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| Head of a queen, probably Tye from Kon Medinet Ghurab |
Kom Medinet Ghurab
At the south side of the entrance to the Faiyum, on the edge of the desert some 3 km southwest of el-Lahun, there are scanty remains of two temples and adjacent town quarters and cemeteries . The larger of the temples was bult by Tuthmosis III, and the settlement thrived during the seond half of the 18th and in the 19th Dynasty . A number of objects found there represent or are connected with Amenophis III and Queen Teye, and one of the buildings if often described as a palace of this reign.
El-Lahun
The pyramid of El-Lahun, some 3 km north of the modern town of this name, was built by Senwosret II. It is on the right side of the opening through which the Bahr Yusuf enters the Faiyum, opposite Kom Medinet Ghurab, and overlooks the area to which the kings of the 12th Dynasty devoted much attention . Its builders used a natural knoll of rock for sitting the pyramid, and employed the well-established Middle kingdom method of core construction . This was based on stone retaining walls radiating from the center, and the filling of chambers formed between them with mud bricks.
The stone outer casing produced an effect comparable to that of pyramids completely built of stone, but nowadays, with the revetment gone, the structure is little more than a large mound of earth The entrance to the interior of the pyramid was through two shafts near the south face ; this is very unusual (normally the entrance is in the north face) and presented W . M. Flinders Petrie, the excavator, with considerable problems.
Beautiful Middle Kingdom jewelry, comparable to that discovered at Dahshur, was found south of the pyramid, in the shaft tomb of Princess Sithathoriunet.
There are mastabas and graves dating to practically all periods of Egyptian history in the neighborhood of the pyramid .
The valley temple lies about I km to the east, near the line of cultivation. Close to it is the walled settlement of El-Lahun (also known as Kahun), excavated by Petrie. Most of the town was planned and laid out at the neat geometrical rows. At least three town quarters, separated by walls, can be distinguished : (1) the "acropolis" perhaps in-tended for the king himself, (2) the eastern quarter, with large mansions (about 40 by 60 m) centered around a court and consisting of as many as 70 or 80 rooms, (3) the western quarter of smaller uniform dwellings ( about 10 by 10 m) with 4 to 12 rooms.
The town housed priests and officials connected with the pyramid ; although it is unique to date, it must have been one of many built near pyramid complexes. The town is famous because of the hundreds of hieratic papyri ("Kahun Papyri") found there. These contained texts of varying nature, such as literary, mathematical, medical and veterinary works, and also legal and temple documents, accounts, letter etc.
THE FAIYUM
Although usually described as an oasis, the Faiyum is connected with the Nile by a river arm known as the Bahr Yusuf (Arabic: "The River of Joseph").
The Faiyum (Ancient Egyptians she-resy, "The southern lake, " later divided into she-resy and Ner-Wer, "The great lake, " Greek Moeris ) is a large, extremely fertile depression some 65 km from east to west, with a lake (modern Birket Qarun, lake Moeris of Classical Writers) in its northwesten part. Nowadays the Lake only occupies about one fifth of the Faiyum and is some 44 m below sea level, but in the past it was much larger, teeming with wild life, and with abundant vegetation on its shores. Crocodiles must have been very common in the region, hence the role of the species as the chief deity of the area (sobek, Greek suchos). The name Faiyum derives from that of the lake, Coptic Peiom.
Two periods in Egyptian history were of great significance for the area. When during the 12th Dynasty the capital of Egypt was moved ti-List, measures were taken to enhance the economic importance of the nearby Faiyum, probably by reducing theinflow of water into the lake and reclaiming land. The majority of temples and settlements uncovered so far date to the Grecoroman period, when the areaonce again became the focus of royal attention. The laje was artificially reduced to win further arable land, and new settlers, particularly Greco-Macedonian veterans, were introduced there by Ptolemy II philadelphus.
Thousand of Egyptian (demotic) and Greek papyrihave been found in Faiyum town sites of this period.
Maidum
The unmistakable view of Maidum is one showing a huge tower-shaped structure appearing above a hill formed by stone debris. These are the remains of the first true pyramid ever attempted in Egypt, and the earliest-known developed pyramid complex (together with the "Bent pyramid" at Dahshur).
