Through the Eras

Architecture and DesignHERODOTUS ON THE LABYRINTHINTRODUCTION: Herodotus (484–430 B.C.E.), the fifth-centuryB.C.E. Greek historian, visited Egypt about 450 B.C.E. andwrote the earliest description of the country by a foreigner.His description of the Labyrinth is the earliest ofsix ancient Greek and Roman impressions recorded.SOURCE: Herodotus, The History. Trans. by David Grene(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987): 196–197.German archaeologist Dorthea Arnold suggested that hisactual burial took place in the now-destroyed temple theking built in the south. If true, it would demonstratethat kings of the Twelfth Dynasty were ultimately morecomfortable with older, Upper Egyptian customs thanthey were with the customs of the Old Kingdom kingswho ruled in the Fourth through Sixth Dynasties. SenwosretIII and his son Amenemhet III, in fact, bridgevery ancient traditions with the future customs whichreturn royal burials to Upper (southern) Egypt duringthe New Kingdom.AMENEMHET III’S TWO PYRAMID COMPLEXES.Amenemhet III (1818–1772 B.C.E.) built a traditional,Old Kingdom pyramid complex at Dahshur in the firstpart of his 46-year reign. In the second part of his reignhe built a second pyramid complex at Hawara, near theentrance to the Faiyum basin. This second pyramid complexfollowed the predominately north/south orientationfirst used by Djoser in the Third Dynasty. As the Americanarchaeologist Mark Lehner observed, Amenemhet IIIwas the last great pyramid builder, but he followed thedesign of Djoser, the first great pyramid builder, bringingthe history of pyramid complexes in Egypt full circle. Thepyramid that Amenemhet III built at Dahshur resemblesonly a tower of mud brick today. Originally, each sidemeasured 105 meters (344 feet) with a height of 75 meters(246 feet). Thus it resembled the pyramid of SenwosretI but slightly shorter. The pyramid had a mud brickcore faced with Tura limestone. Two entrances—onefrom the east, one from the west—led into a complicatedseries of chambers and tunnels. The interior of this pyramidrecalls Djoser’s step pyramid more than any of thesimple Old Kingdom interior structures. This pyramid hasa ka-chapel, six other small chapels, and burial chambersfor two queens. By the fifteenth year of the king’s reign(1803 B.C.E.) some of the interior rooms began to collapse.According to Lehner, the foundation of the pyramidwas too close to the groundwater, making the earthtoo soft to support the weight of the building. Also therewere too many rooms inside the pyramid with unsupportedroofs. It is likely that when the builders realizedtheir mistake they quickly finished the rooms in mudbrick. A new pyramid complex at Hawara eventually heldAmenemhet III’s burial. Amenemhet III’s pyramid atHawara was nearly the same size as his pyramid atDahshur. Again the pyramid was 105 meters (344 feet)on each side. This pyramid was 58 meters (190 feet) tall,a full seventeen meters (56 feet) shorter than the Dahshurpyramid. Clearly the builders at Hawara reduced the angleof the pyramid—resulting in a lower height—in orderto avoid the problems they had faced with the Dahshurpyramid. They also greatly reduced the number of interiorchambers and tunnels. The burial chamber had onlyArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 41