Pyramid of Ameny Qemau (South Saqqara)
Ameny Qemau Pyramid · Qemau Pyramid · South Saqqara Pyramid of Ameny Qemau
Second Intermediate Period incipient / late Middle Kingdom·Ancient Egyptian·🇪🇬 Giza Governorate, South Saqqara, near Lake Dahshur fringe, Egypt
About
About Pyramid of Ameny Qemau (South Saqqara)
Early 13th Dynasty pyramid of Pharaoh Ameny Qemau (c. 1793–1785 BCE, nefer-khau), at South Saqqara midway between the Headless Pyramid and southern fringe. Base 52 × 52 m (100 cubits) of mudbrick with limestone casing, substructure fully excavated by Charles Musès/Maragioglio 1957 / Nabil Swelim 1968 and re-examined by the IFAO 2010s: intact quartzite sarcophagus and canopic chest (still sealed, but empty), inscribed with the king's name — earliest quartzite monolithic sarcophagus before later 13th Dyn pyramids.
Canopic jars bore the name. Adjacent small queens? pyramid AMQ2 inside double enclosure. Demonstrates early 13th Dynasty still commanded full pyramid complex (valley temple traces, causeway) despite political decline.
Why it mattersEarliest known quartzite monolith sarcophagus in pyramid substructure; proves early 13th Dynasty still built true pyramids with full apparatus before rapid impoverishment.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Parentage — son of Amenemhat V Sekhemkare or Sebkay
- 02Location of valley/temple complex
Theories
- 01Short reign evidenced by simplified causeway
- 02Canopic evidence fixes Ameny Qemau chronology
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. 1793–1785 BCE (early 13th Dynasty)
- Period
- Second Intermediate Period incipient / late Middle Kingdom
- Culture
- Ancient Egyptian
- Builders
- Ameny Qemau (son of Sekhemkare?)
- Purpose
- Royal tomb pyramid of Ameny Qemau
- Rediscovered
- 1957 (Maragioglio & Rinaldi, Charles Musès) / reinvestigated 1968, 2017
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 1793–1785 BCE (early 13th Dynasty)
Initial construction
c. 1264 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
29.8211° N · 31.2247° E · 55 m · 3 mapped features
Ameny Qemau pyramid mound
pyramid52 m base mudbrick ruin
29.8211° N · 31.2247° EQuartzite burial chamber
chamberMonolithic sarcophagus still in situ
29.8210° N · 31.2245° EQueens pyramid AQM2
pyramidSubsidiary small pyramid inside enclosure
29.8216° N · 31.2249° E
Gallery