The Black Pyramid (Arabic: الهرم الأسود, romanized: al-Haram al-Aswad) was built by King Amenemhat III (r. c. 1860 BC-c. 1814 BC) during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2055–1650 BC). It is one of the five remaining pyramids of the original eleven at Dahshur in Egypt. Originally named Amenemhet is Mighty, the pyramid earned the name Black Pyramid for its dark, decaying appearance as a rubble mound. The Black Pyramid was the first to house the deceased pharaoh and his queens. Jacques de Morgan, on a French mission, began the excavation of the pyramids at Dahshur in 1892. The German Archaeological Institute of Cairo completed the excavation in 1983.
Location of the Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III
The pyramid, named Amenemhet is Mighty, is a dark ruin on Giza‘s Dahshur field, aptly sometimes called the Black Pyramid.
Structure of Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III
Typical for the pyramids of the Middle Kingdom, the Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III, encased in limestone, is made of mud brick and clay instead of stone. The pyramid was about 75 metres tall with a base 105 metres long and an incline of 57°. The ground-level structures consist of the entrance opening into the courtyard and mortuary temple, surrounded by walls. There are two sets of walls; between them are ten shaft tombs, a type of burial structure formed from graves built into natural rock.
Pyramidion (capstone) at Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The pyramidion, the capstone of a pyramid, was covered with inscriptions and religious symbols. Some of these were scratched off, leading researchers to conclude the pyramidion was never used or was defaced during Akhenaten’s rule.
Below ground level in the subterranean structure lay a network of complicated passages. The king’s section remains primarily intact, with a sarcophagus and canopic jar; however, the king was not buried there. The section for the queens was broken into and looted. The underground structure has four other burial chambers; to whom they belong is unknown. Two are thought to belong to King Amenemhet IV and Queen Sobekneferu.
The Dashur pyramid was on an east-west orientation with two entrances and a complicated set of chambers. One entrance is on the southeastern corner, and the other is on the southwest corner.
The two pyramids are approximately 1.5 km apart. The core of the superstructure was of mud brick with no internal walls, possibly to keep the weight to a minimum, considering how close the pyramid was to the Nile. The pyramid was built on clay that could not support the weight and began to sink, just as the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu at Dashur had started to sink centuries before.
The outer cladding of limestone ‘veneer’ was held together with dovetail pegs, following the style of his father’s tomb. The finished dimensions were approximately 200 cubits per side and 150 cubits high.
The Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III was abandoned after it began to crush the underground chambers. The builders had hastily installed supporting beams and mud brick walls to stop the sinking, but it was too little, too late, and the pyramid was abandoned. The ‘King’s section’ contained a burial chamber containing a large sarcophagus carved to imitate the outer wall of Djoser’s Pyramid complex at Saqqara, possibly another attempt to reinforce the legitimacy of his rule.
Burial chambers for two of his queens were created beneath the pyramid; the first chamber of the ‘Queens’ section’ under the southwestern quadrant of the pyramid was for Queen Aat, and the second chamber was for an unnamed queen. Although both chambers had been entered and looted in antiquity, archaeologists found many items overlooked by the looters, including one of Queen Aat’s canopic jars.
Queen Aat’s chamber contained a sarcophagus similar to the king’s. The causeway was unusually wide with a large open area. There were houses on the northern side of the causeway identified as priest’s houses.
By the 13th Dynasty, the lack of security meant that locals had usurped the Valley Temple to be used as a granary, and the first breach of the pyramid happened at about that time. There is evidence of restoration work perhaps 100 years later when King Auibre Hor and his princess Nubhetepti-khered were buried in two of the ten shaft tombs on the northern side of the outer enclosure.
Structural problems
With its wide passageways, the Black Pyramid had multiple structural deficits. The pyramid was built in one of the lowest regions of Egypt, only 10 metres above sea level. There are countless corridors and chambers underground, and there are not enough stress relievers to hold up the ceilings. The pyramid is not sturdy; it is built with mud brick instead of traditional stone. The low elevation, corridors, and unstable building material allowed groundwater from the Nile to seep into the walls, causing the entire pyramid to sink into the ground and crack.
Recent looting
Since the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, looting has occurred at the site.
