DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3388#0012
GENERAL RESULTS AT MEYDUM
The view of the pyramid from the west, pi. i, i,
gives the whole aspect of the visible coats, and the
mound around the base which covers the 51° casing.
3. In connection with these curious grooves, we
found this year a long APPROACH to the pyramid
from the plain below, which is largely cut through the
rock, and which points straight to the grooves. The
position is shewn on pi. ii, in solid black, as it is paved
with black brick. It is to the west of the later cause-
way leading to the temple, the stone walls of which
are shaded here. The section of this approach is
given on the upper part of pi. iii, with the vertical
scale (1 : 200) four times that of the horizontal (1: 800),
so as to shew the slope more distinctly. The bed of
it is very nearly a straight line, being only a little
steeper at the upper end. After cutting out the line
in the rock, faces of brick plastered over were built
along it, defining on each side the exact line of the
track ; the bed was overlaid by a coat of brickwork,
and on this lay a paving of limestone. The upper
end of the brick lining is seen on the left of the view
pi. i, 4; and the higher rock level not cut away on
the right hand.
The purpose of this seems to have been to lead
direct to the ka chamber, which is indicated by the
grooves on the pyramid. Then after the third coating
of the pyramid, that was abandoned, and a temple on
the east face became the objective, for which the
present causeway was made. The limestone paving
was removed, and the whole of the approach was
buried under rubbish thrown from the pyramid build-
ing, so as entirely to conceal the old track. The chip
bed is seen in the cross section of the approach photo-
graphed in pi. i, 3. The brick edging to the track is
seen across the end of the deepest trench. It was
only when searching for tombs at the lower end that
we lit on the rock cutting; and it took some weeks
of tracing it out before we could rightly understand
it. The plan on pi. ii is that of Medum pi. vi with
the addition of the approach, and of some more tomb
pits found this year.
4 A search was made for a temple at the foot
of the causeway, which was traced out with difficulty
owing to the water level. The water was about five
feet higher in the desert edge than it was in the Nile
valley ; and some hundreds of feet of drain had to be
cut about 5 to 10 feet deep to drain off the higher water.
We thus uncovered the end of the stone foundations
of the causeway walls, and found a retaining wall of a
foundation running on from the southern side. By
the side of this were two foundation deposits of
pottery (pi. xxv), which point to there having been a
temple at the south side of the causeway. We tried
to trace this along a broad wall; but that proved to
be a very long wall, running south for over 300 feet,
apparently a boundary to the cemetery. To search
further for the temple needs the removal of 10 or 12
feet of sand, and descending into the water.
During the removal of the broken stones on the
eastern face of the pyramid many quarry marks were
found upon fallen blocks of casing, and others were
found upon the stones in the course of tunnelling
beneath the pyramid. These marks are copied on
pis. v, vi, and described in chapter iii. The chrono-
logical results from the months of working are the
most important yet known for the early dynasties.
Akin to these is a piece of workmen's accounts, given
on pi. xiv, 1, which refers to the building of the
pyramid.
5. In the previous work I had suspected a
PERIBOLUS TOMB, and attacked a large mass of chips
on the south of the pyramid, within the enclosure of
the peribolus. At twenty-five feet down, a great
cutting and tunnel was found in the rock ; but the site
was too large to be then cleared. On now removing
about 1500 tons of hard concreted stone chips we
bared a hole as seen in pi. vii, 1, where the size of the
work boy against the masonry at the bottom shews
the scale. We found the remains of the entrance
passage (vii, 2) which led into a large subterranean
chamber, of which only a part of one side remained
(vii, 3). Around this pit, at not far below ground level,
we found great substructures for a square pyramid, as
shewn on the right side of pi. viii. There had been
apparently a creep-hole provided for the workmen,
which is seen on the detailed plan and section pi. ix.
Probably men were needed to lower and fix the plug
blocks of the entrance, and they then escaped by
this passage on the south, much like the creep-hole
passage in the pyramid of Khufu from the grand
gallery to the entrance passage.
On the north of the pyramid we found a strange
form of tomb. A small mastaba, fifty feet wide, and
probably a hundred feet long, stood in the peribolus
enclosure, see pi. viii. On the north side near the
ground a sloping passage led down, see pi. ix, base.
The rock cutting for this was nearly fifteen feet wide,
and the building of it was splendid, with great beams
and blocks of the fine white limestone. The passage
was plugged with stone, below which a door slid in
grooves. And yet after about twenty feet the end of
all this fine work was reached, and only an ignoble
The view of the pyramid from the west, pi. i, i,
gives the whole aspect of the visible coats, and the
mound around the base which covers the 51° casing.
