Dahshur

Located about 40 kilometers southwest of Cairo, the village of Dahshur marks the southern end of the vast pyramid field that begins at Giza. Excavations at Dahshur have revealed the remains of seven pyramids, as well as extensive tomb complexes built for queens and nobility from Memphis up until the 13th Dynasty in the Middle Kingdom. The pyramids of Dahshur were built before Giza and were stepping stones for the eventual construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Bent Pyramid is called a “transitional” pyramid because the angle of its sides changes abruptly approximately one-third of the way up. Archeologists attribute this to an engineering crisis during construction. The architect realized that the steep, 54-degree inclination of its sides would make it structurally unsound. As a result, the rest of the pyramid was completed with only a 43-degree inclination leading it to be called the Bent Pyramid.