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| Pyramid of Niuserre Izi |
Caleld "The spots of Nisuerre are persevering"
Valley sanctuary exists, however is exceptionally destroyed. The flor was initially around 5m underneath the present ground level and manufactured aopon an establishment initially alid by Neferirkare just like the boulevard.
Thoroughfare has not been completely uncovered and part of it prompts the funeral home sanctuary and lower segment to Neferirkare's pyramid.
Funeral home sanctuary is little and molded as a L, althoug it is in the typical place. External dividers are somewhat disposed with a curved cornice.
Numerous reliefs from the inside of the sanctuary were found, as a rule the standard "destroying" scenes.. enormous structures on the nothereast and southeast corners reference Sahur'e sun sanctuary (never found). These towers may have been the forerunner of the arches in later sanctuaries.
The pyramid has a seven step corre of local limestone. Originally 52m tall, with base length of 81md. The corners of the pyramid are anchorered to the foundation and the pyramid was cased in white limestone.
Entrance on the nother at ground level with a limestone-lined corridor reinforeced with pink granite at each end. No remains were found in the pyramid.
Burial chamber is slightly beneath ground level and under the foundation stones. Both antechamber and burial chamber have saddle ceilings – 3 layers of limestone blocks set in place from above.
A paved courtyard around the pyramid is narrower on the south side (due to the mortuary temple of neferirkare). Also a cult pyramid. Blocked with rubble, cannot be entered Niuserre was the sixth king of Dynasty V and built his pyramid complex at Abusir, to the north-east and very close to that of his father Neferirkare. This king had a long reign - at least 10 years but possibly as much as 30 years or more, suggested by heb-sed reliefs in his Abu Ghurob sun-temple. It was probably Niuserre who completed the mortuary monuments of his father Neferirkare, his mother Queen Khentkawes and his brother Neferefre.
Pyramid of Niuserre Pyramid of Niuserre showing construction
Niuserre's pyramid, called 'The Places of Niuserre are Established', was originally constructed in seven steps and encased in fine white limestone. Today it is badly deteriorated, but originally reached a height of around 51.5m. The corners of the structure, which had a base measurement of about 80m, were reinforced and some of the casing blocks still survive on the south-east corner. The entrance to the pyramid is on the northern side at ground level and from here a trench was dug out for the access corridor which descended down to a vestibule and was blocked by three granite portcullis slabs. Beyond the vestibule the passage descended less steeply, turning slightly towards the east and was blocked in the centre by more granite slabs. The passage led into an antechamber with the burial chamber to the west, both with vaulted ceilings of huge limestone blocks.
Lying directly under the pyramid's vertical axis, and slightly below ground level, the antechamber and burial chamber were robbed for their stone and are now virtually destroyed. Niuserre's monument was first visited by Perring, Lepsius and then Ludwig Borchardt, who excavated there in the early 1900s but due to the poor condition of the subterranean chambers, found no trace of the burial or funerary goods.
Both the limestone asphalt encompassing the pyramid and the lord's funeral home sanctuary are unpredictably set, most likely to a great extent because of the confinements of space and geography. The funeral home sanctuary on the eastern side of the landmark was based on a raised establishment in view of the inclining ground and is moved toward the south, with just the asylum and false entryway stela in the conventional eastern position. Five statue specialties and magazines flanked the offering corridor, whose vaulted roof was initially finished with painted reliefs of stars, with scenes and engravings on the dividers. Toward the south of the offering lobby was a square enlivened chamber with a solitary section in its middle which a short time later ended up noticeably standard in funeral home sanctuaries. This driven into a five-niched house of prayer and toward the north of these Borchardt discovered pieces of a stone statue of a prostrate lion (now in Cairo Museum). A transverse corridor had steps driving down to another transverse lobby and the external parts of the sanctuary.
Mortuary temple of Niuserre Looking south towards the pyramids of Niuserre and Neferirkare
The outer area of the temple consisted of a large open courtyard with a pavement of black basalt and surrounded by sixteen granite papyrus columns which supported the ambulatory ceiling. The columns were inscribed with the king's name and titles and representations of the goddess Wadjet in the northern half and Nekhbet in the southern half. The ceiling slabs were decorated with golden stars on a deep blue background and traditional reliefs of the king decorated the side walls. A long entrance hall, also paved with basalt and decorated with reliefs, had five magazines on either side and a staircase leading to a roof terrace. Only fragments of the rich reliefs from the mortuary temple have been found because this area was also badly damaged by stone robbers.
Two large towers appear at the south-east and north-east corners of the pyramid, innovative structures which appear to be the precursors of pylon gateways which were a major part of all later Egyptian temples. Builders inscriptions from these structures suggest that stone from Sahure's unfinished sun-temple may have been used in their construction.
Niuserre fabricated a satellite pyramid at the south-east corner inside its own fenced in area divider. Borchardt had found an unexplained square stage on the north-eastern edge of the lord's pyramid, connecting one of the "arch" structures. In unearthings close-by amid the 1970s the Czech group found a huge stone pyramidion which had initially been sheathed in copper and proposed that it might have originated from a monolith for which the stage was a base. This likewise may have originated from Sahure's sun-sanctuary as it is one of a kind in funeral home sanctuary engineering.
Niuserre usurped the establishments which had been set up for Neferirkare's interstate and valley sanctuary. Niuserre's boulevard measures around 365m long and driven from his funeral home sanctuary running first towards the south-east and after that towards the east to utilize Neferirkare's establishments in the lower half. Amid Dynasty XII the high base of the upper portion of the highway was utilized to build tombs of the clerics of Niuserre's morgue faction, which Borchardt researched amid his unearthings.
The valley temple is now completely covered by sand but it was situated, like the other lower temples on the edge of a canal known as 'Abusir Lake'. The causeway led into the temple which may have contained statues of the king in niches and there have also been other statue fragments found, including an alabaster head of Queen Repetnebu and a large granite lion. A staircase led to the roof and a central portico with eight columns gave entrance to the harbour ramp on the eastern side.
Lepsius recorded two badly destroyed small pyramids to the south of Niuserre's pyramid (Lepsius XXIV and XXV). In the past few seasons the Czech Institute have carried out consolidation of crumbling masonry and trial diggings at these two badly ruined pyramids. The first (Lepsius XXIV) is thought to belong to a consort of Neferefre or Niuserre. The second pyramid (Lepsius XXV) is also thought to belong to a consort of Niuserre and here remnants of Graeco-Roman burials have been found. Work on these two pyramids is still continuing.