Through the Eras

Architecture and DesignEntranceAat’s burialchamberN 0 0100 m300 ftOffering hallQueen’s burialchamberKing’s burialchamberHousesOpencourtsdom pyramid complex were present in this MiddleKingdom complex, including a subsidiary pyramid locatedat the southeast corner of the main pyramid, apyramid temple on the east side of the pyramid (thoughlittle of it remains today except for piles of mud brick),and a closed causeway leading to a valley temple whichhas not yet been discovered. The causeway containedat least eight complete statues of Senwosret I dressed asOsiris, the divine king of the dead. The statues on thesouth side of the causeway wore the White Crown ofUpper Egypt (southern Egypt) while the statues on thenorth side wore the Red Crown of Lower Egypt (northernEgypt). The complex also included nine queen’spyramids. Queen Neferu, Senwosret’s wife, occupiedthe first. A second was the burial place of PrincessItayket, the king’s daughter.South tombsEntranceAmenemhet III’s Dahshur pyramid. CREATED BY GGS INFORMA-TION SERVICES. GALE.temple. It is possible that Amenemhet I thought of thesefeatures as customary since he also originated in the Thebanarea.THE PYRAMID OF SENWOSRET I AT LISHT. Todaythe pyramid of Senwosret I (1919–1875 B.C.E.) isa 23-meter (75-foot) high mound of mud brick. Originallythe pyramid was 105 meters (344 feet) square atthe base and 61.26 meters (201 feet) high. The GreatPyramid was more than twice as high and twice as wideat the base than Senwosret’s pyramid, but the smallersize is similar to the pyramids built in the Fifth andSixth Dynasties. The construction of Senwosret’s pyramidwas innovative, but represents a wrong turn in constructiontechniques. Senwosret’s builders constructedan internal skeleton made from limestone walls to forma pyramid. They filled the skeleton with roughly shapedstones. They then faced the pyramid with fine limestoneblocks that were joined with wooden cramps, similarto clamps that held two stones together. Thesecramps probably weakened the overall structure ratherthan strengthened it since the wood buckled under theweight of the stone. The interior burial chamber of thepyramid is under the water table and has not been exploredin modern times. The entrance was from thenorth, similar to traditional pyramid complexes built inthe Old Kingdom. The major elements of an Old King-THE PYRAMID COMPLEX OF SENWOSRET III. SenwosretIII (1836–1818 B.C.E.) built his pyramid complexat Dahshur, the site first occupied by King Sneferuat the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty (2626–2585B.C.E.). Yet Senwosret III did not imitate Sneferu’s planthat led to the Fourth-dynasty type pyramid complex.Instead Senwosret III began the revival of Djoser’s Thirddynastytype funeral monument with a dominatingnorth/south axis. He built a “true” pyramid 105 meters(345 feet) square and 78 meters (256 feet) high that contrastswith Djoser’s step pyramid. Yet, the arrangementof the parts of the complex follow Djoser’s pattern whileincorporating some of the Twelfth-dynasty features ofpyramid complexes. The entrance passage on the westside is a marked change from previous pyramid entrances,which were located on the north side. A chapellocated on the north side of the pyramid perhaps reflectsthe older tradition, as does a small temple located on theeast side of the pyramid. Seven queen’s pyramids remindthe viewer of the nine queen’s pyramids built by SenwosretI at his pyramid complex at Lisht. These moretraditional structures were built early in the reign. Sometimelater in the reign, Senwosret III added the southtemple and a paneled enclosure wall with an entrance atthe southeast corner. Though the large south temple wasdestroyed, perhaps sometime in the New Kingdom,enough decoration remains to suggest that it was the locationof the Jubilee Festival (sed ). Again, these elementsrecall Djoser’s complex at Saqqara.SENWOSRET III’S ABYDOS TOMB. Not only didSenwosret III revive architectural elements of Djoser’sThird-dynasty pyramid complex, he also revived FirstandSecond-dynasty practice by building a tomb in Abydos,the traditional cult center for the god Osiris. The40 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)