Pyramid of Mikerin: description, history. Indoor and satellite buildings

Not many people know, but the great pyramids in Giza can not only go around and climb along its lower tiers, but also climb inside along the ancient tunnels left by the builders. Basic tourist flow does it in the pyramid of Cheops, but I will show you what is inside the pyramid of Mikerin.

The third, the smallest of the pyramids, belongs to the pharaoh of the 4th dynasty Mikerin (Menkaur), who lived in the XXVI century BC, at a time when no Ancient Greece there was not even a trace. It is 65.5 meters high, and its base is 103 meters.

Now all the pyramids are yellow from limestone, and in those days the pyramid of Mikerin was faced in its lower part (visible even now) with red granite, above the level was covered with white limestone, and the very top was again made of red granite. But over time, most of the cladding collapsed or was pulled apart.

To the left of the pyramid there are 3 more small pyramids - the satellites are the pyramids in which the queens were buried.

You can get inside only in the pyramid of Cheops and the pyramid of Mikerin, the first is located at the entrance to Giza and there is just a crowd of those who wish - hot, cramped, uncomfortable. In the case of Mikerin, I went down inside the pyramid alone. And for the price it is much more profitable. The entrance to the Cheops pyramid costs about $ 10, while in Mycerin - 60 Egyptian pounds, that is, $ 3.5. True, the ticket must be taken at the beginning at the box office. I made an agreement with the caretaker, even gave him a little more - 70 Egyptian pounds. But there were 4 of them at the entrance, including the police, and they wouldn't pat them on the head for a pass without a ticket.

One problem, the camera at the entrance was taken from me. Maybe you can't shoot inside, or maybe because I'm a stowaway ... but inside I filmed everything on my phone

In this video, I am in the first burial room and go down to the main burial room, where the sarcophagus of Mikerin was supposed to be.

Here I am in the main burial chamber, go upstairs to the first burial chamber, examine it (perhaps we see the entrance to the false tunnel), and then through 2 tunnels and two small rooms I come to the exit from the pyramid

As it should be for most pyramids, there is only one small burial chamber inside, where the sarcophagus with the deceased was located. Moreover, this camera is located at ground level or slightly lower. A simple narrow corridor leads to the cell. There are no tunnels or labyrinths in the pyramids - this is a fairy tale, and they are not needed. The existing passage was needed so that the body of the pharaoh was placed in the burial chamber, and then people left it. Therefore, the aisles are small and very uncomfortable. And if there are a lot of people and heat (there is air inside the pyramid, you yourself understand what), then this is a big problem for tourists. But in the case of the Mikerin pyramid, not everything is so difficult - the descent is not very big, the knees, of course, are hard, but bearable. But if you get into, then you will have to descend steeply about 100 meters ...

In the case of the Mikerin pyramid, a small descent awaits you, then two small, parallel to the ground, corridors with a small hall in the center, after which you find yourself in the first burial chamber. Here is a small descent into a real burial chamber, where the pharaoh's sarcophagus was. It is worth noting - and this can be seen on the plan - another corridor is connected to the first burial chamber, which goes up and ends in a dead end. It is difficult to say its purpose, most likely its task is to take the robbers away from the real burial of the ruler, hidden under the floor.

In the pyramid itself there are no inscriptions, drawings, decorative elements - just tunnels and cameras. True, in some other pyramids, minimal architecture is found - a stepped vault of chambers, stars ... but nothing else.

As for the robbers, it is no secret that the burial rooms of the pharaohs often contained a large amount of gold - masks, jewelry, royal regalia, and other valuable items. Because of this, most of the pyramids and other burials were looted immediately after the burial ceremony or during the same ancient period. To prevent this from happening, the builders of the pyramids made one narrow entrance and then sealed it, and the entrance could be at different heights and not always in the center. The only thing that remained unchanged was that the entrance to the pyramid was always on the north side. In the pyramid itself there were also false passages and even traps, as in the case of the false tunnel going up in the pyramid of Mikerin.

