Pyramid of Unas

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Pyramid of Unas
Lantern Slide Collection: Views, Objects: Egypt.
Burial Chamber. Pyramid of Unas. 5th Dyn.
Sakkara., n.d. Brooklyn Museum Archives
Pyramid of Unas
The Pyramid Complex of Unas is located in the
pyramid field at Saqqara, near Cairo in Egypt.
The pyramid of Unas of the Fifth Dynasty (originally
known as Beautiful are the places of Unas) is now
ruined, and looks more like a small hill than a royal
pyramid.
It was investigated by Perring and then Lepsius, but it
was Gaston Maspero who first gained entry to the
chambers in 1881, where he found texts covering the
walls of the burial chambers. These together with
others found in nearby pyramids of successive
pharaohs are now known as the Pyramid Texts. He was
the first pharaoh to include this, and he created the
concept of having a number of magic spells inscribed
on the walls of his tomb, intended to assist with the
pharaoh's journey through the Duat and into the
afterlife. This concept was thought to be so successful
by other pharaohs that it soon evolved into the Coffin
Texts in the Middle Kingdom, and then into the Book
of the Dead from the beginning of the New Kingdom
until the end of the Ptolemaic Period, when new texts
began appearing.
In the burial chamber itself the remains of a mummy
were found, including the skull, right arm and shin, but
whether these belong to Unas is not certain. Near to the
main pyramid, to the north east, there are mastabas that contain the burials of the consorts of the king.
The pyramid was built close to the pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. The causeway was approximately 750m long and
the unusual shape is because it follows a wadi. Material was taken from the complex of Djoser that was used to plug
gaps in the wadi. The roof of the causeway was covered over to make a closed tunnel, with the exception of a long
'slot' that illuminated the walls that were decorated with brightly painted reliefs.
[1]
It is believed that within the inscriptions of the Pyramid Text in Unas's tomb, there are also some lines of a Semitic
dialect, written in Egyptian script and comprising the earliest evidence of written Semitic language.
Pyramid of Unas
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Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara, showing
Sekhemkhet, Unas, Djoser and Userkaf. Taken
from 3d models
Image of pyramid of Unas taken from a 3d model Iso image of the pyramid of Unas taken from a 3d
model
References
[1] [1] Lehner, Mark The Complete Pyramids, London: Thames and Hudson (1997)p. 154-5 ISBN 0-500-05084-8
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pyramid of Unas.
Verner, Miroslav, "The Pyramids Their Archaeology and History", Atlantic Books, 2001, ISBN 1-84354-171-8
External links
Pyramid Texts Online (http:/ / www. pyramidtextsonline. com) - Read the texts in situ. View the hieroglyphs and
the complete translation.
Coordinates: 295206 N 311253 E (http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack.
php?pagename=Pyramid_of_Unas& params=29_52_06_N_31_12_53_E_region:EG_type:landmark_source:dewiki)
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
Pyramid of Unas Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=623882451 Contributors: Bill, Bouette, Danim, Faeriesoph, GDK, Gcm, Janmad, M0N5T3RK!LL3R, Markh, Mmcannis,
Msheflin, Nishantkumar19, Oleg Alexandrov, Onlim, R.F.Morgan, Roweromaniak, Skylight 555, Theartofthemuses, Trainra, Twthmoses, Udimu, Warofdreams, Zacherystaylor, 14 anonymous
edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Unas Pyramidentexte.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Unas_Pyramidentexte.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Brooklyn Museum
Image:Sakkara C02-29.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sakkara_C02-29.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors:
User:Roweromaniak
File:019 Unas 1.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:019_Unas_1.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:R.F.Morgan
File:019 Unas 2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:019_Unas_2.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:R.F.Morgan
File:019 Unas 3.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:019_Unas_3.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:R.F.Morgan
Image:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Commons-logo.svg License: logo Contributors: Anomie
License
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