Headless pyramid in Egypt

amazed

Thursday June 5, 2008
Headless pyramid attributed to early Egyptian ruler
By Jonathan Wright

SAKKARA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's chief archaeologist said on Thursday he had identified a badly eroded pyramid south of Cairo as that of the Fifth Dynasty Pharaoh Menkauhor, who ruled Egypt in the 24th century BC.

Zahi Hawas, Egypt's chief archaeologist and head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, walks at a pyramid site in Sakara, Giza province, June 5, 2008. Hawas said on Thursday he had identified a badly eroded pyramid south of Cairo as that of the Fifth Dynasty Pharaoh Menkauhor, who ruled Egypt in the 24th century BC. (REUTERS/Amr Dalsh)

The identification by Zahi Hawas, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, could end the long controversy over the structure known as the Headless Pyramid, first described by the German archaeologist Lepsius in the 19th century.

Some archaeologists have associated the pyramid with the Tenth Dynasty Pharaoh Merykare, who ruled about 400 years later, and others with the Twelfth Dynasty, which ruled Egypt between 1991 and 1786 BC during the period known as the Middle Kingdom.

But Hawas, whose teams have excavated the lower levels of the pyramid more thoroughly than any previous expeditions, said he was now convinced that the pyramid was that of Menkauhor, who is known from inscriptions to have built one somewhere.

"Now we are sure that this pyramid is of a style of a pyramid of Dynasty V and belongs to a king called Menkauhor," Hawas told reporters during a tour of the site.

The archaeologists did not find inscriptions with the name of the pharaoh, so Hawas based his attribution on architectural features, coupled with the fact that Menkauhor is the only Fifth Dynasty ruler whose pyramid has not been identified.

He pointed out large red granite blocks at the entrance to the burial chamber and said these were characteristic of pyramids of that period, of which there are many examples.

NO LABYRINTHINE PASSAGES

He also said that on close examination the plain lid of the sarcophagus was made of a material -- grey schist -- which was closely associated with the Old Kingdom.

"The material of this sarcophagus was never used in the Middle Kingdom," he added.
Another deciding factor was the ground plan of the substructure, which lacks the labyrinthine pattern of passages which led to the burial chambers of Middle Kingdom pyramids.

"The Middle Kingdom pyramids ... have complicated corridors until you reach the burial chamber. Without discovering any inscription I tell you this is Old Kingdom. The substructure is exactly Dynasty V," Hawas said.

The top part of the pyramid disappeared many years ago, probably removed by villagers to build houses in the flood plain of the Nile, which lies about 100 metres away.

When Hawas's team started work at the site about 18 months ago, they had to remove about 8 metres of sand to reach the relatively well preserved lower levels.

In the process they stumbled upon what Hawas said was a processional way, built in the Ptolemaic period, along which the high priest of the Apis bull cult would lead the funeral of each sacred bull towards the Serapeum, where the mummified animals were buried underground in vast stone sarcophaguses.

A stone found nearby bears the name of Ptolemy V, a pharaoh of Greek origin who ruled Egypt between 205 and 180 BC.



siyesly.. ni la tempat yg aku betul2 nak pegi dan tengok...  kakak aku dah masuk dalam pyramid tu.. aku pun nak merasa gak...  aku pergi backpacking kat turkey.. jauh nak gi egypt... lagi pun ongkosnya tinggi..dong... dgn gaji janitor aku ni.. mmg kena save dulu ler jawabnya..     tapi aku bajet next year.. egypt la tempat aku nak gi holiday.!!

amazed

Piramid hilang ditemui semula selepas 166 tahun


PARA pekerja arkeologi membersihkan tapak piramid
berusia lebih 4,000 tahun di Sakara, Giza baru-baru ini.

SAQQARA - Kerajaan Mesir semalam mendedahkan penemuan satu piramid berusia 4,000 tahun yang dijumpai semula selepas ia hilang di Saqqara.

Ketua antikuiti Mesir, Zahi Hawass berkata, piramid itu dipercayai dibina oleh Raja Menkauhor yang merupakan salah seorang firaun yang hanya memerintah Mesir selama lapan tahun.

Pada 1842 seorang ahli arkeologi Jerman, Karl Richard Lepsius merekodkan piramid itu sebagai salah satu penemuannya di Saqqara.

Beliau melabelkan piramid itu sebagai nombor 29 dan menamakannya sebagai "piramid tidak berkepala" kerana bahagian binaan itu telah hilang.

Bagaimanapun, ribut pasir mengakibatkan piramid itu tertimbus dan sejak itu tiada seorangpun ahli arkeologi yang berjaya mengesan tempat persemadian Menkauhor.

Zahi juga mengumumkan penemuan kedua pasukan berkenaan iaitu satu jalan yang digunakan oleh paderi besar ketika sesuatu perayaan.

Hanya paderi itu sahaja yang dibenarkan melalui jalan berkenaan sambil membawa kepala lembu yang diawet. - AP

[ Last edited by  amazed at 6-6-2008 09:22 AM ]

forfavor

ko nk g egypt?

jom...aku pon plan nk g sane.

z3t_ex

wah..bole hilang

amazed

Originally posted by forfavor at 6-6-2008 09:47 PM
ko nk g egypt?

jom...aku pon plan nk g sane.

betol ke??

mmg aku nak gi... aku bajet  next year...  ko nak gi tak? boleh kita buat back packing!!!