Pyramid of Pepi I

The pyramid of Pepi I (in ancient Egyptian Men-nefer-Pepi meaning Pepi's splendour is enduring) is the pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty in the 24th or 23rd century BC.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn The complex gave its name to the capital city of Egypt, Memphis. As in the pyramids of his predecessors, Pepi I's substructure was filled with vertical columns of hieroglyphic texts, Pyramid Texts. It was in Pepi I's pyramid that these texts were initially discovered in 1880 by Gaston Maspero, though they originated in the pyramid of Unas. The corpus of Pepi I's texts is also the largest from the Old Kingdom, comprising 2,263 columns and lines of hieroglyphs.

Pepi I sited his pyramid complex in South Saqqara an approximate north of Djedkare Isesi's pyramid. It is unclear why Pepi I relocated to South Saqqara. Perhaps Pepi I had moved the royal palace south and away from the city, or perhaps no viable sites were left in North and Central Saqqara after Teti built his pyramid there. Pepi I entrusted one of his wives, Inenek-Inti, with the construction of the funerary monument. The pyramid and substructure replicated the basic design of Djedkare-Isesi's and is proportionally very similar. The pyramid has been extensively damaged and now stands as a small ruinous mound. The mortuary temple has also seen extensive damage from stone thieves, but the work carried out by the Mission archéologique française de Saqqâra/Mission archéologique franco-suisse de Saqqâra (MAFS) has revealed that the temple is laid out in near exactly the same manner as those of his predecessor's. Excavation work at the causeway has only extended out to a few metres, and the valley temple and pyramid town remain unexcavated.

The most significant finds at the complex are the queens' pyramids. As of 2017, a total of nine pyramids have been discovered south-west of Pepi I's complex. These pyramids belong to Nebuunet, Inenek-Inti, Meritites IV, Ankhesenpepi II and Ankhesenpepi III, Mehaa with a tomb belonging to her son Hornetjerikhet to its north, Behenu, Reherishefnakht and one, the Western Pyramid, remains anonymous. The pyramids of Queens Ankhesenpepi II and Behenu contain Pyramid Texts. The pyramid of Reherishefnakht contains both Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts. This find is significant for two reasons. The first is that it is the oldest known pyramid not built for a member of the royal family. The second is that its epigraphy represents a link between the Old and Middle Kingdoms.

Location and excavation

Map of the Saqqara plateau

Annotated map of the Saqqara plateau

Pepi I selected a site about north of Djedkare's pyramid in South Saqqara.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Mark Lehner suggests that siting the pyramid in North or Central Saqqara may not have been possible after Teti built his pyramid there, and that this may be the reason for Pepi I's choice to move to South Saqqara.Template:Sfn Jaromír Malek proposes that the "squalor, smell and noise of a crowded city", Djed-Isut to the east of Teti's pyramid, may have caused Djedkare Isesi and Pepi I to relocate their royal palaces further south and that this would explain their siting of their funerary monuments at South Saqqara.Template:Sfn

The pyramid was first examined by John Shae Perring in the 1830s.Template:Sfn In 1880, Gaston Maspero, director of the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, arrived in Egypt. He selected a site in South Saqqara, a mound that had been previously mapped by Karl Richard Lepsius, for his first archaeological dig. Here he found the ruins of a large structure which he identified as the pyramid of Pepi I. During the excavations he was able to gain access to the substructure where he discovered that the walls were covered in hieroglyphic text – the Pyramid Texts.Template:Sfn This was the first pyramid in which texts were found.Template:Sfn Maspero also found texts in the pyramids of Unas, Teti, Merenre I, and Pepi II in 1880–1.Template:Sfn He published his findings in Les inscriptions des pyramides de Saqqarah in 1894.Template:Sfn

