The

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 ...

Amenemhat III :''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat III (Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-hꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the sixth king of the Twelfth Dyn ...

is the capstone that once crowned the Black Pyramid at Dashur,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Crafted around 1850 BC, towards the end of the

12th 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 ...

during the Middle Kingdom, it remained mostly intact and is now located in the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

in Cairo.

Rediscovery

In 1900, the then-director of the

Department of Antiquities A Department of Antiquities is a government department with responsibility for cultural heritage management, archaeological research and regulating antiquities trading in some countries. Many were established by British and French colonial admini ...

Gaston Maspero Sir Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (23 June 1846 – 30 June 1916) was a French Egyptologist and director general of excavations and antiquities for the Egyptian government. Widely regarded as the foremost Egyptologist of his generation, he be ...

had Dashur inspected, after the guards at the

Saqqara necropolis 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 ...

were attacked by robbers. On the east side of the pyramid of Amenemhat, a grey block was found sticking out of the sand, which, upon closer inspection, was decorated with beautiful inscriptions. After excavation, the pyramidion was transported to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Description

The pyramidion, carved out of single piece of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

(often called

black granite In the construction industry, black rocks that share the hardness and strength of granitic rocks are known as black granite. In geological terms, black granite might be gabbro, diabase, basalt, diorite, norite, or anorthosite Anorthosite () ...

), is mostly intact apart from a broken corner. With a height of and base length , it weighs around . The bottom edges are undercut to keep the block in position atop the pyramid.

Inscriptions

The four upper faces were polished and inscribed. The side which pointed to the east is adorned with a winged sun disk flanked by two uraei. Below, two '' wedjat'' represent the eyes of the king himself. Further down, three ''

nefer The Egyptian hieroglyph serves as a phonogram representing the triliteral consonant sequence ', and appears in Gardiner's sign list as number F35. It appears in the Egyptian word for "perfect, complete" (with the extended meanings of "good, ...

'' signs stand for beauty or perfection. Finally, a sun disk represents the god Ra, from which the throne name of Amenemhat "Ni-maat-re" extends to the right and his

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

"Imen-em-hat" to the left. As a whole, the composition reads: "Amenemhat beholds the perfection of Ra".' Along the bottom of the four upper faces, two lines of inscriptions run: Eastern Face The eastern commences with: (top row) "Words spoken, may the sight be open to the king of upper and lower Egypt, the lord of the two lands, Nimaatre, so he may see the lord of the horizon and his crossing of the upper sky. May it be given the appearing to the Son of Ra, Amenemhat, as a god, lord of everlasting and indestructible. (bottom row) Word spoken, by the sovereign, I have given the beautiful horizon, the Two Ladies (

Nekhbet Nekhbet (; also spelt Nekhebet) is an early predynastic local goddess in Egyptian mythology, who was the patron of the city of Nekheb (her name meaning ''of Nekheb''). Ultimately, she became the patron of Upper Egypt and one of the two patron ...

and

Wadjet Wadjet (; "Green One"), known to the Greek world as Uto (; ) or Buto (; ) among other renderings including Wedjat, Uadjet, and Udjo, was originally the ancient Egyptian Tutelary deity, local goddess of the city of Dep or Buto in Lower Egypt, ...

), and he who takes the inheritance of the two lands, so you may rest upon it, which pleases the sky. Word spoken by the horizon: may you rest upon it, which please the sky". Northern Face The northern commences with: (top row) "Word spoken, higher is the Ba of the king of upper and lower Egypt, Nimaatre, than the height of Orion as it joins the

Duat The Duat or Tuat (Ancient Egyptian: Hieroglyph: 𓇽 romanized: dwꜣt) is a concept in ancient Egyptian mythology involving death. It is most often seen as a realm where people go after they die. Due to linguistic shifts within Ancient Egypt, th ...

Ra-Horakhty Ra is the Sun-god of Ancient Egypt. Ra or RA may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * Ra (Stargate), a character from the film ''Stargate'', based on the Egyptian god * ''Ra'' (1972 film), a 1972 documentary film about ...

, he makes firm, the Son of Ra, of his body, Amenemhat, who is in the midst of the northern starry sky, and

Neith Neith (, a borrowing of the Demotic (Egyptian), Demotic form , also spelled Nit, Net, or Neit) was an ancient Egyptian deity, possibly of Ancient Libya, Libyan origin. She was connected with warfare, as indicated by her emblem of two crossed b ...

who is content concerning it". (bottom row - starting from the centre proceeding to the left) The living

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

, great of might, the Two Ladies (Nebty), who inherited the two lands, the golden Horus - enduring of life, the Son of Ra - Amenemhat, given life, like Ra, forever. (back to the center proceeding to the right) The living Horus, great of might, the Two Ladies, who inherited the two lands, the golden Horus, enduring of life, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nimaatre, given life, like Ra, forever". Western Face The western commences with: (top row) "...the great one, the ribs of

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

, lord of the Thinite

nome Nome may refer to: Country subdivision * Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt * Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. ) Places United States * Nome, Alaska ...

, that are under the feet of the good god, the lord of the two lands and of doing, the son of Ra, of his body, Amenemhat.

Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...

, who is south of his wall, the lord of truth and the beloved Ankhtawy (the living two lands)... (bottom row) Word spoken by Ptah, given all life, stability, power, to the good god, the golden Horus - enduring of life, Nimaatre. Words spoken by

Sokar Sokar (; also spelled Seker, and in Ancient Greek language, Greek, Sokaris or Socharis) is a hawk or falcon god of the Memphis, Egypt, Memphite necropolis in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was known as a patron of the living, as well as a go ...

-Osiris, lord of all the living god, of..." Southern Face The southern commences with: (top row) "Words spoken by, Imiut/Anubis, he who has upon his mountain, and behind the king of upper and lower Egypt, the lord of doing Nimaatre, united with the western desert inside the great shrine. The lord of good offering, who is in it and given it, his inheritance. The lord of eternity and for everlasting. (bottom row) Word spoken by Imuit/

Anubis Anubis (; ), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian (), is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine hea ...

, I have given all places, good, pure and the spirit of the beautiful west to the king of upper and lower Egypt, the lord of the two lands, Nimaatre, commanding to him, may you rest the upon it, word spoken by the beautiful west, may you rest the upon it". The name of the god

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

in Amenemhat's

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

s has been erased. If this was done during the reign of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

in the

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

, the pyramidion may have laid on the ground since . The relative lack of damage raised the question whether or not it had ever been on top of the pyramid. File:Cross section of the pyramidion of Amenemhat III.png, Cross section of the pyramidion File:Pyramidion of the Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dahshur, 1842-1794 BCE; Egyptian Museum, Cairo (1).jpg, Name of god Amen erased File:Inscriptions on pyramidion of Amenemhat III.png, Inscriptions on the bottom of the four upper faces File:Cairo museum 8.jpg, East face of the pyramidion

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramidion of Amenemhat III Amenemhat III Basalt sculptures Egyptian Museum 1900 archaeological discoveries Sacred rocks 19th-century BC works Pyramids of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt Archaeological discoveries in Egypt

Rediscovery

Description

Inscriptions

See also

References

Bibliography