Bent pyramid - wikipedia Bent pyramid Bent Pyramid Owner Sneferu Location Egypt Coordinates 29 ° 47 ′ 25 '' N 31 ° 12 ′ 33 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 29.79028 ° N 31.20917 ° E ﻿ / 29.79028 ; 31.20917 Coordinates : 29 ° 47 ′ 25 '' N 31 ° 12 ′ 33 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 29.79028 ° N 31.20917 ° E ﻿ / 29.79028 ; 31.20917 Ancient name The Southern Shining Pyramid Constructed c. 2600 BC ( 4th dynasty ) Type Bent Pyramid Material Limestone Height 104.74 metres ( 344 ft ) or 200 Royal Cubits Base 189.61 metres ( 622 ft ) or 362 Royal Cubits Volume 1,426,767 cubic metres ( 50,385,801 cu ft ) Slope 43 ° 22 ', top 54 ° 27'44, bottom Related media on Wikimedia Commons ( edit on Wikidata ) The Bent Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo, built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu ( c. 2600 BC ). A unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt, this was the second pyramid built by Sneferu. The Bent Pyramid rises from the desert at a 54 - degree inclination, but the top section ( above 47 meters ) is built at the shallower angle of 43 degrees, lending the pyramid its very obvious ' bent ' appearance. Archaeologists now believe that the Bent Pyramid represents a transitional form between step - sided and smooth - sided pyramids ( see Step pyramid ). It has been suggested that due to the steepness of the original angle of inclination the structure may have begun to show signs of instability during construction, forcing the builders to adopt a shallower angle to avert the structure 's collapse. This theory appears to be borne out by the fact that the adjacent Red Pyramid, built immediately afterwards by the same Pharaoh, was constructed at an angle of 43 degrees from its base. This fact also contradicts the theory that at the initial angle the construction would take too long because Sneferu 's death was nearing, so the builders changed the angle to complete the construction in time. In 1974 Kurt Mendelssohn suggested the change of the angle to have been made as a security precaution in reaction to a catastrophic collapse of the Meidum Pyramid while it was still under construction. Isometric, plan and elevation images of the Bent Pyramid Complex taken from a 3d model It is also unique amongst the approximately ninety pyramids to be found in Egypt, in that its original polished limestone outer casing remains largely intact. British structural engineer Peter James attributes this to larger clearances between the parts of the casing than used in later pyramids ; these imperfections would work as expansion joints and prevent the successive destruction of the outer casing by thermal expansion. The ancient formal name of the Bent Pyramid is generally translated as ( The ) - Southern - Shining - Pyramid, or Sneferu - ( is ) - Shining - in - the - South. Comparison of approximate profiles of the Bent Pyramid with some notable pyramidal or near - pyramidal buildings. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data are available. In its SVG file, hover over a pyramid to highlight and click for its article. Contents 1 Interior passages 2 Pyramid temple 3 Satellite pyramid 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 External links Interior passages The Bent Pyramid has two entrances, one fairly low down on the north side, to which a substantial wooden stairway has been built for the convenience of tourists ( though so far the pyramid is not open to tourists, although plans have been proposed to open it ). The second entrance is high on the west face of the pyramid. Each entrance leads to a chamber with a high, corbelled roof ; the northern entrance leads to a chamber that is below ground level, the western to a chamber built in the body of the pyramid itself. A hole in the roof of the northern chamber ( accessed today by a high and rickety ladder 15 m ( 50 ft ) long ) leads via a rough connecting passage to the passage from the western entrance. The western entrance passage is blocked by two stone blocks which were not lowered vertically, as in other pyramids, but slid down 45 ° ramps to block the passage. One of these was lowered in antiquity and a hole has been cut through it, the other remains propped up by a piece of ancient cedar wood. The connecting passage referenced above enters the passage between the two portcullises. Pyramid temple On the east side of the temple there are the fragmentary remains of the pyramid temple. Like the pyramid temple of the Meidum pyramid, there are two stelae behind the temple, though of these only stumps remain. There is no trace of inscription to be seen. The temple remains are fragmentary but it is presumed to be similar to that of the Meidum temple. Satellite pyramid An axonometric projection of the inside of the satellite pyramid The satellite pyramid Entrance of the satellite pyramid A satellite pyramid, built to house the Pharaoh 's Ka, is located 55 metres south of the Bent Pyramid. The