Constructed c. 1790 BC Height 35 m | Base 52 metres (171 ft) | |
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Address Monshaat Dahshour, Al Badrashin, Giza Governorate, Egypt Similar Pyramid of Khendjer, Pyramid of Khentkaus II, Pyramid of Merenre, Pyramid of Ahmose, Pyramid of Amenemhet I | ||
The Pyramid of Ameny Qemau is located in southern Dahshur. It was constructed c. 1790 BC for Ameny Qemau, the 5th king of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. The stone constituting its upper structure has been entirely robbed but the damaged substructures remain. The pyramid was discovered by Charles Arthur Musès in 1957 and excavated in 1968. The pyramid originally stood 35 metres (115 ft) high with a base length of 52 metres (171 ft). The burial chamber comprised from a single colossal block of quartzite similar to those of Amenemhat III and Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep, with receptacles for the sarcophagus and the canopic jars hewn out of the interior of the block.
Discovery and excavations
The earliest known historical mention of the Pyramid of Ameny Qemau is found in the book of the medieval Arab historian Taqi al-Din Ahmad Al-Maqrizi "Geography and History of Egypt" where Al-Maqrizi describes the "pyramids of Dashur". The pyramid of Ameny Qemau was rediscovered in 1957 by a team led by Charles Arthur Musès. Shortly after, in 1968, Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi investigated the architecture of the pyramid. More recently, the remains of the funerary equipment of the king were published by Nabil Swelim and Aidan Dodson.