Southern Mazghuna pyramid
Stone ruins of the Southern Mazghuna pyramid (1911)
Amenemhat IV(?),12th Dynasty(?)
Coordinates	29°45′42″N31°13′15″E / 29.76167°N 31.22083°E /29.76167; 31.22083
Ancient name	Mazghuna
Constructed	Late12th Dynasty or Early13th Dynasty
Type	True pyramid
Material	Mudbrick core (with limestone casing?)
Base	52.5 metres (172 ft)

TheSouthern MazghunaPyramid is anancient Egyptian royal tomb which was built during the12th or the13th Dynasty inMazghuna, 5 km south ofDahshur,Egypt. The building was never finished, and is still unknown whichpharaoh was the owner, since no appropriate inscription have been found.
The pyramid was rediscovered in 1910 byErnest Mackay and excavated in the following year byFlinders Petrie.^[1]

The pyramid can be dated to either late 12th Dynasty or early 13th Dynasty.

The pyramid might date to the 12th Dynasty, as the building shares some structural similarities to theHawara pyramid ofAmenemhat III. For this reason it is usually attributed toAmenemhat IV, while thenorthern Mazghuna pyramid is attributed toSobekneferu.

William C. Hayes (1953) believed that the southern pyramid was built during the 13th Dynasty, on the basis of some similarities with thepyramid of Khendjer.^[2] In this case, it could have belonged to one of the many pharaohs who ruled in the 13th Dynasty.

The pyramid has a side length of 52.5 m (172 ft). The core masonry consists ofmudbricks and only reaches a height of one to two layers. Casing stones were not found; therefore, it is impossible to determine information about the planned inclination angle and total height.

The entrance of the pyramid is located in the middle of the south side. A staircase leads down to a short horizontal passage. Here is a wall niche, from where a blocking stone had been pushed into the passage. Another staircase leads to a second block, which, however, is still in its niche.
Finally a U-shaped chamber system leads to the burial chamber, which is topped by agable roof. There was an empty – but used –quartzitesarcophagus and some fewgrave goods (three limestone lamps, analabaster duck-shaped vessel, a make-up vessel made from the same material and a piece of polishedsoapstone) were found in it.

The complex is surrounded by a wavy wall, which incorporate the remains of the chapel in the middle of the east side; it consists of a large central chamber with two chambers on each side of the storehouse. The central chamber was attached in its southwestern corner with a sacrificial hall with a vaulted roof.

• 
  The enclosure wall of the complex
• 
  The chapel of the pyramid complex
• 
  Outer limestone blocks and core mud bricks from the pyramid
• 
  Staircase east of the antechamber
• 
  Staircase to the burial chamber
• 
  Exterior of the burial vault

• List of Egyptian pyramids

• Mark Lehner,Das Geheimnis der Pyramiden in Ägypten. Orbis Verlag, München 1999, pp. 184–185,ISBN 3-572-01039-X.
• Rainer Stadelmann,Die ägyptischen Pyramiden. Vom Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 3. Aufl., Mainz 1997, pp. 250–251,ISBN 3-8053-1142-7
• Miroslav Verner,Die Pyramiden. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1998, pp. 472–474,ISBN 3-499-60890-1.

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• The Mazghuna Pyramids

• 18th century BC in Egypt
• Pyramids of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
• Pyramids of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt
• Buildings and structures completed in the 18th century BC
• 2nd-millennium BC establishments in Egypt
• 1910 archaeological discoveries

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