MAFS has been leading efforts at the site of Pepi I's pyramid since 1950.Template:Sfn Jean-Philippe Lauer and Jean Sainte-Fare Garnot led the efforts until 1963, and since then the site has been under the supervision of Jean Leclant and Template:Interlanguage link.Template:Sfn Under Jean Leclant's supervision, a "major architectural and epigraphic project" was undertaken in the pyramids of Unas, Teti, Pepi I, and Merenre I.Template:Sfn In 1966, the burial chamber and passageway of the substructure in Pepi I's pyramid were unearthed. It was revealed that the texts in Pepi I's pyramid were engraved and painted in a shade of green, referred to by ancient Egyptians as wadj, that symbolized "renewal and germination".Template:Sfn

The south face and wall and a section of the east face of the pyramid were excavated between March and April 1996. A wealth of inscribed limestone blocks were also uncovered.Template:Sfn They bear the names of individuals involved with the construction of the complex, and their recovery is significant because they would typically be hidden by the encasement.Template:Sfn From these inscriptions it was worked out that family members of the pharaoh were involved in the project.Template:Sfn Teti-ankh, a son of Teti according to Vassil Dobrev, managed various activities around the complex. His name is particularly associated with the enclosure wall and measurement taking.Template:Sfn Inenek-Inti, a wife of Pepi I, appears on multiple blocks inscribed with titles indicating her role as the architect and builder of the monument.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn More inscribed limestone blocks were uncovered in the period between February and April 1997.Template:Sfn Over the course of the years 1995 to 1997, all four sides of the pyramid were cleared, and hundreds of blocks recording the involvement of about forty individuals discovered.Template:Sfn

Mortuary complex

Old Kingdom mortuary complexes consisted of five essential components: (1) a valley temple; (2) a causeway; (3) a pyramid, or mortuary,Template:Sfn temple; (4) a cult, or satellite,Template:Sfn pyramid; and (5) the main pyramid.Template:Sfn Pepi I's complex comprises: a main pyramid constructed of six steps of limestone encased in fine white limestone;Template:Sfn a mortuary temple that near exactly replicates those of his predecessors,Template:Sfn with a cult pyramid to its south;Template:Sfn and a valley temple and causeway that have not been excavated.Template:Sfn The name of Pepi I's pyramid complex, Men-nefer-Pepi, was adopted as the name of the capital city of Egypt, Men-nefer (Memphis).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Main pyramid

The pyramid was constructed in the same fashion as others since Djedkare Isesi's reign:Template:Sfn a core was built six steps high using small limestone blocks bound together with clay mortar, and then encased with fine white limestone blocks.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The limestone casing has been stripped away for the production of lime, and is intact only at the lowest steps.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn A fragmentary inscription found by MAFS in 1993 belonging to Khaemwaset, High Priest of Memphis and son of Ramesses II,Template:Sfn from the Nineteenth Dynasty indicates that the pyramid was in relatively good condition at this time, needing only minor improvements.Template:Sfn

The pyramid is now destroyed, and original dimensions are estimates. The length of the base of the pyramid was , converging towards the apex at ~53° giving the pyramid a peak high on completion.Template:Sfn The remaining ruins leave a mound about tall,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn with a pit in its centre dug by stone robbers.Template:Sfn

Substructure

A north chapel once stood over the entrance corridor on the north face of the pyramid. This leads into a descending corridor built from limestone. The corridor terminates at a vestibule that leads into the horizontal passage. Midway along the horizontal passage is the main barrier of three pink granite portcullises. The passage is further reinforced with granite in three places.Template:Sfn The layout of the chambers in Pepi I's pyramid are the same as those in his predecessor's pyramids:Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn the antechamber sits on the pyramid's vertical axis, with a room containing three recesses – called the serdab – to its east, and the burial chamber to its west. The ante- and burial- chambers had gabled roofs made from limestone blocks set three layers deep with sixteen blocks in each layer. The ceiling is estimated to have weighed around five thousand tons.Template:Sfn

