The Pyramid Of King Menkaure

 

Builder: King Menkaure.

Constructed: 2490-2472 BC

Height: 65.5 meters.

Location: Giza city.

King Menkaure, Son of king Khafree (4th dynasty),  he was a powerful yet very respectable king; he is known as one of the most  fair kings in ancient Egypt; it is said that Menkaure used to compensate those  who got dissatisfied with any of his sentences out of his own purse. Historians  believe that Menkaure had a very short reign (18 years) as most of his statues  were unfinished.

King Menkaure built the smallest pyramid among the pyramids  of Giza; however the pyramid is still remarkable because it is the only pyramid  in the 4th dynasty that was cased with sixteen layers of granite.

The entrance to the pyramid is located at the north face  slightly above ground level, Modern steps was constructed recently to lead to  the opening; once there, there are few steps downward into a short descending  corridor; as it ends, you reach the first chamber which is relatively small and  empty. On the other side of the first chamber there is another opening where  another corridor leads to a set of chambers including the main burial chamber. The  second chamber is remarkable because it offers a view of the top of the ceiling  of the main burial chamber through a space that you can look through at the far  end.

Queens` Pyramids

King Menkaure built three small pyramids to the south of his own pyramid. Archeologists labeled these pyramids “GIII-a, GIII-b and GIII-c”. At first it was thought that those are satellite pyramids which were built to bury statues as a kind of ritual offering to Ka (the king’s higher-self). However, at a later time new evidence suggested that those three pyramids were built as a burial place for queens.  GIII-c is believed to belong to queen Khamerernebty II, and the body of a young woman was found in pyramid GIII-b, but the identify of this woman is not yet confirmed. All three pyramids were built out of mud-brick.

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