Experiments with the design of the pyramid are the cause of its present appearance. The monument started as a seven-stepped pyramid. But was subsequently altered into an eight-stepped structure, finally the steps were filled and an outer casing was applied to complete its conversion into a proper pyramidal form. The king for whom the pyramid was begun was probably Huni, the last ruler of the 3rd Dynasty, but since New kingdom graffiti tell us that the Egyptians them-selves later connected it with Huni's successor Snofru, the latter may have been responsible for its completion. However, the smooth dressing of the walls which were originally intended to exposed as outer faces of the step pyramid (some can still be seen on the pyramid") did not provide sufficient bonding for later fill leaning against them. Furthermore, the outer casing did not rest on sound Foundations, and the method employed in laying its blocks was not well chosen. As a result of these constructional deficiencies the bases of the four outer buttress walls gave way and the walls slid down and collapsed, creating the tower that we see today. The date at which this happened is still hotly disputed, attempts have been made to connect this " building disaster " with the change of the angle of the "Bent pyramid " at Dahshur, but the presence of an extensive contemporary necropolis speaks against such an early date. Bar the discovery of some unexpected textual or pictorial evidence elsewhere, only further excavations in the immediate vicinity of the pyramid can provide a satisfactory solution to this problem.
Cemeteries of large brick-built mastabas of the beginning of the 4th Dynasty lie to the north and east of the pyramid. The best-known among them are the twin mastabas of Rehotpe and his wife Nofret, and of Neferma at and his wife Itet.
Although the site has not been by any means systematically explored, a number of excavators have worked at it. The most distinguished of them were A. Mariette, W . M. Flinders Petrie and Alan Rowe.
El-Lisht
Early in his reign, King Amenemhet I of the 12th Dynasty moved the administrative capital of Egypt and the royal residence from Thebes to Itjtawy, a newly founded walled town somewhere between the Faiyum and Memphis. Paradoxical though it may seem, nothing has yet been found of the town itself, and its exact location is still unknown. It is, however, certain that the pyramid field of El-Lisht was its main necropolis, and so Itjtawy probably spread in the cultivated area to the east of it. The town retained its importance for at least 300 years, only to relinquish it to the Hyksos center Avaris in the northeastern delta and to Thebes during the 2nd intermediate period.
The main features of El-Lisht are the two dilapidate pyramids of Amenemhet 1 and his son Senwosret I, some 1.5 km apart, surrounded by smaller pyramids and mastabas of members of the royal family and officials and cemeteries of ordinary graves. The proximity of the Memphite necropolis provided Amenemhet I with a source of conveniently prepared building material, and as a result a large number of decorated blocks originating in earlier royal temples have been recovered from the core of the pyramid by archaeologists.
The most interesting among the 12th-Dynasty mastabes near the north pyramid of Amenemhet I belong to the Vizier Inyotefoqer, the chief steward Nakht, the Overseer of sealers Rehuerdjersen and the Mistress of the House Senebtisy, while close to the south pyramid of senwosret I there are the tombs of the High priest of Heliopolis Imhotep, the steward Sehetepibre ankh, the High priest of Memphis Senwosret-ankh and others. The monuments of El-Lisht have been explored by the expeditions of the Institut François d Archeologie Orientale (1894-95) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1906-34).
The pyramid of El-Lahun, some 3 km north of the modern town of this name, was built by Senwosret II. It is on the right side of the opening through which the Bahr Yusuf enters the Faiyum, opposite Kom Medinet Ghurab, and overlooks the area to which the kings of the 12th Dynasty devoted much attention . Its builders used a natural knoll of rock for sitting the pyramid, and employed the well-established Middle kingdom method of core construction . This was based on stone retaining walls radiating from the center, and the filling of chambers formed between them with mud bricks.
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| The pyramid of Senwsert II at El-Lahun |
Beautiful Middle Kingdom jewelry, comparable to that discovered at Dahshur, was found south of the pyramid, in the shaft tomb of Princess Sithathoriunet.
There are mastabas and graves dating to practically all periods of Egyptian history in the neighborhood of the pyramid .
