(AKA The Bent Pyramid)
Sneferu is Shining in the South
Original Height: 105m (344.48 ft)
Planned Height: 128.5 m (421.58 ft)
Length of Side: 188.6 m (618.76 ft)
Angle: 54º 27’44” – 4322’
Plan
About the Bent Pyramid
Inside the Bent Pyramid
The Bent Pyramid Complex
The Chapel
The Satellite Pyramid
The Valley Temple
Credits for Illustrations
Bibliography
About The Bent Pyramid
The Bent pyramid is a fascinating structure which raises as many questions as it answers about the evolution of the pyramid. Mysteriously this pyramid started at one angle (approx. 52 degrees) and then suddenly changes to a more gradual angle of 42 degrees. This odd arrangement provides this pyramid with a distinctive and unique appearance.
Evidence suggests that this pyramid was actually started as a smaller pyramid with an angle of about 60º. At a height of about38.14 m (112 ft) signs of structural instability were noticed by the builders when cracks appeared in the casing and in the chambers. At this point a supporting girdle was added to the bottom courses resulting in a new base length of 188.98 m (620 ft) and new angle of 54º 27’44”. With this angle the pyramid was then built up to about a height of approx. 49.38 m (162 ft). Within this lower segments the blocks were laid with the blocks sloping inward as in previous pyramids. At this height a curious change occurred. The angle of the pyramid was reduced to 43º 21’ and the blocks from this point up were laid on a horizontal plane. This resulted in a marked bend and its present day appearance. Some experts contend that this change in angle was due to continuing structural problems as evidenced by additional cracking and displacement. Within some of the chambers there are cedar wooden beams which may have been placed to support the chamber from instability. Others speculate that the sudden death of the king may have been the motivation for this sudden change. Most agree with the first theory because it is also believed that the next pyramid that we will examine, the Red Pyramid, was began at the same time as this sudden change in angle. And, the Red Pyramid has the same exact angle of 43º 21’ as the upper portion of the Bent Pyramid!
This pyramid boasts of the most intact casing of any pyramid in Egypt. Although parts of the casing are crumbling away, this pyramid gives the best idea of the sparkling brilliance that the pyramids of Egypt had before their casings were stripped away. Mostly these casings were removed and the limestone from these casings were used to build many other structures in Egypt. Even with the abundance of remaining casing stones there is still considerable crumbling of the casing. This is most evident at the corners and the upper portions of the pyramid.
Although the body of Sneferu has not been found and may have been disposed of long ago by thieves, some experts theorize that Sneferu may have been buried in this pyramid. Others contend that he was buried in the Red Pyramid to the north, using the evidence of scattered remains that were found there, believed to be possibly those of Sneferu.
George Johnson has proposed that the original burial of the wife of Sneferu, Queen Hetepheres, was within the lower chamber in the Bent Pyramid. He purports that her burial was desecrated by her own burial workmen. This was discovered and the remains of her burial were transferred to Giza.
Inside the Bent Pyramid
The internal arrangement of the Bent Pyramid is also unique and fascinating. This pyramid has two openings, one on the north face and another on the west face. Each opening leads to a separate set of passageways and chambers. The chambers would be completely separate, except for a roughly hewn tunnel that connects them. It is believed that this tunnel was cut by people who were somehow aware of the exact locations of the separate sets of chambers
The north entrance leads to an antechamber that has a corbelled roof with a height of 41 ft., one of the first of its kind. The burial chamber also sports a corbelled roof and rises to a height of 57’. Both of these chambers are located within the bedrock with only the top of the corbelled ceiling of the main chamber piercing into the body of the pyramid .
The west entrance leads to a level passage that has a portcullis blocking system, the most elaborate such system seen in any pyramid yet. This system lowers the blocks diagonally rather than vertically or horizontally. This then leads to an upper burial chamber also with a corbelled roof. This passageway, the blocking system and chamber are all located within the body of the pyramid.
There are several possible reasons why there are two sets of chambers in this pyramid. One is that the western passages and chamber represent something similar to the South Tomb of the Djoser Step Pyramid Complex. Since there is a subsidiary pyramid on the to the south of this pyramid, this may not be so. Another possibility is that one set of chambers is a decoy whose discovery would then discourage looters from looking for other chambers within the pyramid. Another possibility is that this pyramid was originally intended for the burial of more than one body, perhaps the king and his wife, Queen Heterpheres. We cannot discount another possibility, that of the chambers having a religious significance, for instance representing the various locations on the path of the king’s regeneration after death
There are several other interesting features within this pyramid. There is a wooden cedar framework located in the upper chamber. This wood is original and one of the few examples of such wood in a pyramid. Another example of this is in the main chamber of the pyramid at Meidum.
The Bent Pyramid Complex
The Bent Pyramid complex has all the typical aforementioned features. The causeway had walls made of limestone and ran to a valley temple which contained six niches, possibly bearing statues of Sneferu. This temple has a court, pillar. Evidence suggests that there was another causeway running from this temple on to the Nile
The Chapel
The chapel against the east face of the main pyramid is also rather small, even smaller than that of the chapel at the Pyramid of Meidum. Presently two limestone blocks with a slab roof remain as does the stumped evidence of two stelae. These stelae were inscribed and included the name of Sneferu. There is evidence that this chapel was larger and had mudbrick walls. Within the chapel was a place of offering within which was found a slab in the shape of a hieroglyph that meant “offering”, this hieroglyph is called hetep
The Satellite Pyramid
The satellite pyramid on the south side of the Bent pyramid had an interesting feature which is a precursor the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid. The entrance on the north side leads to a short descending passageway which levels off and then produces an ascending passageway. This ascending passage has a notched ceiling and leads to a small burial chamber. It appears that the configuration of this passage was created for the purpose of the storage of the portcullis plugging blocks. This is supported by the presence of a wood piece that is fitted into the notch that appears to have been involved in the lowering of the plugs. The burial chamber is too small to fit a burial and so it is thought that this might have been ceremonial tomb containing the king’s statue, or perhaps was intended for jars that contained the king’s viscera. Neither of these theories has been proven conclusively. Only small fragments of pottery were found within this pyramid when it was explored in 1946-47
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