The Mortuary Complex of King Djedefre

The Near serious monument in this mountainous region, nevertheless, is the mortuary complex of Djedefre, successor of Kheops and third pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty. There has been a lot of conjecture about Djedefre's motivating to build his funerary repository at Abu Rawash and not next to his father's at Giza. A very common thought is that Djedefre took this far place to distance himself from the despotic reign of his father, whereas his brother Khefren, returned to Giza because he made the same views as Kheops. The fact that Djedefre improved his pyramid outside from his father's would thus be advisory of several dynastic fueds in the introductory of the 4th Dynasty. The fact that Mykerinos, son of Khefren, undertook some restoration work at Djedefre's funerary memorial does not gone well with the romantic theory of dynastic fueds. It must be mentioned that during the early 4th Dynasty, there comes along to have been a run towards the Northern for the royal funerary complex. King Sneferu  went from Meidum, where he at least completed or perhaps straight built a pyramid, to Dashur where he built two pyramids. His son, Kheops, moved even further North, to Giza and Djedefre fulfilled this run by building his pyramd in Abu Rawash. The motivating bottom this move North is not clear, but it is still interesting to line.

Recently, it has been suggested that Djedefre run to Abu Rawash because it was located opposite Heliopolis, the city of the solar cult. During the reign of Djedefre, the solar cult made a lot in importance, as is shown by the addition of the title Son of Re to the royal titulary. This could at least explicate Djedefre's choice of location, but it does not explain why Kheops affected to Giza. The social organisation of Djedefre's funerary monument is fairly simple, but it already has all the ingredients that are typical for the Old Kingdom. The complex has an secret enclosure wall that developed to a height of about 6 ms. The royal pyramid supported almost in the centre of the complex. The pyramids of Djedefre's predecessors Sneferu and Kheops had the burying chamber inside the pyramid above ground true. For unknown reasons, Djedefre prefered to have his sepulture chamber, developed at the bottom of a collossal pit measuring 23 by 10 metres and defeated some 20 ms into the ground. The inhumation chamber itself conscious 21 by 9 meters. This technique was besides used for the building of the inhumation chamber of Netjerikhet at Sakkara. A 49 metre long corridor slopes up to ground level, providning the entering to the pyramid. As was already traditional, this charm was settled in the North, pointing to the gross stars. There was a smaller satellite pyramid built to the Southwest of the important pyramid, whereas the mortuary temple, taking on a small boat pit, stood to the eastward. It was broken with mudbrick, evoking that work on the mortuary temple was full hastily. Djedefre's reign is likely to have been short and the king may have died by chance. Khefren, his successor, may have said to complete working on this complex as smooth as achievable so that work on his own funerary memorial could start without check.

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