Exploration of the pyramid complex of King Djedkare: 2019 fall season

Abstract

The recent fieldwork of the Egyptian mission in the pyramid temple of King Djedkare focused on cleaning and documenting three major areas. The temple area immediately south of the columned courtyard provided no firm evidence for reconstructing the layout and sizes of the once existing rooms. Almost all of the floor and wall blocks have disappeared here. Clearing the southeast corner of the king’s pyramid revealed that all its casing blocks and backing stones were missing in that part. Further north of this area, however, a section of the original casing still remained, attesting to the pyramid’s slope of 51–52°. The entire clearance of the inner temple has provided further important information as to the sizes and layout of the rooms. Most interestingly, the vestibule of Djedkare’s inner temple seems to be of unique form and size not found in other pyramid temples. Equally remarkable is the fact that all the western rooms (including the offering hall as well) of this inner temple extended into the masonry of the pyramid beyond its baseline.

Keywords

• old kingdom
• south saqqara
• djedkare
• pyramid complex
• inner temple
• king’s pyramid
• royal relief