Hawara

Introduction

Hawara is an archaeological site about 9 kilometres south-east of El-Fayoum. It is best known for the pyramid complex of Amenemhat III. William Flinders Petrie also excavated a large necropolis here and found 146 mummy portraits on coffins from the Roman period.

The Pyramid of Amenemhat III

Amenemhat III was the last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom and reigned for about 45 years (1842–1797 BC). His reign is considered the golden age of the Middle Kingdom and saw many building projects.

Among them were his two pyramids. The first, at Dahshur, is known as the Black Pyramid. The second is at Hawara. He ordered it in his 15th regnal year, with a core entirely of mudbrick and an outer casing of limestone.

Inside, the simple Old Kingdom layout gave way to a complicated design full of corridors, tunnels and chambers, meant to protect the king’s burial chamber from robbers. The enclosure of the pyramid complex runs north-south and was the largest of the Middle Kingdom enclosures. Its entrance is at the far south end of the east side.

The entrance to the pyramid is towards the west of the south side. A stairway corridor slopes down to a level deeper than the burial chamber, which was built near the base of the pyramid. At the bottom of the stairs is a small chamber, and a short passage from it leads to a dead end. The way to the burial chamber is a short passage hidden in this chamber’s ceiling, which was meant to be blocked by a huge quartzite slab.

The ceiling passage leads to a chamber with two exits. The first runs due north but is filled with mudbrick. The second turns at a right angle, runs due east and ends at the third chamber, under the south-east diagonal of the pyramid.

After another right-angled turn the passage again continues hidden in the chamber’s ceiling, and this too was meant to be closed by a large quartzite slab. The third arrangement of this kind is under the north-east corner. From there a short passage leads to an antechamber, and a channel in the middle of its south wall opens into a trench holding the burial chamber, slightly west of the pyramid’s centre.

The burial chamber was a technical marvel and entirely new. It was carved from a single block of quartzite and set into an open trench. Before it was roofed, the king’s sarcophagus, a smaller sarcophagus and two canopic chests were placed inside.

The mortuary temple lay between the entrance in the enclosure wall and the pyramid. Only a foundation bed of sand and limestone chips remains.

Tomb of Princess Neferu-Ptah

The tomb of the king’s daughter Neferu-Ptah lies in the south-east of Hawara, about two kilometres north of the pyramid of Amenemhat. A red granite sarcophagus inscribed with her name was found inside, along with other belongings.