The ceiling was painted with white stars, oriented to the west, against a black background. A sarcophagus was found on the west wall of the burial chamber; though examination indicates that this was a substitute sarcophagus, not the original. Labrousse suggests that the original was either damaged during transportation, or otherwise contained flaws that were later revealed.Template:Sfn MAFS made a rare discovery while conducting restorative work in the chamber:Template:Sfn a pink granite canopic chest, sunk into a niche at the foot of the sarcophagus, along with a bundle of viscera, once contained inside an alabaster jar and retaining its shape, presumed to belong to the king.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The provenance of a mummy fragment and fine linen wrappings found in the burial chamber are unknown, but are hypothesized to belong to Pepi I. Other components of burial equipment found in the chamber are: fragments of canopic vessels made from yellowish alabaster; a sandal made from reddish, possibly sycamore, wood; a small flint knife; some pleated linen; and a fragment of linen bearing the inscription "Linen for the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, may he live forever".Template:Sfn

The walls of Pepi I's antechamber, burial chamber, and corridor were inscribed with vertical columns of green painted hieroglyphic text.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The corridor texts in Pepi I's pyramid are the most extensive, covering the whole horizontal passage, the vestibule, and even a section of the descending corridor.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Efn The serdab was left uninscribed, as it had been in Unas' and Teti's pyramid.Template:Sfn

Pyramid Texts of Pepi I

Photograph of Pyramid Texts taken in Teti's pyramid

Exemplar of Pyramid Texts from the tomb of Teti

The Pyramid Texts originally appeared in the Pyramid of Unas at the end of the Fifth DynastyTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn initiating a tradition that carried on in the pyramids of the kings and queens of the Sixth through Eighth Dynasty,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn until the end of the Old Kingdom.Template:Sfn The texts in Pepi I's pyramid, comprising 2,263 columns and lines of text, are the most extensive such corpus of texts from the Old Kingdom.Template:Sfn Though the tradition of writing pyramid texts had started in Unas' pyramid,Template:Sfn they were originally discovered in Pepi I's pyramid in 1880.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Ancient Egyptian belief held that the individual consisted of three basic parts; the body, the ka, and the ba.Template:Sfn When the person died, the ka would separate from the body and return to the gods from where it had come, while the ba remained with the body.Template:Sfn The body of the individual, interred in the burial chamber, never physically left;Template:Sfn but the ba, awakened, released itself from the body and began its journey toward new life.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Significant to this journey was the Akhet: the horizon, a junction between the earth, the sky, and the Duat.Template:Sfn To ancient Egyptians, the Akhet was the place from where the sun rose, and so symbolised a place of birth or resurrection.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the texts, the king is called upon to transform into an akh in the Akhet.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The akh, literally "effective being", was the resurrected form of the deceased,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn attained through individual action and ritual performance.Template:Sfn If the deceased failed to complete the transformation, they became mutu, that is "the dead".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The function of the texts, in congruence with all funerary literature, was to enable the reunion of the ruler's ba and ka leading to the transformation into an akh,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and to secure eternal life among the gods in the sky.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Barring the lower section of the western end of the chamber, which is painted in the royal palace facade motif, all four walls of Pepi I's burial chamber were covered in Pyramid Texts.Template:Sfn The west wall and gable of Pepi I's burial chamber were inscribed with texts concerned with two themes.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The first present Horus in the role of the head-liturgist,Template:Sfn and the second involve the presentation of Osiris' corpse to his mother, Nut.Template:Sfn These texts are sakhu,Template:Sfn meaning "that which makes one into an akh"Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and serve the "protection, reconstitution, and transfiguration of the king in his sarcophagus".Template:Sfn They are flanked – predominantly on the west end of the north wall, but also by two texts in a small register on the west end of the south wallTemplate:Sfn – by texts concerned with the role of Osiris' sisters Isis and Nephthys.Template:Sfn On the west end of the south wall, beneath the texts of Isis and Nephythys, are a set of texts dealing with the theme of the king's ascent to the sky.Template:Sfn

The remainder of the north wall of the burial chamber is composed of the Offering and Insignia Rituals.Template:Sfn Unique to Pepi I's pyramid, the two rituals are clearly delineated in separate registers. The remainder of the south wall of the burial chamber is inscribed with the Resurrection Ritual;Template:Sfn these deal with the king's relationship with the gods and his departure from his tomb.Template:Sfn Pepi I's version of the ritual begins with a unique, but near entirely lost, spell.Template:Sfn Finally, the east wall and gable are inscribed with texts dominated by the relationship between "the ritualist" – in Pepi I's case his son – and Pepi I, and contain occasional personal spells.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the passageway between the burial- and ante- chambers, are a set of four spells inscribed on the north and south walls.Template:Sfn

