Cairo: Egypt's Senefru Bent Pyramid, which was built in about 2,600 BC and was originally designed as a "true" pyramid with the steep 54-degree angle, has opened to the public for the first time ever.
Despite the sweltering heat, visitors flocked to Dahshur Necropolis in Giza on Saturday to join Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and foreign and African ambassadors to Egypt from 40 countries to inaugurate the restored Senfru's Bent and its satellite Pyramids, reports the Al Ahram newspaper.
El-Enany said that the Senefru's Bent Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located in the royal Dahshur Necropolis, and that it has been placed on the Unesco's world heritage list as part of the Memphis Necropolis. The Bent Pyramid was built during the Old Kingdom under King Sneferu and is a unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt.
It represents a transitional form of pyramid construction between the Djoser Step Pyramid, Meidum Pyramid and the Red Pyramid. The Bent Pyramid had steep angles of inclination and showed signs of instability during its construction process.
In order to correct the steep inclination of Bent, the builders first changed the angle of construction to 45 degrees. However, as the pyramid showed signs of decay, the builders then constructed another pyramid adjacent to Bent, the Red Pyramid - called so because of the colour of its stones - to serve as a royal burial site. After the inauguration on Saturday, El-Enany announced a new discovery of a Middle Kingdom winding wall almost 300 metres south of King Amenemhat II's pyramid at Dahshur Necropolis, Al Ahram reported. El-Enany said that the mission found a collection of stone, clay and wooden sarcophagi with some of them still housing its mummies.