satellite pyramid originally measured 26 metres in height and 52.80 metres in length, with faces inclining 44 ° 30 '. The structure is made of limestone blocks, relatively thick, arranged in horizontal rows and covered with a layer of fine limestone from Tura. The burial chamber is accessible from a descending corridor with its entrance located 1.10 metres above the ground in the middle of the north face. The corridor, inclined at 34 °, originally measured 11.60 metres in length. A short horizontal passage connects the corridor with an ascending corridor, inclined at 32 ° 30 ', leading up to the chamber. The design of the corridors is similar to the one found in the Great Pyramid of Giza, where the Grand Gallery takes up the place of the ascending corridor. The corridor leads up to the burial chamber ( called this despite that it most probably never contained any sarcophagus ). The chamber, located in the center of the pyramid, has a corbel vault ceiling and contains a four metres deep shaft, probably dug by treasure hunters, in the southeast part of the chamber. Like the main pyramid, the satellite had its own altar with two stelae located at the eastern side. Gallery The 11 degree change in angle Entrance to the Bent Pyramid View of the outer door inside the pyramid Stairways inside the pyramid View towards the horizon Wooden beams in the pyramid See also List of Egyptian pyramids List of megalithic sites Notes Jump up ^ Nearly identical to the inclination of the Red Pyramid Footnotes Jump up ^ Verner, Miroslav, The Pyramids - Their Archaeology and History, Atlantic Books, 2001, ISBN Jump up ^ History Channel, Ancient Egypt - Part 3 : Greatest Pharaohs 3150 to 1351 BC, History Channel, 1996, ISBN Jump up ^ Mendelssohn, Kurt ( 1974 ), The Riddle of the Pyramids, London : Thames & Hudson Jump up ^ James, Peter ( May 2013 ). `` New Theory on Egypt 's Collapsing Pyramids ''. structuremag.org. National Council of Structural Engineers Associations. Retrieved 11 May 2013. ^ Jump up to : Maragioglio & Rinaldi 1963, pp. 74 -- 78 ^ Jump up to : A. Fakhry 1961 Jump up ^ Maragioglio & Rinaldi 1963, p. 80 References Fakhry, Ahmed ( 1961 ). The Monuments of Sneferu at Dahshur. General Organization for Government. Maragioglio, Vito & Rinaldi, Celeste ( 1963 ). L'Architettura delle Piramidi Menfite, parte III. Artale. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bent Pyramid. Inside the Bent Pyramid Records Preceded by Meidum World 's tallest structure c. 2600 BCE -- 2590 BCE 101 m Succeeded by Red Pyramid Egyptian pyramids List of Egyptian pyramids ( Lepsius ) Commons Period Dynasty Pyramids Old Kingdom ( 2686 -- 2181 BC ) III Djoser Buried Layer Lepsius I ( de ) Athribis Elephantine Edfu South el - Kula ( de ) Naqada Saujet el - Meitin ( de ) Sinki ( de ) IV Seila ( de ) Meidum Bent Red Khufu Djedefre Unfinished Northern Pyramid of Zawyet el'Aryan Khafre Menkaure Khentkaus I ( de ) Mastabet el - Fara'un G1 - a G1 - b G1 - c G1 - d Lepsius L ( de ) V Userkaf Neferhetepes ( de ) Sahure Neferirkare Khentkaus II Neferefre Unfinished Niuserre ( de ) Lepsius XXIV Double Headless Djedkare - Isesi Unas VI Teti Pepi I Merenre Pepi II Sesheshet 1 Intermediate Period ( 2181 -- 2040 BC ) VII VIII Ity Neferkare Neby Ibi Khui X Merikare Middle Kingdom ( 2040 -- 1650 BC ) XI Reherishefnakht XII Amenemhat I Senusret I White Senusret II ( de ) Senusret III Black Hawara Neferuptah ( de ) Central Dahshur ( de ) South Mazghuna North Mazghuna XIII Ameny Qemau Khendjer Southern South Saqqara SAK S 3 SAK S 7 ( de ) South Dahshur A ( de ) South Dahshur B ( de ) DAS 46 DAS 49 DAS 50 DAS 51 DAS 53 ( de ) S 9 S 10 Merneferre Ay Second Intermediate ( 1650 -- 1570 BC ) XVII Sobekemsaf I Sobekemsaf II Sekhemre - Wepmaat Intef Nubkheperre Intef Senakhtenre Ahmose Seqenenre Tao Kamose New Kingdom ( 1570 -- 1070 BC ) XVIII Ahmose Step pyramid Construction techniques Seked Texts Pyramidion Pyramidology Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bent_Pyramid&oldid=814555644 '' Categories : Buildings and structures completed in the 27th century BC Former world 's tallest buildings Dahshur Pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt Sneferu 3rd - millennium BC establishments Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Coordinates on Wikidata Articles using infobox pyramid using locally defined parameters Interlanguage link template link number Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Български Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego Hrvatski Italiano Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Suomi Svenska Українська اردو 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 9 December 2017, at 14 : 36. 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Question: how did the bent pyramid get its name
Answer: rises from the desert at a 54-degree inclination, but the top section (above 47 meters) is built at the shallower angle of 43 degrees, lending the pyramid its very obvious 'bent' appearance