Go back, be far away! Let Horus respect me and Seth protect me.
Go back, be far away! Let Osiris respect me and Kherti protect me.
Go back, be far away! Let Isis respect me and Nephthys protect me.
Be far overhead! Let Eyes-Forward respect me and Thoth protect me.
Go back, be far away! Let those of the nighttime respect me and those
in old age protect me.
[...]
Should Isis try to come in that bad coming of hers, don’t open your
arms to her, but let there be said to her her identity of Putrid
Crotch, (and say): "Barred! Go to the houses of Manu! Enough! Go
to Hedjbet, to where you will be beaten!"
[...]
He who shall give his finger against this pyramid and this god's
enclosure of Pepi and of his ka, he has given his finger against
Horus’s Enclosure in the Cool Waters. Nephthys shall traverse for
him every place of his [father] Geb. His case has been heard by the
Ennead and he has nothing, he has no house. He is one accursed, he
is one who eats his own body.
– Pyramid Text 534Template:SfnTemplate:Efn

File:Cartouches of Pepi I and Pyramid Texts. Limestone block fragment from the debris of the north wall of the antechamber within the pyramid of Pepi I at Saqqara. Petrie Museum.jpg

Cartouches of Pepi I and Pyramid Texts. Limestone block fragment from the debris of the north wall of the antechamber within the pyramid of Pepi I at Saqqara. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

The west and south walls of the antechamber are inscribed with texts whose core theme revolves around the transition from the human to the celestial realm.Template:Sfn The north wall contains two groups of texts: those concerning the king's ascent to the sky, which don't otherwise appear in the antechamber of other pyramids, and those concerned with the king's transformation into Horus.Template:Sfn The east wall of the antechamber bears spells that protect and provide for the king.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The passage into the serdab is inscribed with the Morning Ritual,Template:Sfn but the serdab itself was left uninscribed.Template:Sfn

The texts of the horizontal corridor are split into three sections. Their dominant theme is the king's ascent into the sky, alongside other personal texts, a protective spell for the tomb, and a "final imprecation against the guardian of the door" in the north-east section.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The vestibule is inscribed on the south, west and east walls. The texts of the south wall generally appear to have been intended to be performed on a statue of the king, with some additional spells allowing the king to open the vestibule's doors. The west and east walls are concerned primarily with the king's ability to pass into and out of the tomb. The north wall remained uninscribed.Template:Sfn

Pepi I's descending passage/ascending corridor appears to be the only one to have been inscribed with Pyramid Texts.Template:Sfn These are split into two sections,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn but their full contents are unknown due to the state of damage to the walls.Template:Sfn The south end of the west wall has texts relating to the king joining Re in the sky, as does the north end of the east wall, which also has spells for the perpetuation of the king's cult. The south end of the east wall contains provisioning texts. The north end of the west wall has more spells concerned with the king's ascent to the sky.Template:Sfn

In addition, it's noted that the inscriptions inside his pyramid were updated at some point near the end of Pepi's reign when he changed his prenomen from Nefersahor (Perfect is the protection of Horus) to Meryre (Beloved of Ra).Template:Sfn} This late change with Pepi incorporating the sun god Ra's name into his own may reflect some agreement with the influential priesthood of Ra.Template:Sfn

Valley temple, causeway and pyramid town

The valley temple, pyramid town, and the causeway, except for a few metres near to the mortuary temple, have not yet been excavated.Template:Sfn

Mortuary temple

Map of Pepi I's mortuary temple

Layout of Pepi I's mortuary temple. In order: 1) Entrance hall with (2a and b) storerooms; 3) Courtyard with (4) columns; 5) Transverse corridor; 6) Five niche statue chapel; 7) Vestibule; 8) Antichambre carrée; 9) Offering hall with (10a-c) storerooms; 11) Cult pyramid; 12a and b) Pyramid courtyard

