What's Inside the Pyramids, Part 2

Last July, the interior of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur was opened, with much fanfare, to public inspection for the first time in over fifty years.  (See, for instance, this Smithsonian Magazine article.)  I could hardly wait to return to Egypt this year,  anticipating a visit to see it.

The Bent Pyramid was the second attempt by King Sneferu (2613-2589 BC) to build a suitable pyramid for his final resting place.  His first attempt was a few miles away at Meidum (we visited it in 2018.) and his third attempt was just a few hundred yards away, the Red Pyramid.


But the Bent Pyramid remains one of the best know monuments in Egypt due to its tapering shape.


Our group of Egypt travelers visited the Bent Pyramid on the final day of January.  As we were circling the base of this pyramid, over three hundred feet in height, I heard the pyramid calling to me to come inside.  Or, maybe it was just the guard and young man at the top of the 40 foot tall entry scaffold.  But I was sure that I should make a quick inspection tour.


Aziz was the name of the young man at the entrance who would accompany me through the inner passageways and chambers.  At the base of the descent along the very long entry ramp he quickly told me, "No camera!  Only phone!"  We soon came to an understanding of what he actually meant, "No camera, no tip!"

As we prepared to ascend the internal scaffolding to the next barrier, Aziz proved to be a capable camera handler, himself.
 





It turns out that the Bent Pyramid has a more complicated interior structure than other pyramids,  All pyramids have an entry tunnel on their north side facing Polaris, the North Star.  This pyramid also has a second tunnel entering from the west side which descends to a large (possibly) burial chamber.  The two tunnels do not meet!

Distinguished Czech Egyptologist, Miroslav Verner, in a book published originally in German in 1997, had this to say about the two tunnels:

'... they were connected only by a narrow, irregular tunnel roughly hacked through the masonry of the pyramid core.  It began in the lower chamber and came out in the western descending corridor … " 

Somehow this didn't seem to be deemed worthy of mention in that Smithsonian article.  Well, I didn't come this far to not reach the final chamber.  "Let's go!" I told Aziz.



I got about two thirds of the way through this very tiny tunnel - there are no climbing aids installed - when I visualized possible headlines on an article in newspapers:  "American tourist suffers third heart attack while exploring..."  I checked my pocket for my Nitroglycerine tablets.  Present and accounted for.

Scrambling out of the tiny tunnel, Aziz and I resumed our descent, finally arriving at another tall scaffold in the corbel-vaulted final chamber.  Looking around, I wondered, "what are those spots on the wall?"  As my eyes adjusted to the light, I recognized them - bats!


And the ceiling was covered with them.  I didn't stay long.  Just long enough for a good picture taken straight up.  All those tiny black dots are bats.


The reverse climb out is not bad as I expected.  Even with several rest stops along the way, the whole trip in and back out took only about sixty minutes.  I would recommend it to anyone who is not bat-o-phobic.  But, bring good climbing shoes for that roughly hacked connecting tunnel.

Once again, a picture is easily worth a thousand words.  We go to the incredible R. F. Morgan, courtesy of Wikicommons.

Robin Morgan's YouTube video of the computer-generated Bent Pyramid can be found here.  Please do follow the link.  Robin's work deserves a great many more views than she has received so far.