Pyramid of Nyuserre
The Pyramid of Nyuserre Ini is a mid 25th century BC pyramid complex. It was built for the Egyptian pharaoh Nyusers Ini of the Fifth Dynasty. It includes a main pyramid, a mortuary temple, a valley temple on Abusir Lake, a causeway and a cult pyramid.
About Pyramid of Nyuserre in brief
The Pyramid of Nyuserre Ini is a mid 25th century BC pyramid complex. It was built for the Egyptian pharaoh Nyusers Ini of the Fifth Dynasty. It includes a main pyramid, a mortuary temple, a valley temple on Abusir Lake, a causeway originally intended for Neferirkare’s monument, and a cult pyramid. The main pyramid had a stepped core built from roughly cut limestone and encased in fine Tura limestone. The casing was stripped by stone thieves, leaving the core exposed to the elements and further human activity, which have reduced the once nearly 52 m tall pyramid to a ruined mound. It debuted the antichambre carrée, a square room with a single column, which became a standard feature of later monuments. It also contains an unexplained square platform which has led archaeologists to suggest that there may be a nearby obelisk pyramidion. The tombs of the priests and officials associated with the king’s funerary cult are located in the vicinity as well. Two other pyramid complexes have been found in the area. Known as Lepsius XXIV and Lepius XXV, they may have belonged to the consorts of Ny userre, particularly Queen Reputnub, or of Neferefre. Further north-west of the complex are mastabasBuilt for the pharaoh’s children. He was the last king to be entombed in the necropolis, whilst his successors chose to be buried elsewhere. His monument completed the tight architectural family unit that had grown and centered around the pyramid complex of his father, Nefer Kirkare, alongside his mother’s pyramid and brother’s mastaba.
On taking the throne, he undertook to complete the three unfinished monuments of his mother, Khentkaus II; his brother, Nefefere fre; and his father. He chose to insert his complex in the space between its north-east and north-south axis, so that it would not have been too expensive to place it in the desert. This would have been at least 1km from the Nile valley, and at least at least 1 and a halfkm from Nefrefre’s complex, which would have needed placement in the deep desert. He may still have wanted to remain with his family and so may have wanted his complex to remain in the north- east of its space, with steep terrain to its north and south-east. It may have survived this transitional period and into the Middle Kingdom, although this remains a contentious issue among Egyptologists. It is the only one of its kind to survive the First Intermediate Period, and may have been used as a funerary monument in the Second Intermediate Period. It contains two structures which appear to have been pylon prototypes. These became staple features of temples and palaces. In the south-west corner of the site, a separate enclosure hosts the cult pyramid – a small pyramid whose purposes remains unclear. The causeway binds the mortuary and valley temples.
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This page is based on the article Pyramid of Nyuserre published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