In our case, the pyramid also did not remain intact, the diagram and the photo show that the robbers made a hole in the center of the pyramid, reached its core and began to dig a way down, but stopped at ground level. However, when a British archaeologist examined the inner chambers in 1837, he discovered a wooden (inner) sarcophagus with the bones of a man and a cartouche belonging to Mikerinus on the way in the galleries. However, later studies showed that these bones belonged to a person who died 2,000 years ago, and not 4,500 ... that is, it was a human skeleton from the period of Roman rule in Egypt. Even further, scientists found a basalt sarcophagus with the bones of a young woman. The sarcophagus itself subsequently sank during transportation along with the ship "Biatrice" in the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, by now the pyramid has reached empty.

You won't be able to walk around and climb around, but this does not stop many

The desert around the pyramids, although in fact the haze hides the multimillion-dollar Cairo

View of the pyramid of Khafre

Pyramid of Mikerin (Egypt) - description, history, location. The exact address, phone, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.

• Last Minute Tours in Egypt

Previous photo Next photo

The pyramid of Mikerin is located on the Giza plateau next to other equally famous Egyptian pyramids - Cheops and Khafre. Compared to its “giant” neighbors, this is the smallest (its height is only 62 m) and the “youngest” pyramid of the famous triad.

The pyramid of Mikerin is well preserved and is open to all visitors. To avoid the influx of tourists - and there are always crowds of them on the main attractions of Egypt - it is better to go on an excursion not at the height of the day, but, say, early in the morning or in the evening.

The peculiarity of the pyramid of Mikerin is that it was two-colored. Until the middle, ancient builders made a pyramid of red granite, and above they used white limestone. But in the 16th century, almost all the cladding of the structure was destroyed by the Mamluk warriors.

Scientists associate the relatively small size and height of this pyramid not with insufficient skill of the architects, but with the beginning of the “decline” of the era of the great pyramids. We can say that after the pyramid of Mikerin, the Egyptians stopped building such grandiose tombs.

Despite this fact, the pyramid of Mikerin on Giza continues to amaze contemporaries. Take, for example, the slabs with which the builders covered the pharaoh's burial room. The largest stone block, according to conservative estimates, weighs over 200 tons! It is interesting, what technical devices did the ancient Egyptians have that helped them so much?

By the way, in some pictures the pyramid looks taller than its "brothers" - Cheops and Khafre. According to the travelers, the trick lies in the correct shooting angle. Well, then this trip is worth discovering another secret of the ancient pyramids ...

Issue price

An excursion to the Pyramid of Mikerin, as a rule, is part of a general trip around Cairo and also includes visits to other Egyptian attractions.

The cost of the trip - and it lasts all day - includes a bus transfer, entrance tickets to all attractions and guide services.

Address: Al Haram, Giza

Prices on the page are for November 2018.

The construction of the third pyramid on the Giza plateau was carried out in 2500 BC. It was built as the future tomb of Pharaoh Mikerin, the son of Khephren and the grandson of Cheops. It is unclear why the structure was initially so much smaller than the two neighboring pyramids. In terms of dimensions, it is almost twice as small as them. There are two versions. One by one, Mikerin simply did not have enough slaves, since many died during the reign of the previous two pharaohs. The second version looks more plausible - Mikerin wanted to complete the construction of the pyramid during his lifetime, which his father and grandfather could not do. True, he was unlucky, he did not hold out until the end of the work, the pyramids were finished after the death of the ruler.

So, the pyramid of Mikerin is only 66 meters high. And over the long millennia, it has settled by another 5 meters. For comparison, the pyramid of Khafre (father) rushed up to 140 meters. But Mikerin decided to compensate for the lack of size with the beauty of his appearance. His pyramid was once the most attractive in Giza. Unlike his grandfather Cheops, who covered the structure with limestone, and Father Khafren, who used red granite, Mikerinus decided to make the pyramid multi-colored. He covered the base of the tomb with granite, then slabs of white limestone followed, and the builders again put granite on the top. Unfortunately, none of this splendor has survived to our times. The tomb was plundered in the 16th century, when Egypt was invaded by the Mamluks.

The internal structure of the Mikerin pyramid is also not unique. The burial chamber inside is very small - only 15 square meters in area and 3.5 meters high. The ancient builders tried to give the burial room itself the shape of an arch. Inside, this room is now completely empty. The sarcophagus, found by British troops in the 19th century, was removed from here. And it so happened that the ship that transported him went to the bottom. That is, almost no items from the Mykerin era have survived today. Well, except, of course, for the pyramid itself.

