Sahure was a pharaoh of the 5th Dynasty and ruled for 13 years, from 2487 until 2475 BCE.
Sahure was the first pharaoh to build a pyramid complex at Abu Sir. The construction technique chosen was surprisingly close to that of the old step pyramids. The building of Sahure's pyramid involved building a simple and crude core, finishing off with standard casing of finely cut rocks. Today, with the casing long gone, what remains is a pyramid in bad shape. Even the steps are mainly gone, making it all look like a true pyramid, just far smaller than its original 47 metres height.There is little to see inside the pyramid, most of it is damaged. The burial chamber itself is roofed by three tiers of limestone beams.The main attraction with Sahure's pyramid lies with the mortuary temple halls and the causeway. As a matter of fact this is of great importance for the development of Egyptian temples. Many of the details here would become standard with the famous temples in later times.The walls of the 235 metre long causeway are decorated by imagery intending to defend the inner sections of the temple from any evil power. The dominating motif are Egyptian gods taking Egypt's earthly enemies as prisoners. This would become a central element to temple entrances over the coming 2,500 years.Equally important is the layout of the temple. It is considered to be the model of all other later temples of the Old Kingdom, a model which would be used as foundation for the many fantastic temples of the New Kingdom.
The mortuary temple
Although the internal structure of the mortuary temple was not yet standardised in Sahure's time, it is clearly the precursor of most of the subsequent Old Kingdom mortuary temples.
Its entrance, a doorway framed in granite, led to a closed corridor that was laid out around a pillared court. Reliefs show the king fishing and hunting accompanied by his courtiers. This symbolised the king taming the wild powers of nature, one of his sacral duties.
The pillars in the court have a palm-leaf shaped capital and their shafts display the king's name. An offering table in Egyptian alabaster (calcite) once stood in the centre of this court. The reliefs on the walls show the king's victories over his enemies, which was, again, part of his sacral duties. A unique relief in the open court represented some bears which were probably imported from Asia.
A transverse corridor west of the pillared hall separates the outer temple from the inner. One of the earliest examples of reliefs representing a sea voyage can be found on the east wall, while small chambers to the west were decorated with scenes of personified provinces carrying offerings into the temple. The offerings were stored, perhaps only symbollicaly, in magazines on either side of the temple.
Following the temple's main axis, a short alabaster staircase led to a room with 5 niches, each presumably containing a statue of the king.
Only fragments have survived from the temple's sanctuary an its false door in front of which priests would deposit the daily offering for the deceased king. It also contained a granite statue of the king and an offering basin with a drain of copper tubing. In the north wall a granite doorway led to five more rooms, two of which also had limestone basins with copper drains.
The pillars in the court have a palm-leaf shaped capital and their shafts display the king's name. An offering table in Egyptian alabaster (calcite) once stood in the centre of this court. The reliefs on the walls show the king's victories over his enemies, which was, again, part of his sacral duties. A unique relief in the open court represented some bears which were probably imported from Asia.
A transverse corridor west of the pillared hall separates the outer temple from the inner. One of the earliest examples of reliefs representing a sea voyage can be found on the east wall, while small chambers to the west were decorated with scenes of personified provinces carrying offerings into the temple. The offerings were stored, perhaps only symbollicaly, in magazines on either side of the temple.
Following the temple's main axis, a short alabaster staircase led to a room with 5 niches, each presumably containing a statue of the king.
Only fragments have survived from the temple's sanctuary an its false door in front of which priests would deposit the daily offering for the deceased king. It also contained a granite statue of the king and an offering basin with a drain of copper tubing. In the north wall a granite doorway led to five more rooms, two of which also had limestone basins with copper drains.
The Satellite Pyramid
The Satellite Pyramid of this complex was located at the southeast corner of the main pyramid. It had a small entrance to the north leading down to a "burial chamber". It was surrounded by its own enclosure wall.
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