During the Middle Kingdom era, the powerful rulers of the 12th dynasty resumed the tradition of elaborate pyramidal tombs. For example, Amenemhat I built a funerary complex in Lisht, and Senwosret II selected the Illahoun site in the Faiyum. Amenemhat II and Sesostris III however, cast their favor towards Dahshur. Amenemhat III built a pyramid there as well before moving to Hawara in the Faiyum.
Welcome to Assassin's Creed Wiki! Log in and join the community.
Tours: Pyramids of the Middle Kingdom
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
|
Where are the paintings? This article is in need of more images and/or better quality pictures from Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt in order to achieve a higher status. You can help the Assassin's Creed Wiki by uploading better images on this page. |
Learn about the various funerary monuments of the Middle Kingdom.
The plundering of tombs in troubled times prompted the architects of the Middle Kingdom to devise increasingly complicated means of security during construction. As such, while the architectural plans of the Hawara pyramid were simpler than the one at Dahshur, the means used to protect it from looters were much more elaborate. Beyond the use of blind passages and concealed trapdoors, the architects relied on a system of stone slabs which were slid into place at the end of construction. These massive stone stabs were meant to permanently block the passageways leading to the funerary chambers.
The kings of the 13th Dynasty began building their pyramids at Mazghouna, south of Dahshur, then moved on to Faiyum and Abydos. The kings of the 17th dynasty, however, satisfied themselves with crowning their cave tombs with small pyramids of raw brick. The kings of the 18th dynasty gave up the shape of the pyramid as a royal tomb entirely. They chose a mountain with a pyramidal shape in the Valley of Kings, and dug their graves there.
It was not until the Nubian pharaohs of the 25th dynasty that kings were once again buried under pyramidal tombs. In fact today, the area of ancient Nubia, modern Sudan, contains a record number of 220 known pyramids, to Egypt's 138. Despite their slow decline in use and quality, pyramids continued to fascinate all and sundry, up to the Roman era. They remain to this day a symbol of the religious dedication of the Pharaohs, and the grandeur of ancient Egypt.