 |
The remains of the pyramid
of Amenemhet IV at Mazghuna |
The South Pyramid at
Mazghuna is often imputed to
Amenemhat IV, the last king of Dynasty XII and the son of
Amenemhat III, although no names have been observed in the complex. The cause for the ascription is based on stylistic grounds - the layout of the foundation and burial chamber like that of
Amenemhat III's pyramid at Hawara in the
Faiyum. Amenemhat IV finished his father's temples at Medinet Madi and likely also built the temple at Qasr el-Sagha, but his reign was light and there is no certainty about the location of his burial come out. Mazghuna South Pyramid was enquired in 1910 by British archaeologist, Ernest MacKay. Today, only the gone mudbrick burden of the pyramid remains, with no trace of casing, suggesting that the super structure was left unfinished. The pyramid's capture opens in the centre of its southern side, with a descending staircase in a corridor flanked by side ramps. As it flushed out the passage was forgot by a roadblock slab of granite, with two more blocking slabs at further points. The position of the burial chamber was to a lower place the vertical axis of the pyramid, after working three times in a series of light corridors. A single massive block of red quartzite fills the burial chamber, with a trench for the coffin and a carved corner for the canopic jars - a similar organisation and closing chemical mechanism to Amenemhat III's burial chamber at Hawara. The ceiling was plausibly put up by vaulted limestone blocks. The whole complex was involved by a wavy margin wall built from mudbrick, with an entrance at the south-east corner. The mudbrick mortuary temple, dwelling of a large chamber or court with magazines on either side, was involved to the east side of the enclosure wall, rather than to the pyramid itself. There is no line of a causeway or valley temple.
Related Posts:
