Pyramid of Menkaure

The Pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three main pyramids on the Giza Plateau, located southwest of Cairo. It was built as the tomb of Fourth Dynasty King Menkaure and originally stood 65.5 meters tall, now reaching 61 meters with a base of 108.5 meters. Its construction used limestone and Aswan granite, with an incline of about 51°20′25″. Along its south flank are three smaller pyramids associated with the complex.

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• Notice the remaining seven layers of granite casing on the upper portion, originally planned to be sixteen to eighteen layers thick.
• Look for the large vertical gash on the northern face, a remnant of the 1196 demolition attempt.
• Observe the three smaller queens' pyramids (G3-a, G3-b, G3-c) south of the main pyramid, one of which once contained a pink granite sarcophagus.
• Examine the mortuary temple on the east flank, where some limestone blocks weigh up to 220 tons and granite ashlars from Aswan exceed 30 tons.
• Look for the smoothed area on the eastern face, where 2019 scans revealed air-filled voids that may indicate a hidden second entrance.

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• The outer casing combined Tura limestone with Aswan granite; only seven of the planned sixteen to eighteen granite layers remain.
• A large vertical gash on the northern face records an unsuccessful eight-month demolition attempt begun in 1196.
• A boat hieroglyph painted on a nearby limestone block may indicate that the complex once had a boat pit for a solar barque.

Немного истории

The pyramid was likely completed in the 26th century BC, though Menkaure's exact reign is unknown. It was probably robbed as early as the First Intermediate Period. In 1837, Howard Vyse and John Shae Perring discovered a basalt sarcophagus containing a young woman's bones, but it was lost at sea off Spain. A wooden coffin with Menkaure's name was found in the upper burial chamber and is now in the British Museum. In 1196, Sultan Al-Aziz Uthman attempted to demolish the pyramid, but workers only left a large vertical gash on its northern face after eight months. A 2024 restoration project was cancelled after experts objected to reinstalling fallen granite casing blocks.