The pyramid of Djedkare Isesi () is a late 25th to mid 24th century BC pyramid complex built for the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Djedkare Isesi. The pyramid is referred to as Haram el-Shawaf () by locals. It was the first pyramid to be built in South Saqqara.
Djedkare Isesi's monument complex encompasses: a main pyramid; a mortuary temple situated on the east face of the main pyramid; a valley temple buried under modern Saqqara; a causeway that has been only partially dug out; and a cult pyramid. The main pyramid had a six-stepped core built from roughly cut limestone bound together by clay mortar which was then encased in fine white Tura limestone reaching a peak height of . The casing has been plundered, and the top three steps of the core have been lost, leaving the pyramid tall. The basic dimensions of Djedkare's pyramid were adopted by succeeding kings in their own funerary monuments. Inside Djedkare Isesi's pyramid substructure, remains of the burial have been found alongside a mummy presumed to be Djedkare Isesi. The mummy and linen wrapping have undergone radiocarbon dating which have given a common range of 2886–2507 BC. The substructure has otherwise been badly damaged by stone thieves quarrying the Tura limestone casing.
Adjoining the pyramid's east face is the mortuary temple. Flanking the entrance hall to the temple are two large pylon structures. West of the south pylon, a large building with multiple long narrow rooms was discovered. The outline of the building has been preserved by foundational blocks, but its structure is otherwise poorly preserved, and its floor has been lost, possibly to stone thieves. The building has no contemporaries at other Old Kingdom pyramid complexes, and no companion on the north side. Its function is unknown. The mortuary temple was mostly destroyed during the Second Intermediate Period, and used as a burial site in the Eighteenth Dynasty. At the south-east corner of the pyramid, a small cult pyramid is found in an enclosure. It has a T-shaped substructure.
At the north-east corner of the pyramid complex's enclosure wall, a satellite pyramid complex belonging to Queen Setibhor was built. The sub-complex is the largest one built for a queen during the Old Kingdom. It has its own enclosure wall, a mortuary temple and offering hall, storage rooms, antichambre carrée of unparalleled size, a small cult pyramid, and otherwise incorporates features that were previously reserved exclusively for the complexes of the king.
Location and excavation
The last kings of the Fifth Dynasty moved their funerary building activities from Abusir back to Saqqara. Djedkare Isesi built his pyramid from the Abusir necropolis at a site in South Saqqara. It was the first pyramid to be built in that area. He also abandoned the tradition of building sun temples, indicating a shift in the religious significance from the cult of Ra to the cult of Osiris.
The pyramid was briefly visited by John Shae Perring, and soon after that by Karl Richard Lepsius. The substructure of the pyramid was first explored in 1880 by Gaston Maspero. In the mid-1940s, Alexandŕe Varille and Abdel Salam Hussein attempted the first comprehensive examination of the pyramid, but their work was interrupted and their findings lost. They did discover the skeletal remains of Djedkare Isesi in the pyramid. Ahmed Fakhry's attempt at a comprehensive examination in the 1950s was equally unsuccessful. Relief fragments that Fakhry had discovered were later published by Muhammud Mursi. The area around the causeway and mortuary temple was excavated by Mahmud Abdel Razek.
Architectural plans of the pyramid complex were first published by Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi between 1962 and 1977. These have been determined by Mohamed Megahed, Peter Jánosi and Hana Vymazalová to be inconsistent and inaccurate. Since 2010, Megahed has been the director in charge of the pyramids of Djedkare Isesi and Setibhor.
Mortuary complex
Layout Old Kingdom mortuary complexes consisted of five essential components: (1) a valley temple; (2) a causeway; (3) a pyramid, or mortuary, temple; (4) a cult, or satellite, pyramid; and (5) the main pyramid. Djedkare's monument has all of these elements. The main pyramid constructed from six steps of limestone blocks. A valley temple, buried under the modern houses of Saqqara. A causeway, that has not yet been excavated. A mortuary temple on the east side of the pyramid, and a cult pyramid at the south-east corner of the main pyramid, with a standard T-shaped substructure. Additionally, there is an associated pyramid situated on the north-east corner of Djedkare's pyramid complex, belonging to Setibhor, previously known as the "pyramid of the unknown queen".
Main pyramid The core of the pyramid was constructed in six steps composed of small irregular pieces of limestone blocks bound together using clay mortar. The length of the base step of the pyramid was , with each step built around high, converging to the peak at a slope of 52° giving the pyramid an original peak height of . These proportions were used by the rulers Teti, Pepi I, Merenre I, and Pepi II for their pyramid complexes. The top three steps of the pyramid no longer exist, and what now remains of the pyramid reaches a height of about . The pyramid was originally encased with fine white Tura limestone. Most of the casing has since been plundered, though some of it has remained intact and has been well preserved.
