Pyramid G1-d (also known as 'G1d', 'GI-d', 'GId' or 'G Id') is a satellite pyramid within the Khufu pyramid complex on the Giza plateau. The pyramid was discovered in 1992, during work to remove a road, about east-southeast of the southeast corner of the

Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wond ...

(G1), and about west of the subsidiary pyramids G1-b and G1-c.

Superstructure

The pyramid's original base length was , with a height of . Joseph Dorner established the mean slope to be about 51°45', very similar to that of the Great Pyramid. This equates to a ''

seked Seked (or seqed) is an ancient Egyptian term describing the inclination of the triangular faces of a right pyramid. The system was based on the Egyptians' length measure known as the Cubit#Ancient Egyptian royal cubit, royal cubit. It was subdivi ...

'' of 5 ''palms'' and 2 ''fingers'', a ratio of 28 rise to 22 run. Giseh_09

The pyramid was likely dismantled by the Emir Karakoush of the

Ayyubid Sultanate The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

(serving in the 12th century under

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

), who used the structure's stone for other construction projects. The blocks that remained

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

surrounded the substructure in a U-shape. The bedrock below the pyramid slopes downward to the east and south, hence a layer of foundation stones was placed to form an even base. One of the core blocks of the south side was inscribed in red paint on the inside surface. The notation says, "imy rsy s3". This graffito, meaning "on the south (back) side", probably instructed the stone movers where to place the block. Multiple casing blocks were found out of position, scattered around the pyramid. One of these, slanted on three sides, was one of a pair of blocks that once formed the third course from the top. It is long and thick, and its top side is hollowed, to hold the convex underside of the stone(s) placed above it. No stones of the second course from the top remained, yet in 1993, the actual

pyramidion A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or the upper section of an obelisk. Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as ''benbenet'' and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred b ...

was discovered accidentally, north of the pyramid, by assistant Alla el-Din Shaat. Its underside is faceted, four triangles forming a shallow downward pyramid. It is the second oldest capstone of a pyramid ever found; the earliest belonged to the Red Pyramid of Sneferu at

Dahshur DahshurAlso transliterated ''Dahshour'' (in English often called ''Dashur''; ' ) is an ancient Egyptian pyramid complex and necropolis and shares the name of the nearby village of Manshiyyat Dahshur () in markaz Badrashin, Giza Governorate, Giza ...

. The top three courses were reconstructed by Miss Nivien Mohamed Mustafa, four metres north of the pyramid. The foundation and parts of the first course of the pyramid were restored as well, with newly carved limestone blocks.

Substructure

The substructure consists of an inclined passage of 25–28° which runs north to south. It starts inwards from the pyramid's base line, indicating that the original entrance lay somewhat above the ground level on the north face. This corridor, two cubits () wide, runs for a length of 10 cubits (), until it terminates above the floor of a chamber extending to the east and west. Together they form a T-shaped structure that matches satellite pyramids subsequent to this one. A distinct cutting in the chamber floor at its entrance may have held a plugging stone. Alternatively, it may have held an angled stone which continued the ramp down to the chamber floor. The floor measures about 15 by 6.5 cubits, or long (east to west) by . Traces of mortar hint at a pavement now missing. The walls of the chamber were not smoothed or polished, and are slightly inclined, narrowing towards the former ceiling. Four small holes in opposing walls at the west end suggest that two beams spanned this end of the chamber. Hawass speculates that they could have been intended for lowering or covering an object.

Purpose

The purpose of the pyramid is under debate by scholars. Some possible explanations are that it is for the king's ka, or it represents the king as the ruler of Upper and

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...

, or it is for the viscera of the king, or it is a dummy room for the

Sed festival The Sed festival (''ḥb-sd'', Egyptian language#Egyptological pronunciation, conventional pronunciation ; also known as Heb Sed or Feast of the Tail) was an ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh. The name is ...

, or it has a solar function.

Zahi Hawass Zahi Abass Hawass (; born May 28, 1947) is an Egyptians, Egyptian archaeology, archaeologist, Egyptology, Egyptologist, and former Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, a position he held twice. He has ...

, who led the uncovering of the pyramid, believed that the satellite pyramid was used symbolically as a changing room for the Sed festival.

References

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External links

The Discovery of the Satellite Pyramid of Khufu
by Zahi Hawass.
The Revised and Complete Article on the Pyramidion of the Satellite Pyramid of Khufu, G1D
by Josef Dorner.
Keith Hamilton guides
{{Coord, 29, 58, 41.0, N, 31, 8, 8.9, E, display=title, name=Pyramid G1-d Giza Plateau Pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt

Superstructure

Substructure

Purpose

See also

References

External links