Meidum Pyramid
The Meidum Pyramid (ancient name: Sneferu Endures) is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located in the Saqqara Nome.
Comissioned by the pharaoh Sneferu during his reign in the Fourth Dynasty, the pyramid later partially collapsed and was abandoned by the pharaoh, who went on to refine the design of his pyramids, ultimately building the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid in the north.
The pyramid appears as a striking three tiered tower like edifice rising from a large sand dune. Around the pyramid are scattered timbers which are presumably the remains of the pyramids long abandoned construction apparatus. At the top of the pyramid is a section of wooden scaffolding that juts out from the masonry which serves as the location of a viewpoint. The pyramid has its own satellite pyramid off of its south west corner although it is considerably more dilapidated than the Meidum Pyramid itself.
Design
Originally the Meidum Pyramid was intended to be a step pyramid of similar design to that of the Step Pyramid of King Djoser with layers of limestone masonry tilted inwards towards the pyramid core so that the pyramid was literally leaning on itself for support which was believed to increase stability. In comparison, however, the Meidum Pyramid had seven steps in contrast to the six steps of Djoser's pyramid. With construction well advanced, if not completed indicated by the fact the outer stones of the original structure were polished a decision to expand the pyramid was taken. The taller revised pyramid saw the number of steps increased from seven to eight and its base enlarged. Again Sneferu decided to change the design once more in an ill fated attempt to transform the step pyramid into a true pyramid.
Collapse
Although the methods used to build the Meidum Pyramid were not extraordinary the flaws in its construction were. The first two phases had been polished upon completion, reducing friction between the original structure and the initial expansion. As a result structural stability of the pyramid was comprimised. When it was decided to turn the Meidum Pyramid into a true pyramid by filling in the eight steps to form smooth triangular faces the new additions were again built against the polished outer surface of the layer before. Catastrophically for the pyramid the new layer was also not properly supported on solid bedrock. The result was thousands of tons of unstable, poorly supported masonry. It is unlikely it would have taken much to trigger the cataclysmic collapse which saw a large portion of the pyramid's structural material slide away from the core creating a massive mound of sand, stone and rubble around the base of the 65 metre tall tower like core remnant which comprises of steps five, six and seven. It is believed that it was the Meidum collapse that compelled Sneferu to move to Dahshur to build a further two pyramids in an attempt to build the worlds first true pyramid.