The southern pyramids of Saqqara are not usually on the main tourist
itinerary and they require a little more effort to visit.
Djedkare-Isesi was the penultimate king of Dynasty V, the predecessor
to Unas. He was the first pharaoh to build a pyramid in the area to
the south of the main Saqqara necropolis, moving away from the chosen
burial grounds of his immediate ancestors at Abusir. Although
Djedkare's ancestry is still unclear, it is known that he reigned for
at least three decades, during which time he was responsible for
reforming the administration of Upper and Lower Egypt and reorganising
the mortuary cult at Abusir. |
The pyramid of Djedkare, overlooking the modern village of Saqqara, is
known today as 'The Sentinel' (el-Shawaf) but was originally named
'Beautiful is Djedkare'. It was visited by Perring, and recorded by
Lepsius, but was first entered by Gaston Maspero in 1880 during his
search for pyramid texts. In the 1940s the pyramid was excavated by
Abdel Salam Hussein, although his work was never published. It has
been sporadically investigated since then, especially in the area of
the causeway, but due to the damage to the pyramid complex in
antiquity little remains have been found there.
The core of the pyramid was built in six steps of small irregular
limestone blocks, originally rising to a height of around 52m, but
only the lower steps still remain today. Most of the limestone casing
has also now gone. The entrance was found at ground level in the
pavement in front of the eastern side of the north wall, where traces
of a small entrance chapel have been found. A descending passage leads
to a small vestibule, lined with limestone, in which many broken
pottery sherds were found (perhaps part of a funerary ritual). Three
huge portcullis slabs blocked the next horizontal corridor, with
another blocking the end of the corridor. Beyond this was an
antechamber with the burial chamber to the west and to the east a
magazine with three niches. The plan is similar to some of the
subterranean chambers seen in earlier pyramids. The gabled roof of the
burial chamber consisted of three layers of massive limestone blocks.
Despite the blocking of the corridor, robbers still gained access to
the underground chambers and did a great deal of damage. Fragments of
a dark grey basalt sarcophagus which once stood at the western side of
the burial chamber, have been partly reconstructed, and a niche sunk
into the floor at its foot would have contained the King's canopic
jars. Among the debris the mummy of a 50 year old man was found. It
was thought that the remains must have been those of Djedkare, but
given his long reign this would mean that he would have been very
young when he ascended the throne. Too little is known of the history
of this period to be certain.
The King's mortuary temple lies on the eastern face of the pyramid,
built on sloping ground which had to be levelled before construction
could begin. Two massive towers in the form of a pylon originally
fronted the temple, but their purpose is still unclear and it appears
that they did not contain any rooms. Fragments of reliefs found in the
temple area suggest that it was once richly decorated, but it has been
severely damaged and the area has never been completely excavated. The
symmetrical plan seems to be similar to that of other pyramid temples
of Dynasty V with an entrance hall and a central colonnaded court with
magazines on either side. The 16 pink granite columns in the court
bore the names and titles of Djedkare-Isesi. The inner and outer parts
of the temple were separated by a transverse corridor, and beyond this
was a chamber with five statue-niches, an antechamber and an offering
hall and on the western side a false door was incorporated into the
face of the pyramid.
At the south-eastern corner of the complex, within the enclosure walls
was a satellite pyramid with a single chamber reached by a descending
corridor from the north wall. A queen's pyramid is situated at the
north-east corner of the mortuary temple. This smaller version of the
King's pyramid has its own mortuary temple and even a tiny satellite
pyramid within its own perimeter wall. Although it is not known who
the small pyramid belonged to, its owner is likely to have been a
consort of Djedkare, or a person of very high status.
Djedkare's causeway joined his mortuary temple between the two towers
of the entrance pylon and ran at an angle slightly towards the south,
sloping down to the modern village of Saqqara which now covers the
lower part of the causeway and the valley temple. Various decorated
fragments have been found from these structures during excavations
over the past few decades, and a few blocks have been found scattered
among the houses of the village, although the area surrounding the
pyramid of Djedkare has never undergone a thorough excavation. |
