Two of Egypt’s best-preserved pyramids are in Dahshur Necropolis. They were built during the time of King Snefru (2613–2589 BC), who started the Fourth Dynasty and was the father of Pharaoh Khufu.
The Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid at Dahshur show how the architecture changed before the Pyramid of Khufu and his two friends were built on the Giza Plateau.
Before the pyramids at Giza were built, the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid were built in Dahshur Necropolis. A curved pyramid is called a “transitional” pyramid because about a third of the way up, the angle of its sides changes quickly.
The Pyramid of Sneferu II was the first Pyramid with a smooth top and the third largest Pyramid ever built, but the Pyramids of Khufu and Khafre at Giza were taller.
Where are the Pyramids of Dahshur?
They are about 40 kilometers southwest of Cairo. The village of Dahshur is the southernmost point of the vast field of pyramids that starts in Giza. During excavations at Dahshur, the remains of seven pyramids and large tomb complexes were found.
These were built for queens and nobles from when Memphis was the capital until the 13th dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.
From Saqqara, you can see the curved Pyramid of Dahshur in the distance. Because of this, you can visit both sites on the same day.
1- The Bent Pyramid Or Curved Pyramid at Dahshur
King Sneferu, the father of King Khufu, who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, built the Bent Pyramid, also called the Curved Pyramid at Dahshur, at the end of the 27th century B.C.
The curved Pyramid was the first structure that Pharaoh Sneferu built. It got its name because it wasn’t finished and needed to be rebuilt, but the king decided not to do that. The Pyramid is near the cemetery in the city of Dahshur and is on the same site as the Red Pyramid.
Where is it located?
It is in the area of Dahshur, about 40 kilometers from Giza and a few kilometers south of the Saqqara archaeological site.
Who built it?
It was built by Snefru, the first king of the 4th dynasty and Cheops’s father. He may have been the first person to create the perfect Pyramid.
The shape of the Pyramid
It is the Pyramid of the Double Slope, which is also called the Rhomboidal Pyramid.
It was built by Snefru, Cheops’s father after Medium failed to be made. It is a very unusual building because it is not shaped like a typical pyramid.
The sides have a double slope because the design changed while the work was done. Initially, the outer walls had a tip of about 54°, but because of possible construction flaws, the height was cut to nearly half (43°), creating a double slope. In the original plan, it was supposed to reach a height of 128.5 meters, but after the preferences changed, it only got to be 105 meters tall.
Features of the Curved Pyramid:
- This pyramPyramidhe is best preserved in Egypt, and you can still see the limestone shining in the sun.
- It is 105 meters tall, and each side of its square base is 188 meters long.
- The most exciting thing is that each of its four sides is curved, caused by a change in the initial tilt angle from 54° to 43°.
- The pyramid is one of a kind because it has Pyramid separate burial chambers with separate entrances on different sides.
- The Snefru pyramid is part of a necropolis with a small pyramid and a temple for the dead that is decorated with low reliefs.
2- The Red Pyramid of Dahshur
Pharaoh Snefru, who ruled during the fourth dynasty, also worked on the Red Pyramid. After finishing the Rhomboidal Pyramid near the cemetery of Dahshur, SPyramidried to fix the mistakes made when he and Meidum’s pyramids, which had collapsed during construction, were being built.
The Red Pyramid, finished at the beginning of the 26th century B.C., was the first successful attempt to build an actual pyramid. It was directly inspired by the pyramids of Giza, which were made at the end of the 4th dynasty.
When compared to other pyramids of the same size, this structure seems to be crouching because its sides are tilted at an angle of 43 degrees.
After a mistake in the design of the Rhombic Pyramid caused it to bend, the builders who worked for Snefru probably decided to build this pyramid at the same angle that let their pyramids. The height of the Red Pyramid is 341 feet.
