Zawyet el-Maiyitin, also called Zawyet Sultan or Zawyet el-Amwat, is a small village in Egypt in the Minya Governorate. The site has a small step pyramid of the late 3rd Dynasty, remarkable for being the only pyramid built on the east bank of the Nile. It also comprises rock-cut tombs of the late Old Kingdom.
Location of Zawyet el-Maiyitin
Zawyet el-Maiyitin, Zawyet Sultan or Zawyet el-Amwat, is a small village in Egypt in the Minya Governorate. Zawyet el-Maiyitin is on the east bank of the Nile in the el-Minya province of Zawyet Sultan and a little to the north of Istabl Antar (Speos Artemidos). The Muslim cemetery is very prominent on the eastern side of the road, next to the pyramid site.
Dynasty III pyramid
The site has a small step pyramid of the late 3rd Dynasty, remarkable for being the only pyramid built on the east bank of the Nile. It also comprises rock-cut tombs of the late Old Kingdom.
A small Dynasty III pyramid stands on a site with many names. Locally, it is known as Zawyet Sultan, but in textbooks, it is often named Zawyet el-Maiyitin or Zawyet el-Amwat. However, the associated ancient Egyptian town of Hebenw is usually known as Kom el-Ahmar. Here, about 7km south of el-Minya on the east bank of the Nile, are the significant remains of a city that was the capital of the 16th Upper Egyptian nome, whose symbol was the oryx.
Necropolis of Zawyet el-Maiyitin
One of seven similar structures throughout Egypt, the step pyramid perhaps marked the ancient proto-capitals and is ascribed chiefly to King Huni. The area of Zawyet el-Maiyitin had been in use as a cemetery since Predynastic times and had additions to the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. Today, adjacent to the archaeological site, a vast old Muslim cemetery, its domes stretching almost from the river up into the Gebel, is one of the largest in Egypt, which until recently served the whole population of el-Minya governorate. In the Gebel behind the townsite, rock-cut tombs served as the burial places of local officials of the Old and New Kingdoms.
Small Dynasty III step pyramid
Books will tell you that there is little left of the destroyed step pyramid, so I was surprised to see how large the structure still is. Initially constructed in four steps with sides measuring 22.5m and rising to an estimated height of 17m, the lower step now stands at around 5m. Remains of its limestone casing still survive in up to five courses in some places. No burial chamber has ever been found, suggesting that the pyramid was never intended as a mortuary monument, like others of its type.
The city of Henenw was named after the Egyptian Hbn, meaning ‘to kill with a knife and is said to originate in the legend of Horus, the principal deity of the area who killed his uncle Set for revenge on the death of his father, Osiris. The remains of the mudbrick town are extensive, with high enclosure walls that are 6.75m thick.
Site of the New Kingdom Temple
The remains of a temple can be seen on the northern side of the site. This temple dates back to Amenhotep III and was dedicated to Horus of Hebenw. Amenhotep’s temple seems to have been dismantled and rebuilt by Pharaoh Seti I during Dynasty XIX. A few remaining blocks depict Seti’s cartouche near a wooden ramp over the quay area. Stone steps leading into the temple were built in the Pharaonic and Roman periods, but little remains.
The New Kingdom tomb of Nefersekheru
The rock-cut tombs are about 1km across the townsite to the east, up a steep slope on the hillside. The only open tomb now belongs to Nefersekheru, a royal scribe during late Dynasty XVIII or early Dynasty XIX. The tomb is not well-preserved but still contains some reliefs on its walls and a deep burial shaft. There is also ongoing excavation around the Old Kingdom tomb at the foot of the Gebel, where the tomb of Khunes has been uncovered.