Features of the excursion to the pyramid of Mikerin

An excursion to the pyramids of Giza is not an easy test. Of course, if you are vacationing directly in Cairo, then it looks like a trifle walk. You can go to the plateau at any time - just catch a taxi and buy a ticket at the entrance. But everything is much more difficult for vacationers in resort areas... From Hurghada to Cairo, almost 475 kilometers, and from Sharm el-Sheikh and even more - 560 kilometers. The road is not short, and therefore usually do not go to the pyramids with children. They get too tired on the way, and no entertainment is provided during the excursion.

There are two ways to get to Cairo - by plane or by bus. The first option is the easiest, but also the most expensive. The average price of such an excursion is $ 200. The bus saves two thirds of this amount. But you will have to spend 6-7 hours on the road, no less. The climate of Egypt is not very favorable for such long trips, so the journey almost always starts late at night. Tourists get to the pyramids themselves at about 10-11 o'clock in the morning. After inspection and photos, the second part of the excursion begins, which includes a visit historical museum and several shops. On the way back, tourists leave in the evening, and thus get to their hotels, again in the middle of the night. It turns out that a trip to the pyramids usually takes a little more than a day.

The Pyramid of Mikerin is the third of the famous pyramids of Giza, the smallest and youngest of them. It was built by order of Pharaoh Menkaur (in Greek Mikerin) next to the pyramids of his grandfather Khufu and father Khafre.

Menkaure reigned around 2520-2480. BC NS. No reliable information about his reign has survived. The ancient authors call him a kind and gracious ruler, in contrast to his father and grandfather. Herodotus in his "History" cites a legend that tells about the riotous lifestyle of Menkaur. That's all that is known about this pharaoh.

The last great pyramid

Mycerinus became the last pharaoh of the IV Egyptian "dynasty of pyramid builders" who erected the "Sacred Height" for himself (the official name of the pyramids in Ancient egypt). His successor was satisfied with the mastaba (trapezoidal tomb), albeit very large.

The pyramid of Mikerin has a height of 66 m and a side length of 108.4 m. Its volume is 10 times less than that of the Cheops pyramid. Moreover, in ancient times it was considered the most beautiful in all of Egypt.

The relative "diminutiveness" of the pyramid of Mikerin, according to historians, speaks of the economic decline caused, among other factors, by the excessive building activity of the pharaohs of the 4th dynasty. This is the last of the great pyramids of antiquity. The height of later burial structures rarely exceeds 20 meters.

At the same time, the skill of engineers and builders remained at their best. This is evidenced, for example, by the use of huge boulders in the construction, which have no analogues in earlier construction. Thus, a monolith weighing more than 200 tons, the largest in the necropolis of Giza, was used to cover the funeral church.

About one third of the height, the cladding was made of red granite, followed by slabs of white limestone, and the summit and pyramidion were again granite. The pyramid looked so unusual until the 16th century, when the cladding was dismantled by the Mamluks.

The structure of the building makes one think that Menkaura, starting the construction, foresaw his rather close death. Apparently, he was in poor health or took the throne as an elderly man. The second entrance, found in the pyramid, suggests that the base was originally supposed to have a size of 60 x 60 meters, but then it was nevertheless increased. The use of huge blocks may indicate the need for an early completion of construction, and the stone is not as carefully hewn as in the structures of Menkaur's predecessors.

Pharaoh never lived to see the completion of the construction of his tomb. Most likely, this explains the transition to facing with white limestone instead of granite, which is more expensive and more difficult to process. The funeral temple, which at first was built of stone, was completed with bricks. At the same time, an inscription was found in the ruins, indicating that this was done by order of Pharaoh Shepseskaf, the son of Menkaur.

Indoor and satellite buildings

The internal structure of the pyramid is quite complex. There are two corridors, from the original entrance and from the main one, a room resembling a vestibule and two burial chambers - the first was carved into the rock at a depth of 6 meters, the second, the main one, is located under the first. In the main chamber there is a basalt sarcophagus; niches for ritual vessels - canopic ones - are made in its walls.

