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Lisht is the site of Senusret I's Pyramid, the tenth tallest, an Egyptian pyramid built to be the burial place of the Pharaoh Senusret I. The pyramid was built during the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt at el-Lisht, near the pyramid of his father, Amenemhat I. Its ancient name was Senusret Petei Tawi (Senusret beholds the two lands).

The pyramid was 105 meters on each side with a height of 61.25 meters; the slope of the four faces was 49° 24'. The pyramid used a method of construction never before seen in an Egyptian pyramid; four stone walls radiated from the center built of rough-hewn blocks that decreased in size the higher their placement. The eight sections formed by these walls were then subdivided by three more walls, splitting the pyramid into 32 different units which were then filled with slabs of stone as well as debris. An exoskeleton of fine limestone then covered the structure. This new method of construction was not particularly efficient, however, and the completed pyramid suffered from stability problems. Unusually, clear evidence for the ramps used to construct the pyramid also remain.

Surrounding the actual structure was a comparatively large complex, which consisted of a mortuary temple, a rectangular structure with a courtyard in the center, and nine smaller pyramids for Senusret's queens. From the mortuary, a limestone causeway with carved statues set every 10 cubits ran to a public temple outside the perimeter wall of the compound. Little of this is visible today, however, because later Roman buildings were built over the complex.

EXCAVATIONS

The pyramid has been severely damaged over time, and little of its limestone cladding remains. It now appears as little more than a hillock of stone. None of the excavations penetrated to the burial chamber due to high water levels, but much was learned about pyramid construction from the surrounding quarries, which contained one of the highest concentrations of ancient debris of any Egyptian archaeological site.

The pyramid was first explored by archaeologists Gautier and Jequier between 1894 and 1895.

From 1906 to 1943, the pyramid was excavated by a team from the Metropolitan Museum of Art headed initially by Albert Lythgoe, Arthur Mace and Ambrose Lansing.

From 1984 to 1987, further excavation was carried out by Dieter Arnold.

 

 

 

No.

HEIGHT

PHARAOH

LOCATION

NAME OF PYRAMID

DYNASTY

... ... ... ... ...

1.

146.60

Khufu

Giza

The Great Pyramid

4th

2.

143.50

Khafre

Giza

Khafre's Pyramid

4th

3.

105.00

Sneferu

Dashur

Bent Pyramid (false)

4th

4.

105.00

Sneferu

Dashur

The Red Pyramid

4th

5.

 78.00

Senusret III

Dashur

Pyramid of Senusret III

12th

6.

 75.00

Amenemhat III

Dashur

Pyramid of Amenemhat III

12th

7.

 73.30

Userkaf

Saqqara

Pyramid of Userkaf

5th

8.

 66.50

Menkaure

Giza

Menkaure's Pyramid

4th

9.

 62.00

Djoser

Saqqara

Djoser Pyramid (step)

3rd

10.

 61.25

Senuset I

Lisht 

Senuset I Pyramid

12th

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Apart from ruling their country, the ancient Egyptians had time to contemplate how they would cope in the afterlife during the flooding of the Nile, when farm laborers could be used to build, giving them a positive agenda. Each successive ruler of the sandy kingdom, wished for more comforts, and to outdo their forebears, in terms of how they would be remembered.

 

Egypt was one of the richest and most powerful civilizations in the world at that time. So could afford to convert their national output, into something tangible, for their citizens to marvel at. At the time they had few threats to national security. 

 

Generally, the bigger the pyramid, the more important the Pharaoh. It's a Freudian thing. This compendium is in order of height. There are many very interesting pyramid designs that will be covered in the general indexing, if they have unusual or developmental features. Since, the art of pyramid construction and development appears to have been an ongoing thing, until it fizzled out as a result of resource scarcities, adventures of thieves, and land grants to priests, as the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Pyramids ceased to be economically viable, and a huge drain on what we'd call the Gross National Product (GNP) today. And as for climate change, they are hardly a sustainable practice, in UN SDG terms.

 

On the basis that the taller the pyramid, the higher the status of the king or queen, it might be argued that Khufu takes first prize, with Khafre a close second. After that, nobody came close to 140 meters, as the national goal to achieve a taller building than the last ruler fell by the wayside.

 

Please note, this is not a definitive table, but our own guide, based on freely available information. Students of archaeology and Egyptologists will draw their own conclusions. Observations are most welcome, if we have misquoted anything. We'd be pleased to make corrections as applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

RULER WITHOUT A PYRAMID - Tragically, queen Cleopatra poisoned herself with an Egyptian cobra. Later her mausoleum was washed into the sea by an earthquake and tsunami in 365AD. Leaving little to visibly remind us of the great Pharaoh.

 

 

 

The oldest known pyramid in Egypt was built around 2630 B.C. at Saqqara, for the third dynasty’s King Djoser. Known as the Step Pyramid, it began as a traditional mastaba but grew into something much more ambitious. The pyramid’s architect was Imhotep, a priest and healer who some 1,400 years later would be deified as the patron saint of scribes and physicians. Over the course of Djoser’s nearly 20-year reign, pyramid builders assembled six stepped layers of stone (as opposed to mud-brick, like most earlier tombs) that eventually reached a height of 204 feet (62 meters); it was the tallest building of its time. The Step Pyramid was surrounded by a complex of courtyards, temples and shrines where Djoser could enjoy his afterlife.

After Djoser, the stepped pyramid became the norm for royal burials, although none of those planned by his dynastic successors were completed (probably due to their relatively short reigns). The earliest tomb constructed as a “true” (smooth-sided, not stepped) pyramid was the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, one of three burial structures built for the first king of the fourth dynasty, Sneferu (2613-2589 B.C.) It was named for the color of the limestone blocks used to construct the pyramid’s core.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queen Cleopatra's royal barge, last of the Pharoahs      Egyptian royal barge, sails and oars for propulsion      Ancient Egyptian royal funeral barge, or solar boat      Pharoah Khufu's royal barge, solar boat for the afterlife

 

 

Cleopatra's royal barges, last of the Pharoah Queens

 

 

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SENUSRET I'S PYRAMID 10TH TALLEST - A - Z INDEX OF THE LARGEST ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS

 

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