Pyramid of Menkaure
The Pyramid of Menkaure, located on the Giza Plateau in the south western outskirts of Cairo, Egypt was constructed in 2510 B.C. (4th Dynasty). Situated beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Khafre, it is popularly known as ‘Menkaure is Divine’. It is the smallest of the three pyramids of Giza but is one of the most impressive monuments of Ancient Egypt. It is thought to have been built to serve as the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Menkaure, son of Khafre.
The first sixteen courses of the exterior were made of red granite. The upper portion was cased with Tura limestone. Incomplete projects such as this pyramid help archaeologists understand the methods used to build pyramids and temples. South of the pyramid
…show more content…
Some of these theories are:
1) Herodotus suggested that it was built for Hetera Rhodopis – the original Cinderella, a Greek slave who was given a rose-gilded slippers and who married Pharaoh Ahmose I.
2) Manetho,an Egyptian priest who lived during the Ptolemic era attributed it to Nitokris, the daughter of Psamtik I of the twenty sixth dynasty (Saite period Third Intermediate Period) of Ancient Egypt.
3) Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian of the 1st century B.C. correctly attributed the pyramid to Menkaure.
The Pyramid Complex
Description of the Main Pyramid
The entrance to the Menkaure Pyramid on the north side, about 4 m above ground level. At the end of the steps leading to the opening, there are a few steps downward into the descending passageway. The descending passageway leads to the first antechamber. This room is relatively small and there is another opening at the end. The two openings are flanked by a sculptured design of "palace facade", the first carved relief of this great pyramid since Zoser, but the significance of this unusual decoration is still