Dahshur

Welcome to Dahshur, a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile, approximately forty kilometers south of Cairo. As a scholar of Egyptian antiquity, I find this site perhaps more compelling than the…

Standing before the Red Pyramid, also known as the North Pyramid, we are looking at the third largest pyramid in all of Egypt. It rises to a height of 105 meters, roughly 344 feet, and was the first successful attempt by the…

Entering the Red Pyramid is an experience that is as much sensory as it is historical. The entrance is located on the northern face, high above the ground. …

Moving south from the Red Pyramid, we encounter the singular silhouette of the Bent Pyramid. At 104.7 meters tall, it is nearly identical in height to its northern neighbor, yet its form is unlike any other in Egypt. …

For those brave enough to enter the Bent Pyramid, be warned: this is widely considered one of the most physically demanding pyramid interiors to explore. The entrance is on the north face, and it leads to a descent of…

Once you have successfully navigated the arduous descent and the subsequent climbs, you reach the heart of the Bent Pyramid: the King’s Chamber. This room is a masterpiece of ancient engineering and contains one of the most…

To truly appreciate Dahshur, one must understand its place in the broader chronological evolution of the Egyptian pyramid. As we look across the plateau, we are seeing the middle chapter of a story that began at Saqqara and ended…

As our time at Dahshur comes to an end, I hope you carry with you a deeper appreciation for the sheer audacity of the Fourth Dynasty. We have traversed the Red Pyramid, the first successful true pyramid, and the Bent Pyramid, a…