Through the Eras

Architecture and Designand probably contained the king’s mummy in a woodensarcophagus. A garden surrounded the causeway that ledup to the central edifice. The designer planted 53tamarisk trees and a large sycamore fig in the garden.Twelve statues of Mentuhotep dressed as Osiris, the kingof the dead, faced the east. At some point the statueswere decapitated though it is not known why. The EnglishEgyptologist Howard Carter, who later discoveredthe tomb of Tutankhamun, excavated the SecondaryTomb after a horse stumbled over it. The tomb thusgained the name Bab el-Hosan (“Gate of the Horse”).There Carter found a forecourt and open trench enclosedwith mud brick leading to a tunnel. A statue of Mentuhotepwrapped in linen as if it were a mummy lay ina chamber at the end of the tunnel. The Bab el-Hosanprobably represented the same kind of secondary royalburial known as early as the First Dynasty. These secondaryor subsidiary burials formed a part of the earlycomplexes in Abydos and in Old Kingdom Pyramidcomplexes.UNIQUE STRUCTURE. The funerary temple builtby Nebhepetre Mentuhotep is difficult for Egyptologiststo understand. The building has nearly no precedentsand no successors. This originality, which modernpeople prize, was unusual in ancient Egypt. Later kingswould return to imitating the pyramid complexes of theOld Kingdom. The lack of similar buildings makes itimpossible to restore the damaged parts with any certainty.SOURCESDieter Arnold, Der Tempel des Konigs Mentuhotep von Deirel Bahari (Mainz, Germany: Mitteilungen d. DeutchenArchaologisches Institut, 1974–1981).Howard Carter, “Report on the Tomb of Mentuhotep I,”Annales du Service d’Antiquités Egyptien 2 (1901):201–205.Mark Lehner, The Complete Pyramids: Solving the AncientMysteries (New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 1997).SEE ALSO Visual Arts: The Middle KingdomTHE PYRAMIDS OF THEMIDDLE KINGDOMREVIVAL OF OLD KINGDOM TRADITIONS. AmenemhetI (c. 1938–1909 B.C.E.) and Senwosret I (c.1919–1875 B.C.E.), the first two kings of the TwelfthDynasty, built pyramid complexes in the area near Memphiswhich revived the traditions of pyramid buildingpracticed in Dynasties Four to Six (2625–2170 B.C.E.)and signaled a return to the Old Kingdom capital inthe north. Yet it is clear that kings devoted fewer resourcesto pyramid building at the beginning of theTwelfth Dynasty (1938–1759 B.C.E.) than had been allocatedfor the projects built in the Old Kingdom. Littleremains of these relatively poorly built complexes.Innovative building techniques used for these structuresappear to be attempts to substitute sand fill or mudbrick for solid masonry construction. As a result of thesenew, cheaper techniques, little remains of the Twelfthdynastyroyal pyramid complexes. The pyramids builtby the later kings of the Twelfth Dynasty—AmenemhetII (1876–1842 B.C.E.), Senwosret II (1844–1837B.C.E.), Senwosret III (c. 1836–1818 B.C.E.), andAmenemhet III (1818–1772 B.C.E.)—reflect attemptsto introduce new elements to the pyramid complex importedfrom Theban traditions. They also revived traditionsof pyramid building from the time of Djoser(2675–2625 B.C.E.). These changes suggest that bothSenwosret III and Amenemhet III had reconceived theirroles as kings in a way that recalled traditions precedingthe dominance of the sun cults of the Fourththrough Sixth Dynasties. The details of these changesare unfortunately lost because these buildings are alsovery poorly preserved.AMENEMHET I’S PYRAMID AT LISHT. WhenAmenemhet I (1938–1909 B.C.E.) moved the Egyptiancapital back to the Memphis area from Thebes, he establisheda new town called Itj-tawy (“Seizer of the TwoLands”). No one has yet discovered the location of Itjtawy,though it likely was close to Lisht, the site of AmenemhetI’s pyramid. Though Amenemhet I used the formof Old Kingdom pyramids, his building techniques differedgreatly. The core of his pyramid included limestoneblocks, mud brick, sand, debris, and reliefsculpture that had been removed from Khufu’s templesat Giza. Some Egyptologists believe that Khufu’s reliefwas included to provide a spiritual connection to the earlierking. The pyramid complex of Amenemhet I resembledthe standard Old Kingdom pyramid complex.Though poorly preserved today, it included a pyramidtemple, causeway, and valley temple. Though the lackof preservation hinders extensive architectural commentary,some Theban features are noteworthy. The causewaywas open to the sky, more similar to NebhepetreMentuhotep’s causeway at Deir el Bahri than to Khufu’sroofed causeway in Giza. In addition, the architect placedthe pyramid temple on a terrace slightly below the pyramid,not unlike the terraced plan of contemporary Thebantombs such as Nebhepetre Mentuhotep’s funeralArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 39