The White Pyramid (Arabic: الهرم الأبيض, romanized: al-Haram al’Abyad) of Amenemhat II is located in the pyramid field at Dahshur, Egypt, and is now nothing more than a pile of rubble, having been heavily quarried for stone. The remaining limestone rubble has given rise to its current name.
A large rectangular enclosure wall surrounds the pyramid. Several intact tombs were found inside this enclosure wall belonging to the relatives of Amenemhat II, including the tombs of Prince Amenemhatankh and princesses Ita, Khnumet, Itaweret and Sithathormeret. These tombs recovered funerary furniture, including wooden coffins, alabaster perfume jars, and canopic chests. There was also a large quantity of beautiful jewellery in the burials of Ita and Khnumet.
In 1894 and 1895, Jacques de Morgan dug in the pyramid complex, concentrating on the surrounding royal graves, with other areas not being explored. A full-scale investigation of the whole complex has yet to be undertaken.
Location of White Pyramid of Amenemhat II
The White Pyramid of Amenemhat II is located in the pyramid field at Dahshur, Egypt, and is now nothing more than a pile of rubble, having been heavily quarried for stone.
Overview
For some reason, Amenemhet II, the third King of Egypt’s 12th Dynasty and Senusret I‘s successor, built his pyramid at Dahshur. This lonely pyramid field dates from the 4th Dynasty rather than at Lisht, where his two predecessors constructed theirs. Dahshur is an exciting field to explore because it has only recently been open to the public and is not so crowded with tourists. It has some compelling and otherwise fine (and significant) examples of pyramids. This pyramid was most likely called “Amenemhet is well cared for” and is located east of the better-known Red Pyramid but is not nearly as well preserved as others in the area.
Etymology
Locally, Amenemhet II’s structure, the White Pyramid, is undoubtedly no longer white. This name came years ago after stone thieves stole the casing, leaving many limestone chips that made the pyramid appear white.
Excavation
From 1894 through 1895, Jacques de Morgan made a cursory investigation of the ruins. Unfortunately, he was so focused on the jewellery in some surrounding princess’ tombs that he never examined the mortuary temple, the causeway or the valley temple. No casing stones have ever been found, nor has even the pyramid’s base been cleared for proper measuring. Therefore, we are unsure of its size, the angle of its slop, or height.
Pyramid Complex
The mortuary temple was almost destroyed, though we know it was probably called “Lighted is the place of Amenemhet’s pleasures”. The ruins, which stand east of the pyramid, have yet to be closely examined, though they must be very inviting to archaeologists. There are many building fragments, some of which include relief decorations. However, the massive, tower-like structures resembling pylons in the temple’s east facade might be most interesting.
Regrettably, the causeway, which was broad with a steep slope and entered the enclosure wall on the middle of the east side, has not been investigated at all, and we are told that the valley temple has not even been found. The pyramid’s core was built much like Senusret I’s pyramid, with a core with corners radiating out. A framework was made with horizontal lines of blocks to form a grid or framework between the corners. Here, however, the filling was sand.
Main Pyramid
This is the last time the entrance to a pyramid would be uniformly in the middle of the north side of a pyramid. As customary, it was covered by a north chapel. The entrance leads to a descending corridor built of limestone blocks, not unlike the construction at Neferirkare’s pyramid in Abusir. This corridor has a false, flat ceiling atop a gabled ceiling made of limestone slabs leaning one against the other. Gabled ceilings of one nature or another were used in many pyramids to support the load of so much weight from the structure above. Also, classically, the corridor levels out before arriving first at a barrier made of two granite slabs, one sliding vertically into place and the other sideways. A short way further, the burial chamber is on the pyramid’s vertical axis.
However, Arnold does not see this complex as conforming to classical designs, even though it was closer in design to many older pyramids than those to be built in the future. He saw Amenemhet II’s pyramid as the founding of a new pyramid age, when architects, rather than looking back to the Old Kingdom, found their paths through experimentation; they the best design elements from the older pyramids with new techniques.
The burial chamber itself is unique. Its central section is oriented east-west, but one section drops through a square hole sunk in the floor below the entrance corridor out past the granite blocks above. Like the corridor, the burial chamber has a false flat ceiling topped by a more structurally sound gabled ceiling. Within the walls are four niches, one on either short wall and two on the opposite of the entrance. At the end of this room was a receptacle that held a canopic chest. A quartzite sarcophagus was found at the burial chamber’s west wall.
The entire complex was surrounded by an enclosure wall much more rectangular than in older pyramids. It was oriented east-west.
Royal tombs
Behind the White Pyramid of Amenemhat II, at the west part of the enclosure wall, tombs of the royal family are found. They belong to prince Amenemhetankh and princesses Ita, Khnemet, Itiueret and Sithathormeret. Within these tombs, Morgan found the remains of funerary equipment, including wooden coffins, canopic chests and alabaster vessels for perfumes. Nevertheless, of course, he also found beautiful jewellery in the tombs of Ita and Khnemet that stole his attention. These pieces may now be found in Cairo’s Egyptian Antiquities Museum Treasure Chamber.
