A 2018 study in the journal Egypt and the Levant identified five natural pyramid formations used for burials since Egypt's First Intermediate Period. By the New Kingdom, the symbolic association with a pyramid shape alone qualified a site as a royal burial — whether built or entirely natural. Still considered controversial in Egyptology! 🔺
2018 study identifies five natural pyramids in Egyptian funerary contexts
Key facts
- Natural pyramids were used in funerary settings since the First Intermediate Period following the Old Kingdom
- A 2018 study published in the journal Egypt and the Levant examined how the natural landscape was harnessed for religious belief
- By the time of the 2018 study, five natural Egyptian pyramids in funerary context had been identified by scholars
- By the New Kingdom, the symbolic association with a pyramid form was sufficient for a royal burial site regardless of whether it was built or natural
- The study remains controversial, speculative, and under-researched within Egyptology
Sources
The Egyptian Pyramidsi.edu
At Medum, a step pyramid was built, then filled in with stone, and covered with a limestone casing. Nearby at Bahshur, construction was begun on a pyramid ...
(PDF) Wojciech Ejsmond, 'Natural Pyramids of Ancient Egyptacademia.edu
The study identifies five natural pyramids in Upper Egypt, described as having distinct pyramidal shapes observable from strategic positions near tombs.
BEFORE THE PYRAMIDSisac.uchicago.edu
Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization. Egypt and the Levant: Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium BCE,
NATURAL PYRAMIDS OF ANCIENT EGYPTaustriaca.at
Scholars observed that pyramid shape hills or rocks (so called 'natural pyramids') in some cases are related to tombs, n und Levante/Egypt and the Levant
Egypt and the Levant (E&L)oeaw.ac.at
It comprises reports and preliminary reports on archaeological excavations in Egypt and the entire Middle East including the Sudan, as well as articles
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