The valley temple lies about I km to the east, near the line of cultivation. Close to it is the walled settlement of El-Lahun (also known as Kahun), excavated by Petrie. Most of the town was planned and laid out at the neat geometrical rows. At least three town quarters, separated by walls, can be distinguished : (1) the "acropolis" perhaps in-tended for the king himself, (2) the eastern quarter, with large mansions (about 40 by 60 m) centered around a court and consisting of as many as 70 or 80 rooms, (3) the western quarter of smaller uniform dwellings ( about 10 by 10 m) with 4 to 12 rooms.
The town housed priests and officials connected with the pyramid ; although it is unique to date, it must have been one of many built near pyramid complexes. The town is famous because of the hundreds of hieratic papyri ("Kahun Papyri") found there. These contained texts of varying nature, such as literary, mathematical, medical and veterinary works, and also legal and temple documents, accounts, letter etc.
THE FAIYUM
Although usually described as an oasis, the Faiyum is connected with the Nile by a river arm known as the Bahr Yusuf (Arabic: "The River of Joseph").
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| The temple of Qasr El-Sagha |
Two periods in Egyptian history were of great significance for the area. When during the 12th Dynasty the capital of Egypt was moved ti-List, measures were taken to enhance the economic importance of the nearby Faiyum, probably by reducing theinflow of water into the lake and reclaiming land. The majority of temples and settlements uncovered so far date to the Grecoroman period, when the areaonce again became the focus of royal attention. The laje was artificially reduced to win further arable land, and new settlers, particularly Greco-Macedonian veterans, were introduced there by Ptolemy II philadelphus.
Thousand of Egyptian (demotic) and Greek papyrihave been found in Faiyum town sites of this period.
Maidum
The unmistakable view of Maidum is one showing a huge tower-shaped structure appearing above a hill formed by stone debris. These are the remains of the first true pyramid ever attempted in Egypt, and the earliest-known developed pyramid complex (together with the "Bent pyramid" at Dahshur).
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| Black granite colossal of a king (almost certianly Amenemhat III) dressed as a priest from Mit Faris Faiyum |
Cemeteries of large brick-built mastabas of the beginning of the 4th Dynasty lie to the north and east of the pyramid. The best-known among them are the twin mastabas of Rehotpe and his wife Nofret, and of Neferma at and his wife Itet.
Although the site has not been by any means systematically explored, a number of excavators have worked at it. The most distinguished of them were A. Mariette, W . M. Flinders Petrie and Alan Rowe.
El-Lisht
Early in his reign, King Amenemhet I of the 12th Dynasty moved the administrative capital of Egypt and the royal residence from Thebes to Itjtawy, a newly founded walled town somewhere between the Faiyum and Memphis. Paradoxical though it may seem, nothing has yet been found of the town itself, and its exact location is still unknown. It is, however, certain that the pyramid field of El-Lisht was its main necropolis, and so Itjtawy probably spread in the cultivated area to the east of it. The town retained its importance for at least 300 years, only to relinquish it to the Hyksos center Avaris in the northeastern delta and to Thebes during the 2nd intermediate period.
The main features of El-Lisht are the two dilapidate pyramids of Amenemhet 1 and his son Senwosret I, some 1.5 km apart, surrounded by smaller pyramids and mastabas of members of the royal family and officials and cemeteries of ordinary graves. The proximity of the Memphite necropolis provided Amenemhet I with a source of conveniently prepared building material, and as a result a large number of decorated blocks originating in earlier royal temples have been recovered from the core of the pyramid by archaeologists.
The most interesting among the 12th-Dynasty mastabes near the north pyramid of Amenemhet I belong to the Vizier Inyotefoqer, the chief steward Nakht, the Overseer of sealers Rehuerdjersen and the Mistress of the House Senebtisy, while close to the south pyramid of senwosret I there are the tombs of the High priest of Heliopolis Imhotep, the steward Sehetepibre ankh, the High priest of Memphis Senwosret-ankh and others. The monuments of El-Lisht have been explored by the expeditions of the Institut François d Archeologie Orientale (1894-95) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1906-34).
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