Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Pyramid of Neferirkare
The pyramid of Neferirkare (Egyptian: Bꜣ Nfr-ỉr-kꜣ-rꜥ, lit. 'The ba of Neferirkare') is the funerary monument built for the Egyptian pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th century BC. It is the tallest, highest-situated structure in the Abusir necropolis – located between Giza and Saqqara – over which it still towers. The Fifth Dynasty marked the end of the great pyramid constructions that had prevailed during the Fourth Dynasty. Pyramids of the era were smaller and the complexes followed a standardized template, though this coincided with the proliferation of intricate relief decoration.
Neferirkare's main pyramid deviated from contemporary convention. It was originally built as a step pyramid, a design that had been antiquated since the Third Dynasty in the 26th or 27th century BC. This was then encased in a second step pyramid with alterations introduced to convert it into a true pyramid; However, the king's death left this work to be completed by his successors. The work was done in haste using cheaper building material. The pyramid had a base length of 105 metres (344 ft; 200 cu) which converged towards the apex at ~54° indicating that in a completed state it may have reached ~72 m (236 ft; 137 cu) in height. In its incomplete state, it has similar proportions to the pyramid of Menkaure on the Giza plateau.
Because of the circumstances, Neferirkare's monument lacked several basic elements of a pyramid complex: a valley temple, a causeway, and a cult pyramid. The valley temple and causeway were under construction when Neferirkare died, but these were co-opted by Nyuserre for his own complex. These were replaced by a small settlement of mudbrick houses south of the monument from where cult priests could conduct their daily activities, instead of the usual pyramid town that was typically built near the valley temple. The discovery of the Abusir papyri in the 1890s is credited to this, as the papyrus archives were normally contained in the town where the siting near the Nile river would have ensured their destruction.
The pyramid complex eventually became part of a greater family cemetery. The monuments to Neferirkare's consort, Khentkaus II; and his sons, Neferefre and Nyuserre, are found in the surrounding area. Though their construction began under different rulers, all of these monuments were completed during the reign of Nyuserre.
The pyramid of Neferirkare is situated on the necropolis at Abusir, between Saqqara and the Giza Plateau. Abusir assumed great import in the Fifth Dynasty after Userkaf, the first ruler, built his sun temple and, his successor, Sahure inaugurated a royal necropolis there with his funerary monument. Sahure's successor, his son Neferirkare, was the second ruler to be entombed in the necropolis. The Egyptologist Jaromír Krejčí proposes a number of hypotheses for the position of Neferirkare's complex in relation to Sahure's complex: (1) that Neferirkare was motivated to distance himself from Sahure and thus chose to found a new cemetery and redesign the mortuary temple plan to differentiate it from Sahure's; (2) that geomorphological pressures – particularly the slope between Neferirkare's and Sahure's complexes – required Neferirkare to situate his complex elsewhere; (3) that Neferirkare chose the highest point in the area to ensure his complex dominated the surrounding area; and (4) that the site may have been intentionally selected to build the pyramid in line with Heliopolis. The Abusir diagonal is a figurative line connecting the north-west corners of the pyramids of Neferirkare, Sahure and Neferefre. It is similar to the Giza axis, which connects the south-east corners of the Giza pyramids, and converges with the Abusir diagonal to a point in Heliopolis.
The location of the complex affected the construction process. The Egyptologist Miroslav Bárta said the location was chosen partly because of its relation to the administrative capital of the Old Kingdom, Inbu-Hedj known today as Memphis. Providing that the location of ancient Memphis is accurately known, the Abusir necropolis was no further than 4 km (2.5 mi) from the city centre. The benefit of the site being close to the city was the increased access to resources and manpower. South-west of Abusir, workers could exploit a limestone quarry to gather resources for the manufacture of masonry blocks used in the construction of the pyramid. The limestone there was particularly easy to quarry considering that gravel, sand and tafl layers sandwiched the limestone into thin segments of between 0.60 m (2.0 ft) and 0.80 m (2 ft 7 in) thick making it easier to dislodge from its matrix.
In 1838, John Shae Perring, an engineer working under Colonel Howard Vyse, cleared the entrances to the pyramids of Sahure, Neferirkare and Nyuserre. Five years later, the Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius, sponsored by King Frederick William IV of Prussia, explored the Abusir necropolis and catalogued Neferirkare's pyramid as XXI. It was Lepsius who proposed the theory that the accretion layer method of construction was applied to the pyramids of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty. One important development was the discovery of the Abusir papyri, found in the temple of Neferirkare during illicit excavations in 1893. In 1902–1908, the Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt, working for the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft or German Oriental Society, resurveyed those same pyramids and had their adjoining temples and causeways excavated. Borchardt's was the first, and only other, major expedition carried out at the Abusir necropolis, and contributed significantly to archaeological investigation at the site. His findings were published in Das Grabdenkmal des Königs Nefer-Ir-Ke-Re (1909). The Czech Institute of Egyptology has had a long-term excavation project going at the site since the 1960s.
Pyramid construction techniques underwent a transition in the Fifth Dynasty. The monumentality of the pyramids diminished, the design of mortuary temples changed, and the substructure of the pyramid became standardized. By contrast, relief decoration proliferated and the temples were enriched with greater storeroom complexes.