3. In connection with these curious grooves, we
found this year a long APPROACH to the pyramid
from the plain below, which is largely cut through the
rock, and which points straight to the grooves. The
position is shewn on pi. ii, in solid black, as it is paved
with black brick. It is to the west of the later cause-
way leading to the temple, the stone walls of which
are shaded here. The section of this approach is
given on the upper part of pi. iii, with the vertical
scale (1 : 200) four times that of the horizontal (1: 800),
so as to shew the slope more distinctly. The bed of
it is very nearly a straight line, being only a little
steeper at the upper end. After cutting out the line
in the rock, faces of brick plastered over were built
along it, defining on each side the exact line of the
track ; the bed was overlaid by a coat of brickwork,
and on this lay a paving of limestone. The upper
end of the brick lining is seen on the left of the view
pi. i, 4; and the higher rock level not cut away on
the right hand.
The purpose of this seems to have been to lead
direct to the ka chamber, which is indicated by the
grooves on the pyramid. Then after the third coating
of the pyramid, that was abandoned, and a temple on
the east face became the objective, for which the
present causeway was made. The limestone paving
was removed, and the whole of the approach was
buried under rubbish thrown from the pyramid build-
ing, so as entirely to conceal the old track. The chip
bed is seen in the cross section of the approach photo-
graphed in pi. i, 3. The brick edging to the track is
seen across the end of the deepest trench. It was
only when searching for tombs at the lower end that
we lit on the rock cutting; and it took some weeks
of tracing it out before we could rightly understand
it. The plan on pi. ii is that of Medum pi. vi with
the addition of the approach, and of some more tomb
pits found this year.
4 A search was made for a temple at the foot
of the causeway, which was traced out with difficulty
owing to the water level. The water was about five
feet higher in the desert edge than it was in the Nile
valley ; and some hundreds of feet of drain had to be
cut about 5 to 10 feet deep to drain off the higher water.
We thus uncovered the end of the stone foundations
of the causeway walls, and found a retaining wall of a
foundation running on from the southern side. By
the side of this were two foundation deposits of
pottery (pi. xxv), which point to there having been a
temple at the south side of the causeway. We tried
to trace this along a broad wall; but that proved to
be a very long wall, running south for over 300 feet,
apparently a boundary to the cemetery. To search
further for the temple needs the removal of 10 or 12
feet of sand, and descending into the water.
During the removal of the broken stones on the
eastern face of the pyramid many quarry marks were
found upon fallen blocks of casing, and others were
found upon the stones in the course of tunnelling
beneath the pyramid. These marks are copied on
pis. v, vi, and described in chapter iii. The chrono-
logical results from the months of working are the
most important yet known for the early dynasties.
Akin to these is a piece of workmen's accounts, given
on pi. xiv, 1, which refers to the building of the
pyramid.
5. In the previous work I had suspected a
PERIBOLUS TOMB, and attacked a large mass of chips
on the south of the pyramid, within the enclosure of
the peribolus. At twenty-five feet down, a great
cutting and tunnel was found in the rock ; but the site
was too large to be then cleared. On now removing
about 1500 tons of hard concreted stone chips we
bared a hole as seen in pi. vii, 1, where the size of the
work boy against the masonry at the bottom shews
the scale. We found the remains of the entrance
passage (vii, 2) which led into a large subterranean
chamber, of which only a part of one side remained
(vii, 3). Around this pit, at not far below ground level,
we found great substructures for a square pyramid, as
shewn on the right side of pi. viii. There had been
apparently a creep-hole provided for the workmen,
which is seen on the detailed plan and section pi. ix.
Probably men were needed to lower and fix the plug
blocks of the entrance, and they then escaped by
this passage on the south, much like the creep-hole
passage in the pyramid of Khufu from the grand
gallery to the entrance passage.
On the north of the pyramid we found a strange
form of tomb. A small mastaba, fifty feet wide, and
probably a hundred feet long, stood in the peribolus
enclosure, see pi. viii. On the north side near the
ground a sloping passage led down, see pi. ix, base.
The rock cutting for this was nearly fifteen feet wide,
and the building of it was splendid, with great beams
and blocks of the fine white limestone. The passage
was plugged with stone, below which a door slid in
grooves. And yet after about twenty feet the end of
all this fine work was reached, and only an ignoble