The Pyramid of Sesostris II, who, during the 12th Dynasty, is credited with the cultivation of the former marshes of the Fayum Depression, was constructed at Al-Lahun at the entrance of the Bahr Yusuf (Joseph’s Canal) in this same region. With a side length of 106 meters and an inclination of 42° 35′, it had a height of 48.6 meters.
The Pyramid Town of Kahun| A Hidden Gem
In modern times, the Pyramid of Sesostris II was first documented by Dominique-Vivant Denon during Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition of 1798-1801. John Shae Perring conducted a new documentation of the pyramid in 1839. The publication was carried out in 1842 by himself and Richard William Howard Vyse.
Lahun II, pl. II).
Karl Richard Lepsius visited Illahun during his Egypt expedition of 1842-1846 and documented the ruins there in May 1843. He included the Pyramid of Sesostris II in his pyramid list under number LXVI.
Also read:
- The Discovery and Excavation of the Osiris Shaft at Giza
- 11 interesting Facts About Thutmose III: Egypt’s Military Genius
- What Are the Lesser-Known Myths Surrounding Egyptian God Min?
The first systematic excavations were carried out between 1888 and 1890 by the English archaeologist Flinders Petrie. During these excavations, he discovered the pyramid town of Kahun, which he excavated extensively.
In the second excavation season, the entrance to the pyramid was discovered and the underground chamber system was explored. After temporarily turning his attention to other sites, Petrie returned to Illahun in 1914, 1920, and 1921 to conduct further excavations around the pyramid.
Petrie’s investigations remain the most significant research contribution to the Sesostris II pyramid. Between 1991 and 1997, a team from the Royal Ontario Museum, led by Nicholas Millet, conducted some small-scale excavations in the pyramid town and on the superstructure of the pyramid.
Multiple Names of 12th Dynasty Pyramids
A distinctive feature of the pyramids of the 12th Dynasty is the use of different names for various components of the pyramid complex. While the Old Kingdom complexes had only one name for the entire royal burial complex, the 12th Dynasty complexes had up to four names, designating the pyramid itself, the mortuary temple, the cult buildings of the district, and the pyramid town.
Two names are attested for the Sesostris II pyramid. The name of the actual pyramid is unknown. In older literature, it was assigned the name Kha-Senwosret (“Sesostris appears”), which was still adopted by Mark Lehner and Miroslav Verner in the 1990s.
However, Dieter Arnold was able to prove at the end of the 1980s that Kha-Senwosret refers to the pyramid town of the Sesostris I pyramid in Lisht.
The district of the Sesostris II pyramid, including the mortuary temple and the cult building, was called Sekhem-Senwosret (“Sesostris is powerful”). The pyramid town bore the name Hetep-Senwosret (“Sesostris is at peace”).
Pyramid of Sesostris II
Inside the Pyramid of Sesostris II: A Closer Look
The core of the pyramid consists of a four-step, truncated limestone block that was encased in a limestone framework made up of walls laid both horizontally and radially. The cavities created by this limestone skeleton were filled with mudbricks. Mudbricks also formed the tip of the structure.
A circumferential foundation trench, cut into the bedrock, formed the base for the fine limestone cladding of the tomb. Additionally, a drainage channel filled with gravel was installed.
Unfortunately, as with all Egyptian pyramids, the limestone cladding was stripped away over the centuries and burned for fertilizer. Without this protective coat, the mudbricks are very susceptible to weathering, and so the structure presents a dilapidated appearance today.
The Hidden Entrance: Sesostris II’s Pyramid Mystery
Flinders Petrie spent several months unsuccessfully trying to find the pyramid’s entrance, which was usually located in the north.
However, Sesostris II had a different idea for his tomb: the entrance was hidden as a 16-meter-deep shaft outside the pyramid on the southeast corner.
This vertical access was far too narrow for transporting the sarcophagus and grave goods, so another construction shaft had to be created. The entrance to this shaft was later masked by the tomb of an unknown princess.
Both shafts are connected by a horizontal passage leading to a hall with a vaulted ceiling. At the eastern end of this hall, a vertical shaft descends into the depths, ending in the groundwater.
From the hall, an ascending corridor leads through another chamber into the southeastern part of the pyramid’s interior to an antechamber, which branches off at a right angle to the actual burial chamber.
The burial chamber is entirely lined with granite and has a gable roof. At its western end stands the king’s sarcophagus made of red granite; a small passage leads into a side room.
Here, Petrie found parts of the burial equipment in the rubble, especially a royal uraeus made of gold that adorned the pharaoh’s headband and was probably lost by ancient tomb robbers.
Another peculiarity is a circular passage that branches off between the antechamber and the burial chamber, runs around the burial chamber, and opens into it at the head end of the sarcophagus. The significance of this passage is still debated among Egyptologists.
Treasures Found in Sesostris II’s Pyramid
The pyramid has two shafts connected by a tunnel that leads to a large room. From this room, a vertical shaft goes down into the water, and another passage goes up to a series of smaller rooms.
The main burial chamber is made of granite and has a sarcophagus. A circular passage goes around the burial chamber, but its purpose is still unknown. Archaeologists found gold jewelry in a side room, which was probably lost by ancient robbers.
The Pyramid Complex of Al-Lahun
Ground Plan of the Pyramid Complex
A thorough inventory of the area around the pyramid has not yet been carried out. Thus, only a few results have been collected from the various excavations.
The enclosure wall was decorated with niches, in memory of the Djoser Pyramid from the 3rd Dynasty. The ground plan of the mortuary temple is still unexplored, as is the location of the entrance of the open causeway into the pyramid complex.
Probably the most famous find from the complex is the jewelry of Princess Sithathoriunet, a daughter of the king.
The plastered cavity with its five jewelry boxes had been overlooked by ancient tomb robbers until Brunton and Petrie examined the tomb in 1913.
In addition to these shaft tombs of two princesses, eight mastaba tombs were located on the north side, each built with mud bricks around a limestone core.
In the northeast corner, there is a small subsidiary pyramid with a base measurement of 27.6 meters and a former height of about 18 meters.
Petrie searched intensively for a burial chamber here but was unsuccessful. Thus, it remains unclear to this day whether it was a queen’s pyramid or a cult pyramid.
The causeway has not been explored to this day. The location of the valley temple is known, but its ground plan is not. However, the discovery of the pyramid city of Hetep Senwosret (“Sesostris is satisfied”) was of considerable significance.
Better known under the name al-Lahun, an outstanding example of ancient Egyptian urban development was discovered here, and numerous papyri were found.