The mortuary temple has been severely damaged by stone thieves who harvested the limestone used in its construction for lime production,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn leaving behind a lime furnace that they had set up in the temple grounds.Template:Sfn Despite the state of the temple, the archaeological work of MAFS has allowed the plan and features of the temple to be reconstructed.Template:Sfn The temple was laid out according to a standard planTemplate:Sfn that is near exactly like the temples of Djedkare Isesi, Unas, and Teti.Template:Sfn

The temple had an entrance hall leading into an open columned courtyard. The hall was flanked by storage magazines to the north and south. The inner temple contained a chapel with five statue niches. It also contained an offering hall and other core chambers.Template:Sfn Limestone statues of kneeling captives with hands tied behind their backs were discoveredTemplate:Sfn in the south-western section of the inner temple, where they were planned to be thrown into a lime furnace.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The statues were broken at the neck and waist.Template:Sfn Miroslav Verner states that these statues once lined open columned courtyard, and possibly also the entrance hall, where they served to ward off anyone who threatened the tomb.Template:Sfn Jean-Philippe Lauer postulates that the statues once lined the causeway representing the subjugated people of the north and south.Template:Sfn Richard Wilkinson notes that the original location of these statues is unknown.Template:Sfn

The antichambre carée in Pepi I's temple has been near totally destroyed. An entrance door on its east side has been identified on the basis of granite remains. The room originally had a roof high. Discoveries inside the room include sections of pavement along with the base of the central column which remained in situ in the chamber's centre. The typical granite column had been replaced with an octagonal pillar. Fragments of the relief decoration were recovered by Labrousse.Template:Sfn

Cult pyramid

The cult pyramid is in a better state of preservation than the mortuary temple. Fragments of statues, stelae and offering tables indicate the continuation of the funerary cult into the Middle Kingdom. In spite of this, the pyramid was falling into ruin by the New Kingdom.Template:Sfn

The purpose of the cult pyramid remains unclear. It had a burial chamber but was not used for burials, and instead appears to have been a purely symbolic structure.Template:Sfn It may have hosted the pharaoh's ka,Template:Sfn or a miniature statue of the king.Template:Sfn It may have been used for ritual performances centering around the burial and resurrection of the ka spirit during the Sed festival.Template:Sfn

Queens' pyramids and other significant structures

Map of the necropolis of pyramids, primarily the Queens pyramids

Annotated map of the necropolis south-west of Pepi I's pyramid

The most significant finds at Pepi I's complex are the queens' pyramids.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As of 2017, a total of nine pyramids have been discovered in an area to the south-west of Pepi I's pyramid. These pyramids belong to: Nebuunet, Inenek-Inti, Meritites IV, Ankhesenpepi II and Ankhesenpepi III, Mehaa with a tomb belonging to her son Hornetjerikhet to its north, Behenu, Reherishefnakht and one anonymous.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Pyramid of Nebuunet

Nebuunet was a wife of Pepi I, buried in a pyramid adjacent to his.Template:Sfn The complex is the easternmost one so far discovered, and contains a ruined pyramid and small mortuary temple.Template:Sfn The pyramid, constructed from limestone,Template:Sfn had a base length of about and a peak height of .Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Its entrance is set into the pavement of the north chapel and leads into a descending corridor. This transitions into a horizontal passage through a faux vestibule. A single granite portcullis guarded the burial chamber, which was located south of the pyramid's vertical axis.Template:Sfn The substructure has the same lay-out as Inenek-Inti's pyramid, with the distinction that her sarcophagus was made of pink granite, rather than greywacke.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn East of the burial chamber was the serdab which contained fragments of funerary equipment including a cylindrical wooden weight and wooden ostrich feather, potentially representing the feathers of Maat.Template:Sfn

