Queens Pyramid G1-b (Eastern Cemetery, Great Pyramid of Khufu)
G I-b · Pyramid G1b
Old Kingdom, early 4th Dynasty·Ancient Egyptian·🇪🇬 Giza Governorate, Giza Plateau, Egypt
About
About Queens Pyramid G1-b (Eastern Cemetery, Great Pyramid of Khufu)
Middle subsidiary queens pyramid east of Khufu (4th Dynasty), base 49 m, height ~30 m, discrete enclosure and offering chapel east. Shaft descends 25 m to plain burial chamber; no pyramid texts; recent 2016 ScanPyramids muon scans looked for voids here as test. Attributed to Meritites or Henutsen alternatively; construction seam shows it was added after G1-a with tighter spacing (10 m gap). Chapel boasted two false doors; fragments of pink granite sarcophagus rim recorded by Petrie.
Why it mattersPart of earliest royal family cemetery planning; informs labor organization and sequencing at Giza.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Order of construction: G1-b after G1-a despite alignment
Theories
- 01Three queens as astronomical or kinship triad; G1-b central queen as senior wife
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.2580–2570 BCE, Khufu (4th Dynasty)
- Period
- Old Kingdom, early 4th Dynasty
- Culture
- Ancient Egyptian
- Builders
- Ancient Egyptian (Khufu)
- Purpose
- Second queen consort tomb forming triad with G1-a and G1-c
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.2580–2570 BCE, Khufu (4th Dynasty)
Initial construction
c. 1174 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
29.9790° N · 31.1349° E · 68 m · 2 mapped features
G1-b shaft and chamber
chamber25 m shaft to undecorated limestone chamber
29.9790° N · 31.1349° EEastern offering chapel
chapelLimestone chapel with two false door recesses
29.9789° N · 31.1351° E