The pyramid of Merikare is an

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

that remains unidentified, but is attested by inscriptions on funerary steles and possibly is located in

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

. The pyramid is presumed to be the burial place of the Herakleopolitan

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Merikare Merikare (also Merykare and Merykara) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 10th Dynasty who lived toward the end of the First Intermediate Period. Purportedly inspired by the teaching of his father, he embarked on a semi-peaceful coexistence p ...

, who ruled toward the end of the Tenth Dynasty c. 2040 BC during the

First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...

. Sometimes, the ''

Headless Pyramid The Headless Pyramid, otherwise identified as Lepsius XXIX or Steinpyramide XXIX, is the remain of a Egyptian pyramid, pyramid complex built in Saqqara. The identity of the pyramid owner is unclear, though it is suspected to belong to either pha ...

'' in North Saqqara is identified as the pyramid of Merikare, although the latter is more likely to belong to pharaoh

Menkauhor Menkauhor Kaiu (also known as Ikauhor and in Greek as Mencherês, Μεγχερῆς; died 2414 BC) was an Ancient Egyptian king of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early ...

Attestations

Although undiscovered, the pyramid of Merikare is the only attested pyramid of a king belonging to the Herakleopolitan dynasties (the

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

and Tenth). The pyramid is known by nine inscriptions, eight of which are from northern

; while the ninth is of unknown origin. From those inscriptions it is known that the ancient name of the pyramid was ''"Wadj Sut Merikare"'' variously translated as ''"Flourishing are the abodes of Merikare"'' or ''"The fresh places of Merikare"''.

Mark Lehner Mark Lehner (born 1950 in Dakota) is an American archaeology, archaeologist with more than 30 years of experience excavating in Egypt. He is the director of Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) and has appeared in numerous television documenta ...

: The Complete Pyramids, Thames & Hudson, , p. 165. All these inscriptions were found in the tombs of priests and at least four of these priests were responsible for the funerary cult of both kings Merikare and the earlier

Sixth Dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egyp ...

king,

Teti Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources (died 2333 BC), was the first pharaoh, king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroye ...

. The priests lived during the early

Twelfth Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years), at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty periodically expanded its terr ...

(1991 BC - 1802 BC), demonstrating that the funerary cults of these kings remained active during the Middle Kingdom and, most importantly, that Merikare's pyramid must have been in the vicinity of the

pyramid of Teti The pyramid of Teti is a smooth-sided pyramid situated in the pyramid field at Saqqara in Egypt which belonged to Teti, founder of the sixth dynasty of Egypt. It is the second known pyramid containing pyramid texts. Excavations have revealed a sat ...

, in Saqqara.

Identification

Using the funerary steles of the twelfth dynasty priests,

Cecil Mallaby Firth Cecil Mallaby Firth (5 July 1878 – 1931) was a British Egyptologist. Firth was baptised at Ashburton in Devon on 14 August 1878, the son of Henry Mallaby Firth, gent., and Frances (Fanny) Caunter. He became a lawyer, and after briefly wor ...

believed to have found the pyramid of Merikare in 1926 on the southeast corner of that of Teti. The structure identified by Firth later turned out to be the small cult pyramid of Teti's pyramid complex. Another hypothesis emerged in the second half of the twentieth century identifying the pyramid of Merikare with the Lepsius pyramid no. XXIX, located in Saqqara-north and commonly known as the

. Later, this hypothesis was rejected by some scholars such as Jocelyne Berlandini who proposed in 1979 that the Headless Pyramid is more likely to belong to the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh

,Jocelyne Berlandini: ''La pyramide ruinée de Sakkara-nord et le roi Ikaouhor-Menkaouhor'', Revue d'Egyptologie 31, (1979), pp. 3-28
Available online
/ref> the only Fifth Dynasty ruler whose pyramid had not been identified formally. Berlandini based her conclusion on the construction techniques featured in the pyramid as well as the fact that, to a great extent, the priests of the funerary cult of Menkauhor were buried in northern Saqqara. In 1994, however, Jaromir Malek published a study arguing again that Merikare is the owner of the Headless Pyramid.Jaromir Malek: ''King Merykare and his Pyramid'', in C. Berger, G. Clerc and N. Grimal (eds) ''Hommages à Jean Leclant, Vol. 4.'', (Bibliothèque d'étude 106/4), Cairo 1994, pp. 203–214. For example, Malek points out that no burials dating to the Fifth Dynasty are located in the immediate vicinity of the Headless Pyramid. In 2008, continuing excavations on the site of the Headless Pyramid under the direction of

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 ...

corroborated Berlandini's assignment of it to the Fifth Dynasty. This conclusion was reached based on evaluations of the structure of the monument as well as the construction materials employed, both being typical of that era. Although no inscriptions naming a pharaoh were uncovered, Hawass attributed the pyramid to Menkauhor since he is the only pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty whose pyramid had not been identified.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

: Katarina Kratovac
Mystery of ‘Headless Pyramid’ solved
June 5, 2008 If Berlandini and Hawass are correct, then the pyramid of Merikare remains undiscovered, somewhere in the sands of Saqqara.

References

Bibliography

Christoffer Theis Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...

, ''Die Pyramiden der Ersten Zwischenzeit. Nach philologischen und archäologischen Quellen''. Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur, Bd. 39, 2010, pp. 321–339. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramid of Merikare Buildings and structures completed in the 21st century BC

Lost buildings and structures

Attestations

Identification

See also

References

Bibliography