The complex is entered through a limestone door facing Pepi I's pyramid. The door has near wholly been reassembled from rediscovered components. Each doorjamb has a complete image of the queen depicting her as a slender woman, wearing a wig that frames her face, equipped with a scabbard and a large necklace dangling around her neck.Template:Sfn In one hand she holds a lotus flower breathing in its scent, while the other hangs behind her.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Her name and title are inscribed on the doorjambs: "the wife of the king, his beloved, Nebuunet" (French: l'épouse du roi, son aimée, Noubounet). On the upper part of the jamb, beneath the hieroglyph for sky, a royal falcon with spread wings clutches an ankh pointed at a cartouche bearing Pepi I's name, itself part of a unit of three columns of text.Template:Sfn

The limestone door of the complex leads into an antechamber from which the courtyard surrounding the pyramid, and a small mortuary temple of the east face of the pyramid, could be accessed.Template:Sfn The temple is in complete ruins, except for the offering hall and a section of wall about thick, which have been better preserved.Template:Sfn North of the offering hall was a chapel with three niches.Template:Sfn Inside the hall, fragments of sculptures depict the queen on a podium with lions facing a goddess holding a was scepter and the ankh sign.Template:Sfn Very little of the relief decoration of the temple has been preserved.Template:Sfn

Pyramid of Inenek-Inti

Inenek-Inti was a wife and vizier of Pepi I, buried in a pyramid adjacent to his.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The pyramid had a base length of , converging towards the apex at ratio of 1:2 to a peak height of .Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The base area of Inenek-Inti's pyramid is thus 1/14th that of Pepi I's pyramid, and its volume 1/10th.Template:Sfn In contrast, both her pyramid and its mortuary temple are larger than that belonging to Nebuunet to the east.Template:Sfn Inenek-Inti's pyramid is enclosed by a perimeter wallTemplate:Sfn thick.Template:Sfn

Entrance into the pyramid is gained at a small entrance chapel on its north face. The entry leads into a short descending passage which terminates at a vestibule opening onto the main corridor.Template:Sfn The corridor, guarded by a single granite portcullis, leads towards the burial chamberTemplate:Sfn under the pyramid's vertical axis.Template:Sfn To the east of the burial chamber is a serdab. On the west side of the burial chamber is a greywacke sarcophagus.Template:Sfn The chamber is in ruins, and only fragments of funerary equipment have been preserved: pieces of stone hardware in various colours, and containers with limestone covers meant to protect funerary provisions.Template:Sfn

The mortuary temple of the complex is cramped and spreads along the north, east and south sides of the pyramid.Template:Sfn Two granite pillars facing north towards the king's pyramid serve as the door into the temple. The pillars are engraved with Inenek-Inti's name, and the queen depicted seated, breathing in the scent of a lotus flower. Two obelisks of gray limestone are present here which depict the queen standing. These too are engraved with her name, one with Inenek and one with Inti. They also bear her titles.Template:Sfn The outer temple consists of a hall and a pillared courtyard in the north-east.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn South of the courtyard,Template:Sfn on the east face, were the offering hall and a room containing three statue niches.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn A group of storerooms flanked these to the north and south.Template:Sfn In the south-east corner,Template:Sfn was a small cult pyramid.Template:Sfn The cult pyramid had a base length of .Template:Sfn

Western pyramid

The identity of this pyramid's owner is preserved on an obelisk in front of her pyramid only as "the eldest daughter of the king".Template:Sfn This was the first Queen's pyramid unearthed by MAFS in 1988.Template:Sfn The pyramid had a base length of around ,Template:Sfn the same as Nebuunet's, but the ruins stand a paltry tall.Template:Sfn Entry into the substructure is gained on the north face.Template:Sfn The burial chamber is located under the vertical axis of the pyramid.Template:Sfn The location of the serdab is unusual, being to the south of the burial chamber instead of east.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Substantial remains of funerary equipment were found inside, but no name:Template:Sfn wooden weights and ostrich feathers, copper fish hooks, and fired-clay vessels.Template:Sfn It has a hastily built mortuary temple, with an offering hall and a room with two statue niches. Relief fragments discovered depict scenes of processions and estates, along with an incomplete cartouche of Pepi I's name.Template:Sfn

