The Pyramid of Menkaure, the third and smallest of the great pyramids of Giza is attributed to Pharaoh Menkaure. It is thought that this structure was completed at the end of the twenty-sixth century BC.
Who was Pharaoh Menkaure?
Menkaure was the son of Khafre, he ruled Egypt in the 4th dynasty, during the Ancient Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. It is also believed that Pharaoh Menkaure was the successor of Pharaoh Khafra, the builder of the second pyramid on the Giza plateau and also of the Great Sphinx, but historical reports do not agree with the archaeological evidence that affirms this. The exact date of construction of the pyramid is not known for certain because the historical records do not have evidence about the period of the reign of the pharaoh Menkaure.
That pyramid had an original height of 215 feet, now reduced to 204 for the removal of some structural elements. The lower section of the pyramid is clad in pink granite, while the upper section is in Tura limestone like other pyramids in Giza and other sites.
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Where is the Pyramid of the Pharaoh Menkaure located?
The pyramid of Menkaure is located in the Necropolis of Giza, on the same plateau where the pyramids of Cheops and Chephren are, the Great Sphinx, the Museum of the Solar Boat, and the Temple of the Valley, in the capital of Cairo.
Information about the Pyramid of Menkaure
The pharaohs believed that there was eternal life after death and they also believed that there was the world of the afterlife, that`s why the extraordinary pharaohs decided at that time to build a place or temples through which they could save death and corpses.
The idea itself came thanks to their traditional beliefs those that are not correct at all according to religion and science, they were 3 completely different pyramids according to their height and length and volume and shape, and each pyramid was built by a different king.
Archaeologists believe that the pyramid was never completed because part of the remaining granite lining at the base of the structure has not been completed.
Secrets you’ve never heard of the pyramid of Menkaure
On the north face of the pyramid, there is a big gap, which was created by Al-Malek Al-Aziz Othman ben Yusef – son of Saladin, a ruler of Egypt during part of the 12th century, he ordered the pyramids disassembled and the stones used in other construction projects. The demolition started with the Pyramid of Menkaure, but the task proved impossible to perform. After 8 months of work, they were only able to create this gap.
The monuments of Egypt that you see today have survived not only natural phenomena and the passage of time. The man also contributed to the damage of the temples and monuments, as in the case of the Pyramid of Menkaure:
- The height reaches 65 and a half meters and measures 103.4 meters and the total volume is 250 thousand m³.
- Egyptologists discovered that the pyramid of Menkaure was built from the brick that was located in the western Egyptian desert of the Nile River because the sun sets behind the pyramids directly.
- In the pyramid of Menkaure, there was a coffin for an unknown king who was in the Pharaonic era and was made from Basalt stone which was found in the Gulf of Baskay and was transferred from Egypt to England.
- According to the research and statistics that have been carried out recently by a technical method by which they used mud and heat and then influenced the mud in the wooden molds and then placed them by the heat of the sun and then gave a special shape to the pyramid stone.
- In the 12th century, Sultan Osman Bey ordered the destruction of the Pyramid of Miquerinos to find the main entrance, the attempt was unsuccessful.
- In the 19th century, explorer Vyse extended the advance more deeply, but without success.
- In the 19th century, explorer Caviglia also advanced on the north face but found no galleries.
- Bonaparte’s scientists partially dismantled the pyramid in the third annex to study it (fortunately they didn’t have time to finish)
Thousands of years and damage have been caused throughout history, not only in the Pyramid of Menkaure but in several other monuments of the parents. Even so, this great historical attraction still stands, allowing us to admire and study it today.
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