The pyramid of Senusret II (in ancient Egyptian Kha Senusret meaning Senusret Shines) is the pyramid complex constructed for the pharaoh Senusret II in the Twelfth Dynasty.
Location of Pyramid of Senusret II
Senusret II chose to build his pyramid, called Senusret Shines, near the modern town of Lahun (Kahun) at the opening of the Hawara basin near the Fayoum.
Early excavation
Karl Richard Lepsius visited the pyramid in the 1840s and conducted a brief archaeological survey. Fifty years later, Flinders Petrie conducted the first comprehensive excavations there. Petrie spent several unsuccessful months searching for the entrance into the pyramid on the north face. Petrie eventually found the entrance after many months and multiple failed attempts.
Senusret II had, however, taken a complete departure from the usual practice of having a corridor on the north side – typical of the Old Kingdom and early Middle Kingdom pyramids – and had instead built a narrow, vertical entrance shaft under a princess’ tomb located about a dozen yards off to the east of the southern pyramid face. The builders had even constructed the usual small chapel on the north face, which typically concealed the entrance. The Czech Egyptologist Miroslav Verner explains that the decision had been made for religious reasons and to thwart grave robbers.
A small team headed by N. B. Millet of the Royal Ontario Museum and the architect J. E. Knudstad has worked at the Pyramid Town and Pyramid Site since 1989. Their goal is to expand on Petrie’s work by re-gathering architectural details of the monuments there, which Petrie had neglected to record in his reports.
On 28 June 2019, the pyramid was opened to visitors for the first time since its discovery.
Main Pyramid of Senusret II
The pyramid’s core was constructed from mudbrick around a stump of four steps of yellow limestone. The builders used rock outcropping to anchor the pyramid and reduce construction time and cost. The completed pyramid was initially encased in white limestone. However, an inscription found by Petrie indicates that the casing was removed in the Nineteenth Dynasty for reuse in a different structure built by Ramesses II. Only remnants of the black granite pyramidion, which topped the pyramid, have been found. The pyramid was protected from flooding by a trench surrounding the pyramid’s perimeter and filled with sand to absorb rainwater. Around this trench, a stone perimeter wall was built and decorated with deep niches.
The substructure of the Pyramid of Senusret II
Typically, the substructure entry was located on the pyramid’s north face. This had been the traditional entry point since Djoser built his step pyramid in the Third Dynasty. Although Senusret II’s pyramid was built with a north chapel included, its actual entry was hidden away under the floor of a princess’s tomb to the southeast. This was used for the burial rites of the king but was too narrow for use during construction. Instead, a larger 16 m (52 ft) deep construction shaft found further south was used for transporting the sarcophagus and building material into the substructure. This was then reworked into a fake burial chamber to deceive thieves attempting to enter the king’s tomb.
The base of the construction shaft opens up into a vaulted horizontal corridor. The corridor runs north to a vaulted room containing the real entry shaft and a second unexplored shaft flooded by groundwater. The corridor then continues north with a slight incline leading to the antechamber. Partway along, a second chamber is found in its west. The antechamber contained two passageways: one leads from the antechamber to the burial chamber directly west; the other, located in the south, leads around the chamber, eventually entering it from the north. The winding passage may have served a symbolic purpose, allowing the king’s spirit to leave this section towards the north. The burial chamber and labyrinth of passageways were shifted southeast of the pyramid’s vertical axis, another deviation from the standard.
The burial chamber is oriented on the east-west axis and has a vaulted ceiling made from granite blocks and a red granite sarcophagus near its west wall. Despite the precautions taken, Petrie found the burial chamber looted of most of its contents. An alabaster offering table inscribed with Senusret II’s name, a gold uraeus, and leg bones believed to belong to the king remain in the burial.