Pyramid of Meritites IV

Meritites IV was a wife of Pepi I,Template:Sfn or Pepi II.Template:Sfn Her pyramid lies to the south of the anonymous "Western pyramid".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn It has a base length of Template:Efn and its substructure is decorated with the titulary of the queen painted halfway up the chamber walls.Template:Sfn During the excavation, wood fragments, likely from a box or canopic chest, were discovered with formulas from the Pyramid Texts painted on them.Template:Sfn Her identity, image and titles were recorded on in a courtyard with five pillars.Template:Sfn In 2007, the pyramid of Meretites IV had been completely restored and a greywacke monolith pyramid replaced.Template:Sfn The complex is accessed from the north-east via a long corridor linked off the street which leads into the courtyard. West of the courtyard is the north side of the pyramid. South of the courtyard is the inner temple. Her complex is surrounded by the pyramids of Ankhesenpepi II to the west, Inenek-Inti to the east, and the Western pyramid to the north.Template:Sfn

Pyramid of Ankhesenpepi II

Photograph of a pyramid in Saqqara

Pyramid of Queen Ankhesenpepi II

Ankhesenpepi II was a wife of Pepi I and mother to Pepi II.Template:Sfn Her pyramid lies south-west of Meritites IV's pyramid, at the south-western corner of the complex.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn With a base length of , it is the largest pyramid in the complex after the pyramid of Pepi I. The outer, or public, mortuary temple was built on a north–south axis. To the west are a series of twenty-one storerooms arranged in a tooth-comb fashion, and to the south is a large courtyard with two doors. The south-east door leads to the inner, or private, template. The south-west door leads to the north face of the pyramid.Template:Sfn

On the north face of the pyramid, remnants of a wide north chapel were found. The substructure to the pyramid was discovered filled with sand and debris, but once cleared revealed a large (east-west) by (north-south) burial chamber. To the east was an uninscribed serdab.Template:Sfn The burial chamber of Akhesenpepi II's pyramid contains a massive, carefully dressed basalt sarcophagus.Template:Sfn The body of the sarcophagus is long by wide. It had a lid, found fragmented into four pieces, that appears to have been made from a different material to the sarcophagus body.Template:Sfn The queen's titulary appear on the sarcophagus and lid identifying her as the mother of the king, and daughter of Geb and Nut.Template:Sfn Bone fragments of the arm, leg and foot were recovered during evacuation of the sarcophagus. These were identified as belonging to a mature adult female with osteoarthritis.Template:Sfn The walls of the substructure contain Pyramid Texts.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

In the mortuary temple of Ankhesenpepi II's funerary monument, a decorative block bearing the cartouches of Pepi I, Pepi II and Merenre I was discovered in 1998. The first two cartouches were easily explained: Pepi I was the husband of Ankhesenpepi II, and Pepi II was her son. The third, that of Mererenre I, remained unexplained until a damaged second decorative block was found in the pillared courtyard a year later. It bore the titles of Queen Ankhesenpepi II and identified her as the wife of Merenre I.Template:Sfn According to Labrousse, Ankhesenpepi II remarried to Merenre I, her nephew, after the death of Pepi I.Template:Sfn

Pyramid of Ankhesenpepi III

Ankhesenpepi III was a daughter of Merenre I Nemtyemsaf and a wife of Pepi II.Template:Sfn Her pyramid is located north of Ankhesenpepi II's pyramid, and south-west of Mehaa's.Template:Sfn Her pyramid complex is the smallest in Pepi I's greater complex. Its size constrained by the boundary of the complex to the west, Ankhesenpepi II's mortuary temple to the south and east, and an esplanade to the north that likely contained worship facilities. The pyramid has a base length of . The complex is entered at the north-east corner of the north wall and is preceded by two obelisks. On the east face of the pyramid is the mortuary temple which has been reduced to an intimate temple consisting of two rooms leading to the offering hall. South-east of the pyramid is a small courtyard which hosts a cult pyramid in its center.Template:Sfn Fragments of a decree from Pepi II honouring Ankhesenpepi III were found north of the complex's enclosure wall.Template:Sfn

