Huni's Pyramid

The archeological site of Meidum lay for about 50 km to the south of Dahshur just a few kilometers from Fayoum region. As a matter of fact, the word Meidum in ancient Egyptian texts was known as "Mr-tm", which may be translated to "the lake of Atum". It is worth mentioning that a strange truncated-cone pyramid, which contained a great private necropolis, was located in a completely isolated position at the edge of the desert and the cultivated Zone.
The owner of pyramid
Traditionally, it was believed that Huni, the last king of the IIIrd dynasty, has built this step pyramid at Meidum. Later it was covered in a special manner, which made it look like a true pyramid, however it was called El-Haram El-Kaddab "the false pyramid" by the Arabs. In fact Huni's name never appeared on the monument, but some graffiti back dating to the New Kingdom in the small funerary temple referred to Sneferu, who was the first king of the IVth dynasty and the owner of two pyramids at Dahshur. As a matter of fact, who lived during the New Kingdom considered Sneferu to be the builder of the pyramid, which Huni may have begun. Any how it seemed that Sneferu was responsible for filling on the steps and transforming the outside appearance of the pyramid.
The Pyramid
The original height of the pyramid was 92 meters and its base was 144 meters square., it also has an angle of 51 53. Generally speaking this pyramid was regarded to be the last step in the development of the step-pyramid. Moreover, it represented a point of contact between both the step-pyramid and the true pyramid. The shape of the pyramid did not came by accident, but it partly rested on the method of its construction, the main features of which became known through sir F. Petrie's excavations in 1891. Moreover, the subsequent investigations conducted at different times by G.A. Wainwright, L. Borchardt, and A. Rowe have added many important details to Petrie's discoveries. As a matter of fact, the pyramid of Meidum has undergone a number of transformations before attaining its final form thus, the shape of the pyramid could not be certainly determined, because it may have begun as a mastaba or most possibly as a small step-pyramid, whose superstructure could be now concealed within the surviving core. Some blocks, that were recovered in the course of excavation here drawings scratched by quarrymen, which showed pyramids with two, three and four steps and possibly representing the successive enlargements of the original design.
The construction of the pyramid
The first ascertainable form of the superstructure was that of seven-stepped pyramid. As a matter of fact, this form was achieved, by increasing the height of the earlier construction and then by making the tower-like building produced in such a manner, furnishing both the nucleus and the top step of the pyramid. Moreover, six thick coatings of masonry diminishing on height from the center outwards were built against the four sides of this nucleus and their upper portions supplied the six remaining steps. Each of the coatings, which inclined inwards with an angle of about 75 was composed for a core of local stone cased from the top to the bottom with Tura limestone, and they were not bonded together, but they depended on their angle of inclination for their cohesion only those parts of the casing which covered the steps were dressed, the others were not. It is worth mentioning that, when the seven stepped pyramid has been finished a considerable enlargement of the superstructure was undertaken.
Moreover, the top step was raised by about 45 feet and each successive step was built up to a level somewhat higher than the one above it in the previous design. After this a new step was added to the base, in fact the material used was the local stone cased with Tura limestone, which was dressed where it was exposed. For unexplainable reasons the steps were filled on with a packing of local stone, and the whole structure was over laid with a smooth facing of Tura limestone, and by this means the monument was transformed into a geometrically true pyramid. As a matter of fact substantial positions of the lower half of the ultimate form still remain intact, but now are covered almost completely by sand accumulations.

The plan of the Pyramid.
The substructure of the pyramid was composed of a chamber, which was built at ground level with a corbelled roof and was reached by a sloping (28) and horizontal corridor opening on the north face. The horizontal corridor and two small chambers to its east and west were built in an open trench in the rock perhaps for stone plugs. At the end of this corridor, a vertical shaft was found and it led upwards to the burial chamber opening in the N.E. corner of its floor. This vertical shaft opening in the floor of the burial chamber was provided with two slots in the north wall probably for two cordages used to let a portcullis slide in place. Moreover, wooden baulks were found in the shaft and chambers. Furthermore, when petrie has entered the pyramid on 1891, he found parts of coffin or a wooden coffin. It was believed that this coffin belonged to Sneferu. Alan Rowe has found NG sarcophagus in the chamber, which was corbel-roofed, when he has entered the pyramid in 1929-1930. Finally, we have to say how evidence was discovered about the names of some of the gangs into which the workmen were divided for working in the pyramid.

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