Interestingly, when the burial chamber was opened in 1837, a wooden coffin with mummified remains was discovered, which they tried to deliver to the British Museum. The vessel carrying the coffin sank off the coast of Spain, but the lid was fished out. As it turned out much later with the help of radiocarbon analysis, the burial belonged to the 1st century AD. and how it got into the pharaoh's chamber is unknown.

Near the main pyramid there are three small ones, but only one has been completed. Judging by the inscriptions, the daughter of Pharaoh Hentkaus, who died much later Menkaure, was buried in it. Having been by the time of her death the regent, the wife of the pharaoh and the mother of two others, she still preferred to be buried next to her father.

Nearby there is a memorial temple of the pharaoh, in which a huge perfectly preserved statue of Menkaur, made at a high artistic level, was found. Other sculptures have also been discovered, including a very widespread later type of "triad" that appeared under Menkaure.

The pyramid of Mikerin is in better condition than others, and the Egyptian government plans to restore the tomb, giving it its original appearance if possible.

Pyramid of Mikerin is one of the famous three Egyptian pyramid tombs located on the Giza plateau on the outskirts. In comparison with its famous neighbors - the pyramids and - this is the lowest pyramid, erected later than the rest. Its construction was completed by 2,505 BC. The height of the ancient Egyptian landmark is 62 meters. A feature of the pyramid of Mikerin, which distinguishes it from other famous tombs, is that it was made by the ancient Egyptians from materials of two colors. The lower part of the famous tomb was made of red granite, and the upper part was made of white limestone. Unfortunately, most of the cladding was destroyed in the 16th century.

Pyramid of Mikerin - photo

Peculiarities

Despite the relatively low height, pyramid of Mikerin is an example of the application of the amazing building technologies of the Egyptians, which amaze contemporaries to this day. The largest stone slab of the tomb, covering the burial room of the pharaoh, weighs more than 200 tons. The relative "miniature" of the pyramid of Mikerin, according to scientists, is due to the fact that it was erected at the beginning of the "decline" of the ancient era of the great pyramids. After the construction of this tomb of the pharaoh, the Egyptians stopped erecting grandiose pyramids. Later tombs usually no longer exceeded 20 meters. Another feature of the tomb is its complex internal structure. The pyramid has a kind of vestibule, burial chambers, tunnels and special niches for burial utensils. A sarcophagus made of basalt has been preserved in the main burial chamber to this day.

The ancient landmark is well preserved and today it is an important historical monument of Egypt and the era of the construction of the pyramids. In 1995, the restoration work of the pyramids began in the country, which also touched the pyramid of Mikerin. The inner part of the tomb was cleared of the inscriptions of tourists, and the sarcophagus was completely restored. Thanks to such restoration work, the capacity of the pyramid has also increased. Currently, the ancient tomb receives up to three hundred people daily.

Excursions

Most tourists visit the pyramid of Mikerin during a special excursion to Cairo with a visit to the famous Egyptian pyramids. On average, the cost of such an excursion trip is 60-70 dollars. This price includes a bus transfer to the Egyptian pyramids complex, entrance fees and the excursion program itself with the services of a guide. For tourists wishing to visit the country's ancient landmark, this is the easiest way to travel from Egyptian resorts to the pyramids.

Pyramid of Mikerin - video

Pyramid of Mikerin - how to get there

To get to the pyramid on your own, you need to take a direct bus in the center of Cairo to the famous tombs. Buses stop at Tahrir Square and Ramses Cairo Station. Alternatively, you can take a local taxi.

Pyramid of Mikerin - opening hours, ticket prices

The usual mode of operation of the Pyramid of Mikerin: in the summer from 8:00 to 17:00, and in the winter from 8:30 to 16:00. Since the number of visitors who can enter the Pyramid of Mikerin is limited to 300 people per day, there are certain nuances in buying entrance tickets. Tickets are sold up to 150 in the early morning and then another 150 at lunchtime. As a rule, the morning ticket limit is reserved by tour guides for groups, therefore independent tourists easier to get into the well-known egyptian pyramid buying entrance tickets in the afternoon. The entrance ticket to the Mikerin pyramid is about $ 4.