a country with a rich history, unique ancient monuments and, of course, the famous pyramids, among which the special place is occupied by the broken Pyramid. Having seen it once, you will get a lot of vivid impressions, make stunning photos and, we are sure, will want to return to these places more than once.