Egyptian archaeologists have announced the discovery of a pyramid thought to be around 3,700 years old, dating back to ancient Egypt's 13th Dynasty.
The remains of the pyramid were discovered just north of King Sneferu’s famous bent pyramid in the Dahshur royal necropolis, located 40 kilometers (24 miles) south of Cairo, announced the head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, Mahmoud Afifi, in a statement on Monday.
The team is currently trying to determine the size of the pyramid as the remains discovered are the inner structures of the pyramid, including a corridor that leads to a lobby, which then rises from ground level up to a ramp on one side. Interior walls and columns have also been found engraved with lines of hieroglyphics.
Due to the bent slopes on the side, the team thinks this could be one of the earliest examples of an attempt to build a smooth-sided pyramid, much like Sneferu’s pyramid.
Sneferu's famous Bent pyramid in Dahshur. WitR/Shutterstock
King Sneferu was a pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. All of his pyramids included funerary complexes – the Dahshur necropolis was the burial site for courtiers and high-ranking officials – but the famous Bent pyramid is one of the first examples of the transitioning style of pyramids. Its original slope was at a 55-degree angle, but the ground under the pyramid was unstable, causing it to buckle. Therefore, the builders constructed a case around the base, which, as the rest of the pyramid’s sides are at a 43-degree angle, gives it its bent shape.
The Ministry of Antiquities said on its Facebook page that all the parts of the newly discovered pyramid were found in good condition and that further excavation and exploring of the texts was expected to reveal more of the ancient structure's secrets.
