Like the other Twelfth Dynasty pyramids in the Faiyum,
the Pyramid of Lahun is made of mud brick, but here the core of the
pyramid consists of a network of stone walls that were infilled by mud
brick. This approach was probably intended to ensure the stability of
the brick structure. Unusually, despite a Pyramid Temple on the east
side, the entrance to the pyramid is on the south. The archaeologist Flinders Petrie
nevertheless spent considerable time searching for it on the east side.
He discovered the entrance only when workmen clearing the nearby tombs
of the nobles discovered a small tunnel at the bottom of a 40-foot
shaft, which led to the royal burial chamber. Evidently the original
workmen on the tomb had used their legitimate activity as a cover for
digging this tunnel, which enabled them to rob the pyramid. Once he was
in the burial chamber, Petrie was able to work backwards to the
entrance.
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| Entry to the "jewelry tomb" at El Lahun. |
The most remarkable discovery was that of the village of the workers
who both constructed the pyramid and then served the funerary cult of
the king. The village, conventionally known as Kahun, is about 800
meters from the pyramid and lies in the desert a short distance from the
edge of cultivation. When found, many of the buildings were extant up
to roof height, and Petrie confirmed that the true arch was known and
used by the workmen in the village. However, all the buildings found
were demolished in the process of excavation, which proceeded in long
strips down the length of the village. When the first strip had been
cleared, mapped and drawn, the next strip was excavated and the spoil
dumped in the previous strip. As a result, there is very little to be
seen on the site today.
The village was excavated by Petrie in 1888-90 and again in 1914. The
excavation was remarkable for the number, range, and quality of objects
of everyday life (including tools) that were found in the houses.
According to Dr Rosalie David's Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt, "the quantity, range and type of articles of everyday use which were
left behind in the houses may indeed suggest that the departure [of the
workmen] was sudden and unpremeditated"
Among the curiosities found there were wooden boxes buried beneath
the floors of many of the houses. When opened they were found to contain
the skeletons of infants, sometimes two or three in a box, and aged
only a few months at death. Petrie reburied these human remains in the
desert.
Also found in the town were the Kahun papyri,
comprising about 1000 fragments, covering legal and medical matters.
Re-excavation of the area in 2009 by Egyptian archaeologists revealed a
cache of pharaonic-era mummies in brightly painted wooden coffins in the
sand-covered desert rock surrounding the pyramid.
The site was occupied into the late Thirteenth Dynasty, and then again in the New Kingdom, when there were large land reclamation schemes in the area.
The town was laid out in a regular plan, with mud-brick town walls on
3 sides. No evidence was found of a fourth wall, which may have
collapsed and been washed away during the annual inundation. The town
was rectangular in shape and was divided internally by a mudbrick wall
as large and strong as the exterior walls. This wall divided about one
third of the area of the town and in this smaller area the houses
consisted of rows of back-to-back, side-by-side single room houses. The
larger area, which was higher up the slope and thus benefited from
whatever breeze was blowing, contained a much smaller number of large,
multi-room villas. The size of the houses ranged from 2,520 square
meters for the elite houses to 120 square meters for small houses.
Petrie compared the village to a Welsh mining village, where the
workers lived in terraces in the valley while the mine owner and
overseers lived in larger houses up the hill.
A major feature of the town was the so-called ‘acropolis’ building.
This was an important building, as indicated by the presence of column
bases. Petrie suggested that this may have been the King’s residence
whilst he was visiting construction work. The building seems to have
been out of use and derelict before the end of occupation.
Other records show that there were a large number of Semitic slaves in Egypt during the Twelfth Dynasty
It is interesting that some of the villas were constructed of layers of
mudbrick separated by layers of reed matting, a technique used in
Mesopotamia. Furthermore, burial beneath the living quarters of a house
was a custom noted at Ur by Woolley. It is possible that the workers who
were so carefully guarded by the village wall and separated from the
overseers by an equally strong wall were Semitic (Asiatic) slaves not
trusted by their overseers.
It was announced by the Supreme Council of Antiquities on 26 April
2009 that an anthology of pharaonic-era mummies vividly painted wooden
coffins were uncovered near the Lahun pyramid in Egypt. The sarcophagi
were decorated with bright hues of green, red and white bearing images
of their occupants. Archaeologists unearthed dozens of mummies, thirty
of which were very well preserved with prayers purposed to help the
deceased in the afterlife inscribed upon them. The site, once enveloped
in slabs of white limestone, revealed that it could possibly be
thousands of years older than previously thought.
Experts think that a new understanding of Egyptian funerary
architecture and customs of the Middle Pharaonic Kingdom all the way to
the Roman era could be learned from the exploration of the dozens of
tombs encompassing the site near the Lahun, Egypt’s southernmost
pyramid. "The tombs were cut on the rock itself, and they vary in
architectural designs," said archaeologist Abdul Rahman Al-Ayedi, head
of excavations at the site. . Some of the tombs were erected on top of
gravesites from earlier eras. Ayedi told reporters, "The prevailing idea
was that this site has been established by Senusret II,
the fourth king of the 12th dynasty. But in light of our discovery, I
think we are going to change this theory, and soon we will announce
another discovery." He said teams had made a discovery of an artifact
that was dated earlier than the 12th dynasty, but did not include any
specifics on the item and promised an official statement would be made
within days.
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities announced May 23, 2010 that 57
ancient Egyptian tombs were discovered in an area close to Lahun. Most
of the graves contained an ornamental painted wooden sarcophagus with a
mummy inside. Some of the tombs date from the Egyptian First and Second Dynasties, as far back as 2750 BC. Several of the sites were decorated with hieroglyphics that the
ancients believed would help the deceased travel through the afterlife.
Twelve of the tombs were found to belong to the 18th dynasty which ruled Egypt during the second millennium BC. Egypt's archaeology chief, Zahi Hawass,
said the mummies that date to the 18th dynasty are covered in linen
decorated with religious texts from the Book of the Dead and scenes of
ancient Egyptian deities. The discovery might help experts have a better
understanding of the ancient Egyptian religions. Some of the tombs are
decorated with religious texts that ancient Egyptians believed would
help the deceased cross over to the underworld, said Abdel Rahman El-Aydi, chief archeologist of project.
El-Aydi said one of the oldest tombs is almost completely intact,
with all of its funerary equipment and a wooden sarcophagus containing a
mummy wrapped in linen.
In 31 of the tombs, dating back to around 2030 - 1840 B.C., during the Middle Kingdom Era, archeologists found scenes of different ancient Egyptian deities, such as the Horus, Amun, Hathor & Khnum decorated on the tombs. Wikipedia
The jewelry and personal hygiene items made up the majority of the artifacts found at El Luhun, apart from the coffins and mummies. I've included the largest available sizes of those detailed illustrations of the jewelry, for teachers who need to develop Power Point presentations for your classrooms. A return link to the blog would be much appreciated please!
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| Egyptian Pectoral of Senusert II and Amethyst Necklace. |
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| Egyptian Lion-head Collar and Armlets. |
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| Egyptian Claw and Amethyst Necklace. |
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| Cowry Collar and Armlets. |
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| Gold Crown of Sat-Hathor-Ant. |
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| Backs of Gold Pectorals. |
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| Pectoral, Scarab, Rosettes of Crown, Ivory and Copper Knives, Mirror Shen. |
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| Egyptian Gold Beads, Copper Razors, Whetstones and Lazuli Scarab. |
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| Anklets and Armlets. |
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| Gold and Ivory Casket Plan of Treasure Recess. |
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| Alabaster and Obsidian Vases. |