The burial chamber of the pyramid is badly damaged. It contains a sarcophagus made from a single sandstone block buried in the floor, with a lid of roughly cut granite.Template:Sfn The walls around the sarcophagus have been painted to represent the royal palace facade.Template:Sfn The sarcophagus is inscribed with Ankhesenpepi III's name and titles, and contained bone fragments.Template:Sfn

In the western part of the funerary complex, a mudbrick superstructure was uncovered. A shaft by the structure led to a vaulted chamber, through which a decorated limestone burial chamber could be accessed. The burial appears to date to the First Intermediate Period.Template:Sfn The owner of the burial is Ankhnes, a priestess of Hathor of Ankhesenpepi III.Template:Sfn Alongside the burial, a decorative wooden statuette of the subject and five decorated wooden mirror handles were recovered.Template:Sfn

Pyramid of Mehaa and Hornetjerikhet's tomb

Mehaa was a wife of Pepi I.Template:Sfn She was buried in a pyramid at the end of "Queen's street" (French: rue de reines).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Before the pyramid is a building, which bears the name and image of Prince Hornetjerikhet,Template:Sfn a son of Pepi I.Template:Sfn

Pyramid of Behenu

Behenu was a wife of Pepi I or Pepi II. In 2007, the remains of her pyramid were uncovered.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The pyramid is located at the western end of the complex, directly north of Mehaa's pyramid.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn It has a base length of ,Template:Sfn making it the second-largest Queens' pyramid in the necropolis after that of Ankhesenpepy II.Template:Sfn Fragments found in the mortuary temple identified the owner, Behenu. The name matches fragments of Pyramid Texts previously found around the tomb of Reherishefnakht.Template:Sfn These fragments must have originated from the chambers of her pyramid.Template:Sfn The walls surrounding the sarcophagus in the burial chamber were adorned with a black and red painted rendition of the royal palace facade and text inscribed above.Template:Sfn Fragments of green paint have been retained on some of the inscribed hieroglyphs, with black and red painted lines separating vertical registers.Template:Sfn

The enclosure to the complex is entered near the north-east corner off a north–south street. The doorway leads into a vestibule with a door to the courtyard in its north-western corner. The courtyard has two doorways. The first, in the south-east leads to a vestibule with two connecting rooms. To the north is a long windowless vestibule. To the west are a series of ten store-rooms. A second door in the north-west of the courtyard leads into the inner, or private, temple. Here a series of rooms can be accessed from a north–south running passage including: a windowless room, the statue chapel and the offering hall. At the south-east corner of the pyramid is a small courtyard with a cult pyramid at its center.Template:Sfn The cult pyramid has a base length of .Template:Sfn

In the debris of the temple, which bore marks of destruction and restoration, a preserved statuette head of Behenu wearing a wig and with in-laid eyes was found.Template:Sfn An offering table discovered in the vicinity of Behenu's monument has identified a daughter of Behenu named Hapi.Template:Sfn

Pyramid of Reherishefnakht

In 2004,Template:Sfn a pyramid belonging to an individual named Reherishefnakht was discovered in the complex of Pepi I's pyramid.Template:Sfn The pyramid likely dates to the end of the Eleventh Dynasty, and is thus the oldest known pyramid not built for a member of the royal family. It has a base length of made from limestone blocks presumably scavenged from nearby structures. Remnants of stelae, offering tables, door stops and lintel, many of which bear names were found in the core of the pyramid. One significant find is the name of a previously unknown wife of Pepi I, Sebutet.Template:Sfn The pyramid substructure contains both Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts, thus representing a link between the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom of Egypt.Template:Sfn The substructure has a simple design: from the north, a shaft leads to the burial chamber covered with stone slabs, one of which bears Reherishefnakht's name. The chamber was richly decorated, and contained Pyramid Texts 214–217 and Coffin Text 335. No other buildings associated with pyramid complexes were built, and no burial for a wife of Reherishefnakht was found.Template:Sfn

See also

• List of Egyptian pyramids
• List of megalithic sites