Hub AI
Pyramid of Neferirkare AI simulator
(@Pyramid of Neferirkare_simulator)
Pyramid of Neferirkare
The pyramid of Neferirkare (Egyptian: Bꜣ Nfr-ỉr-kꜣ-rꜥ, lit. 'The ba of Neferirkare') is the funerary monument built for the Egyptian pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th century BC. It is the tallest, highest-situated structure in the Abusir necropolis – located between Giza and Saqqara – over which it still towers. The Fifth Dynasty marked the end of the great pyramid constructions that had prevailed during the Fourth Dynasty. Pyramids of the era were smaller and the complexes followed a standardized template, though this coincided with the proliferation of intricate relief decoration.
Neferirkare's main pyramid deviated from contemporary convention. It was originally built as a step pyramid, a design that had been antiquated since the Third Dynasty in the 26th or 27th century BC. This was then encased in a second step pyramid with alterations introduced to convert it into a true pyramid; However, the king's death left this work to be completed by his successors. The work was done in haste using cheaper building material. The pyramid had a base length of 105 metres (344 ft; 200 cu) which converged towards the apex at ~54° indicating that in a completed state it may have reached ~72 m (236 ft; 137 cu) in height. In its incomplete state, it has similar proportions to the pyramid of Menkaure on the Giza plateau.
Because of the circumstances, Neferirkare's monument lacked several basic elements of a pyramid complex: a valley temple, a causeway, and a cult pyramid. The valley temple and causeway were under construction when Neferirkare died, but these were co-opted by Nyuserre for his own complex. These were replaced by a small settlement of mudbrick houses south of the monument from where cult priests could conduct their daily activities, instead of the usual pyramid town that was typically built near the valley temple. The discovery of the Abusir papyri in the 1890s is credited to this, as the papyrus archives were normally contained in the town where the siting near the Nile river would have ensured their destruction.
The pyramid complex eventually became part of a greater family cemetery. The monuments to Neferirkare's consort, Khentkaus II; and his sons, Neferefre and Nyuserre, are found in the surrounding area. Though their construction began under different rulers, all of these monuments were completed during the reign of Nyuserre.
The pyramid of Neferirkare is situated on the necropolis at Abusir, between Saqqara and the Giza Plateau. Abusir assumed great import in the Fifth Dynasty after Userkaf, the first ruler, built his sun temple and, his successor, Sahure inaugurated a royal necropolis there with his funerary monument. Sahure's successor, his son Neferirkare, was the second ruler to be entombed in the necropolis. The Egyptologist Jaromír Krejčí proposes a number of hypotheses for the position of Neferirkare's complex in relation to Sahure's complex: (1) that Neferirkare was motivated to distance himself from Sahure and thus chose to found a new cemetery and redesign the mortuary temple plan to differentiate it from Sahure's; (2) that geomorphological pressures – particularly the slope between Neferirkare's and Sahure's complexes – required Neferirkare to situate his complex elsewhere; (3) that Neferirkare chose the highest point in the area to ensure his complex dominated the surrounding area; and (4) that the site may have been intentionally selected to build the pyramid in line with Heliopolis. The Abusir diagonal is a figurative line connecting the north-west corners of the pyramids of Neferirkare, Sahure and Neferefre. It is similar to the Giza axis, which connects the south-east corners of the Giza pyramids, and converges with the Abusir diagonal to a point in Heliopolis.
The location of the complex affected the construction process. The Egyptologist Miroslav Bárta said the location was chosen partly because of its relation to the administrative capital of the Old Kingdom, Inbu-Hedj known today as Memphis. Providing that the location of ancient Memphis is accurately known, the Abusir necropolis was no further than 4 km (2.5 mi) from the city centre. The benefit of the site being close to the city was the increased access to resources and manpower. South-west of Abusir, workers could exploit a limestone quarry to gather resources for the manufacture of masonry blocks used in the construction of the pyramid. The limestone there was particularly easy to quarry considering that gravel, sand and tafl layers sandwiched the limestone into thin segments of between 0.60 m (2.0 ft) and 0.80 m (2 ft 7 in) thick making it easier to dislodge from its matrix.
In 1838, John Shae Perring, an engineer working under Colonel Howard Vyse, cleared the entrances to the pyramids of Sahure, Neferirkare and Nyuserre. Five years later, the Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius, sponsored by King Frederick William IV of Prussia, explored the Abusir necropolis and catalogued Neferirkare's pyramid as XXI. It was Lepsius who proposed the theory that the accretion layer method of construction was applied to the pyramids of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty. One important development was the discovery of the Abusir papyri, found in the temple of Neferirkare during illicit excavations in 1893. In 1902–1908, the Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt, working for the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft or German Oriental Society, resurveyed those same pyramids and had their adjoining temples and causeways excavated. Borchardt's was the first, and only other, major expedition carried out at the Abusir necropolis, and contributed significantly to archaeological investigation at the site. His findings were published in Das Grabdenkmal des Königs Nefer-Ir-Ke-Re (1909). The Czech Institute of Egyptology has had a long-term excavation project going at the site since the 1960s.
Pyramid construction techniques underwent a transition in the Fifth Dynasty. The monumentality of the pyramids diminished, the design of mortuary temples changed, and the substructure of the pyramid became standardized. By contrast, relief decoration proliferated and the temples were enriched with greater storeroom complexes.