Pyramid of Neferirkare

The pyramid of Neferirkare (Egyptian: Bꜣ Nfr-ỉr-kꜣ-rꜥ, lit. 'The ba of Neferirkare') is the funerary monument built for the Egyptian pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th century BC. It is the tallest, highest-situated structure in the Abusir necropolis – located between Giza and Saqqara – over which it still towers. The Fifth Dynasty marked the end of the great pyramid constructions that had prevailed during the Fourth Dynasty. Pyramids of the era were smaller and the complexes followed a standardized template, though this coincided with the proliferation of intricate relief decoration. Neferirkare's main pyramid deviated from contemporary convention. It was originally built as a step pyramid, a design that had been antiquated since the Third Dynasty in the 26th or 27th century BC. This was then encased in a second step pyramid with alterations introduced to convert it into a true pyramid; However, the king's death left this work to be completed by his successors. The work was done in haste using cheaper building material. The pyramid had a base length of 105 metres (344 ft; 200 cu) which converged towards the apex at ~54° indicating that in a completed state it may have reached ~72 m (236 ft; 137 cu) in height. In its incomplete state, it has similar proportions to the pyramid of Menkaure on the Giza plateau. Because of the circumstances, Neferirkare's mo

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).