Substructure
Entry into the substructure was gained from the north side of the pyramid; unusually, however, the entrance is under the pavement of the courtyard, instead of in the north face. There was originally a north chapel here; only traces of it now remain. The entry leads into a granite-lined downward-sloping access corridor. The corridor has a slight angle toward the east, and is the last built to do so. The corridor ends at a vestibule, through which a second corridor lined with limestone, the horizontal passage, is accessed. Remnants of broken vessels were discovered in the vestibule, suggesting that certain burial rituals had been performed there. The horizontal passage was guarded by three granite portcullises near the beginning of the corridor, and a fourth granite portcullis near its end. The exit of the horizontal passage leads into the antechamber, a room measuring by . To east was a room, the serdab, containing three niches for storage, a developing feature of pyramids of the era. To the west lay the burial chamber, measuring by , which once contained the basalt sarcophagus of the ruler. Fragments of the sarcophagus were found in a depression in the floor. The roof of both the antechamber and burial chamber were constructed from two, or perhaps three, layers of gabled limestone blocks, in the same fashion as the pyramids in Abusir. These blocks were in length.
The rooms of the substructure have been badly damaged by stone thieves, who quarried the Tura limestone walls of the chambers, which has made reconstruction of the planned layout difficult. The serdab was left alone, preserving its structure and flat roof. The masonry core has been exposed in the other chambers, and consists of crudely cut blocks and small limestone chips that were piled up to form the substructure of the pyramid. The wall separating the antechamber and burial chamber has been completely demolished. The substructure has been undergoing significant restoration work over the years, particularly the consolidation of the pyramid's core and the walls of the antechamber and serdab.
Djedkare's sarcophagus originally sat near the west wall of the burial chamber, and at the south-east foot of the sarcophagus, alabaster canopic jars were once buried in a small hole in the ground. Underneath the rubble, only fragments of the sarcophagus and alabaster jars have been found, along with a mummified body of a man in his fifties that is presumed to be pharaoh Djedkare Isesi. The mummy has been dated, as have scraps of linen wrapping, and charcoal taken from the tomb. These samples provided a date range spanning 3340–2460 BC, and a common range of 2886–2507 BC. Miroslav Verner remarks that these results accord better with earlier proposed regnal dates, but contradicts previous astronomically derived dates which favour later proposed regnal dates.
Valley temple The valley temple to Djedkare's complex has not been excavated. As it is currently buried under the houses of the modern village of Saqqara.
Causeway
The causeway that leads up to the mortuary temple has not been excavated. It is known to have a straight sloped path, running slightly southwards for . The ground where the mortuary temple was constructed sloped sharply down towards the desert needing extensive preparation before the laying of the foundation. Dimensions for the causeway are speculative, based only on the trace remains of existing foundations. It had walls approximately thick, with a path between them no more than wide. Its height remains unknown, though it is clear that it was covered based on blocks found painted with stars, a typical motif for the ceiling. It appears to have been made entirely of white limestone, the same material that makes up the causeway to Sahure's pyramid, with walls decorated with raised relief. The causeway connects to the temple entrance hall between two large pylon structures, an innovation from Nyuserre's pyramid, which were square with slightly inclined walls. The pylons were once tall, but have reduced to . Stairs may have led to the terrace, but likely had no rooms inside. Their function is unclear. A water drain made of crudely cut and carelessly set quartzite blocks was discovered running alongside the causeway.
Mortuary temple
Outer temple The entrance hall of the temple had an alabaster paved floor and likely a vaulted ceiling as indicated by the size of the walls. It terminates into an open courtyard paved with alabaster and adorned with sixteen pink granite palmiform columns. As in Sahure's mortuary temple, the columns bore the names and titles of the complexes' owner, Djedkare Isesi. The courtyard measures by . It supported an ambulatory whose ceiling was decorated with stars. Stone thieves have damaged or removed the columns, walls and pavement of the room. The courtyard also once had a water drain built of red quartzite running along its axis and a relief decorated alabaster altar.
Flanking the entrance hall are twelve storage rooms that are accessed from the transverse corridor. A pair of corridors separated by a doorway lead to the southern storage rooms. The western corridor is poorly preserved; the eastern corridor is in better condition. The eastern corridor is wide and its preserved sections long. The corridor was built of limestone, though only the paved floor has been preserved. A thick wall separated the corridor from the southern pylon. The storage rooms had walls around thick and measured about wide by long. The storage rooms north of the entrance hall are similar in size, but are in far worse condition.
Inner temple The courtyard connects to the transverse corridor, which has a low staircase in its west wall leading into the inner temple. The inner temple occupied an area by built on a raised platform some high. The chambers of the inner temple were originally paved with alabaster, but only the limestone paved storage rooms have any original floor remaining.
A small passage led inside to the chapel with its five statue niches, followed by a vestibule to a small square room with a single granite column at its centre the antichambre carée before terminating at the offering hall. The chapel has disintegrated, its dimensions are indeterminable, as are the dimensions of the red granite lined statue niches. South of the chapel are the remains of a vestibule measuring by . This room connected to the antichamber carrée, but also to a series of rooms further south.