How Hawara Pyramid Came to Meet the Pharaoh’s Needs!
Mud bricks pyramidal building with limestone cover, 58 meters long and 105 meters on each side, designed unlike all other pyramids with many corridors and internal passageways. The external shape of the pyramid was a mystery. There is a smaller pyramid on top of the original pyramid! A long staircase with the wrong small chamber and a short narrow passageway ends with a large stone that weighs more than 45 tons to block another room! Therefore, not the external shape of the pyramid that was the only puzzle, but also the way it was designed from the inside.
Then, what are the secrets and facts of this second pyramid built for Amenemhet III, 1850 BC, to be one of the oldest mud-brick pyramids in Egypt!
Amenemhet III, the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty and the Middle Kingdom in ancient Egypt, decided to build his 2nd pyramid after he failed in building his own pyramid in Dahshour.
So, on a magical destination in Egypt, 8km southeast of Al Fayoum city, the cornerstone of the Hawara pyramid began to be set, and with it, the thinking of Amenemhet III engineers increased, desiring to design a structure that would not fall forever, unlike the 1st pyramid, which is called the black pyramid. The construction work of this 1st pyramid had stopped, fearing the risk of collapse. From here, the miracle of Hawara building way came!
How did the pyramid of Saqqara support the pyramid of Hawara in Fayoum to survive through the centuries!
The engineers of Hawara took a lower angle than the Dahshour pyramid of Amenemhet III. Also, it was built with a complicated design that seems to the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. To find that there was a big original pyramid carries another smaller pyramid.
As if the engineer had seen in the Saqqara pyramid design a safe haven for him. Indeed, the Hawara pyramid has succeeded in being firmly established on the ground so far to be located near Lahun Pyramid, the pyramid of Amenemhet III’s grandfather, Senusret II.
What proves the success of establishing this pyramid that since centuries ago, the Hawara Pyramid has faced the vicissitudes of time with amazing patience. That makes it one of the most famous Egyptian pyramids that still remain despite the changes of the ages, with a high of around 20 meters.
This pyramid stands in the land of Fayoum to include a wonderful design inside it that made Amenemhat III a pharaoh different from the rest of the rulers of ancient Egypt. So, what is the story of its internal design!
Corridors and mazes that end with a masterpiece inside Hawara Pyramid!
From the southern side, you can find the entrance to the pyramid, unlike all
the pyramids. The whole pyramid entrances are from the northern side. But unlike all pharaonic kings, Amenemhat III found in the southern side the way to mislead the thieves.
Not only that, Amenemhat III made a long staircase that descended into a room. At first glance, it seemed that this staircase leads to the burial chamber. While the real door of the burial chamber can be accessed by a floor opening from a short corridor. Also, Amenemhet III ordered to block the burial chamber entrance with a huge stone weighing about forty-five tons.
If a thief thought that uncovering this hidden opening in the ceiling leads to the correct way to the burial chamber, this thief would find another new maze. Passageway runs in different directions. There are corridors from the east, the north, and also at the West. So, it was difficult in front of any attempts to arrive at the burial chamber. After passing through these fascinating artistic styles of designing the inner passageways, the visitor can meet this amazing quartzite sarcophagus of the King.
That was how if you need to stand amid unique creativity, so the architectural design of the Al-Hawara pyramid is one of the ideal options. Despite all these efforts by the engineers of the Hawara pyramid, the thieves, after many attempts, succeed in stealing all the gold and treasure of Amenemhet III.
Obviously that Amenemhat III Fell in Love with the Labyrinths. How is That!
A land where the traveler gets lost and hardly knows away. In the legends, it means the labyrinth with intricate sub-corridors. This great ruler that reigned Egypt around 45 years (1842-1797 BC) admired this type of design. So he built an entire Mortuary Temple in the same style. To find yourself in the middle of 3000 rooms with passages and corridors. An architectural masterpiece with 12 lobbies, all roofed. Six facing north and six facing south—each gate is facing each other exactly. One wall surrounds the entire building.
There were two types of rooms, half underground and the other on the surface of the ground.
The lower chambers contain the tomb of the Amenemhat III and the sacred belts of crocodiles. Only some traces of the pillars of the upper floor have remained until now. But, there are no revelations about the lower floor yet. Many legends narrated about this temple, calling it Labyrinth Palace.
How Had Amenhotep III Violated the Custom of the Kings of Egypt In the Love Of His Daughter!
When Nefruptah, the favorite daughter of king Amenmehat III died, he decided to set a beautiful sarcophagus for her inside his burial chamber in Hawar Pyramid. While the customs of the kings said that only the king’s coffin allowed being inside this royal burial chamber.
Not just this sarcophagus, but the archeologists found offerings table, three silver, and a necklace dedicated to Nefruptah inside her tomb near the Pyramid of Hawara.
Most of This Kind Of Treasure That We Now See in World Museums Were from Hawara. However, Amenhotep III Was Not The Owner!
This incredible artistic treasure discovered by Archeologists in the Hawara. This area is located 9 km away from Fayoum. But this art wealth did not belong to Amenhotep III. It is the 146 portraits of many persons that were attached to their mummies during the Roman era. To find that most of these portraits that called Fayoum portraits, were explored in Hawara. These portraits are displayed now in the world museums
