Pyramid of Menkaure: The smallest of the Giza Pyramids
It is significantly smaller than the other two sister pyramids on the Giza Plateau, up to a tenth the size of the Pyramid of Cheops. Yet, the dwarf pyramid raises questions equal to those of the other two pyramids.
In documentaries and reportages it is often overlooked, perhaps due to its smaller size. Its official name is "Pyramid of Menkaure" or "Pyramid of Mykerinos", from the Greek Mykerinos, the form in which the name appears in the works of the Greek historian Herodotus.
It is the third pyramid of the Giza complex and is at least as intriguing as its better-known giant sisters. The total height of the Menkaure Pyramid is 65.5 metres, the sides of the square base measure 103.4 meters and the total volume is equal to 250 thousand m3, or a tenth of that of Cheops, and presenting the curious peculiarity of blocks much larger than that of Khafre.
Originally the pyramid must have been entirely covered with the spectacular red granite of Aswan, whose quarries are located about 900 km away. The north side retains part of the cladding, which however is not smooth towards the top, thus giving the impression of an unfinished job. But why is it so small?
Some hastily claim that perhaps there was not enough space to the left of the Giza Plateau, or that, perhaps, the cost of construction was too high. In reality, as is now believed, the three pyramids of Giza reproduce the configuration of the three stars of the belt of the Constellation of Orion. The Pyramid of Menkaure would correspond to the position of the star Mintaka, apparently the smallest of the three. So the reasons would be analogical.
Mintaka is the westernmost star of the Belt, as Alnilam and Alnitak are observable, respectively, just under 2° and just under 4° south-east of it.
Another truly curious aspect that the pyramid of Menkaure shares with the other two pyramids is the fact that these structures actually consist of eight sides instead of four. This phenomenon is visible only from above, during the dawn and dusk of the spring and autumn equinoxes, when the sun casts shadows on the pyramids which reveal their particular eight-sided shape.
Why did the builders design and build such a difficult-to-see feature? Was it simply a sophisticated aesthetic choice, or is there a practical reason behind it that is unknown to us?
Finally, the granite stones of the exterior of Menkaure's pyramid have curious protrusions, a feature also found in some archaeological sites of pre-Columbian America, particularly in Cuzco, Peru, one of the best-known Inca cities.
Interior of the Pyramid
Although no mummy or corpse has ever been found, Egyptologists believe the pyramids were burial places for Egyptian pharaohs. But is it really like that?
The interior of the pyramid is very complex. It has a north entrance about 4 meters high which leads into a tunnel lined with pink granite of about 32 meters and with an inclination of 26° and a subsequent large corridor about 13 meters long, 4 meters wide and 4 meters high. This corridor leads into a chamber located 6 meters below ground level which has a pit in the floor which must have housed a sarcophagus and from which a corridor leads into nowhere.
The massive presence of granite from the distant quarries of Upper Egypt is disconcerting, a very hard stone and extremely difficult to work.
A characteristic noted by scholars is that the marks left on the walls by the tools of the Egyptian workers indicate with certainty that the first lower corridor was dug from the inside outwards while the second, the upper one exactly from the outside towards the inside.
Therefore, although small and little appreciated, the Menkaure Pyramid raises a series of questions equal to those of its bigger sisters, pushing us to explore more deeply the mentality of those who did the work, the purpose of the effort and, above all, the period of realization.
