Zawyet el-Meytin Pyramid
Pyramid of Zawiyet al-Mayitin · Zawyat el-Maiyitin Pyramid · Hebenu Pyramid
Old Kingdom, 3rd Dynasty, ~2630 BCE·Ancient Egyptian·🇪🇬 Minya Governorate (east bank Nile south of Minya), Egypt
About
About Zawyet el-Meytin Pyramid
Northernmost minor step pyramid of Huni set, isolated on east bank Nile opposite Hebenu (Kom el-Ahmar), Minya, 200 m above cultivation on limestone spur. Most ruined: 22 m base, 15 m high today, 3 steps of rough limestone rubble with mud mortar. First noted 1911 Raymond Weill, excavated 1962 Jean-Philippe Lauer (who found no substructure). Robbed core exposes internal stair. Marks Egyptian frontier near Hare nome during early Old Kingdom expansion.
Why it mattersOnly provincial pyramid on east bank; defines Huni network's northern extent to Hare nome; frontier control hypothesis.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why single pyramid east bank while six west — Hebenu link?
Theories
- 01Hebenu administrative cult — opposite major provincial capital
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.2630 BCE, late 3rd Dynasty (Huni)
- Period
- Old Kingdom, 3rd Dynasty, ~2630 BCE
- Culture
- Ancient Egyptian
- Builders
- Ancient Egyptian (Huni, Hare nome governor)
- Purpose
- Northern frontier cult marker opposite Hebenu administrative centre
- Abandoned
- c.2600 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1911 Weill notes; 1962 Lauer clearance confirms pyramid
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.2630 BCE
Construction on limestone spur above Nile
1911
Weill photographs and measures 22 m base
1962
Lauer excavates core and reports no burial apartment
2012
Minya Antiquities fences spur after quarrying threat
On the ground
Structures & features
28.0500° N · 30.8170° E · 68 m · 3 mapped features
Zawyet el-Meytin step core
pyramidRobbed three-step core 22 m base on spur
28.0500° N · 30.8170° ELimestone spur bedrock
platformNatural limestone spur leveled for pyramid foundation
28.0503° N · 30.8168° EScree stabilisation wall
wallModern dry stone wall retaining robber scree on south slope
28.0498° N · 30.8172° E