Pyramidion - wikipedia Pyramidion Main hall of the Egyptian Museum, which holds four granite pyramidions. Close - up of the Pyramidion of the Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dahshur. The renovated pyramidion of the Red Pyramid at Dashur, on display beside the pyramid. A pyramidion ( plural pyramidia ) is the uppermost piece or capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or obelisk, in archaeological parlance. They were called benbenet in the Ancient Egyptian language, which associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone. During Egypt 's Old Kingdom, pyramidia were generally made of diorite, granite, or fine limestone, which were then covered in gold or electrum ; during the Middle Kingdom and through the end of the pyramid - building era, they were built from granite. A pyramidion was `` covered in gold leaf to reflect the rays of the sun '' ; during Egypt 's Middle Kingdom, they were often `` inscribed with royal titles and religious symbols. '' Very few pyramidia have survived into modern times. Most of those that have are made of polished black granite, inscribed with the name of the pyramid 's owner. Four pyramidia -- the world 's largest collection -- are housed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Among them are the pyramidia from the so - called Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III at Dahshur and of the Pyramid of Khendjer at Saqqara. A badly damaged white Tura limestone pyramidion, thought to have been created for the Red Pyramid of Sneferu at Dahshur, has been reconstructed and is on open - air display beside that pyramid ; it presents a minor mystery, however, as its angle of inclination is steeper than that of the edifice it was apparently created to surmount. Contents 1 Private brick pyramids with pyramidia 1.1 Scribe Moses pyramidion 1.2 Ptahemwia pyramidion 2 See also 3 References 4 External links Private brick pyramids with pyramidia Pyramidion of Nesnubhotep, top of a limestone chapel monument. A scarab and adoring baboons in relief. 26th Dynasty. From Abydos, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London Pyramidion of Nebamun. Possibly top of a stela. Limestone. 19th Dynasty. From Egypt. Bought in the Thebaid ( Thebais ) but probably it came from Deir el - Medina. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London Private tomb pyramidion made of limestone, at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum During the New Kingdom, some private underground tombs were marked on the surface by small brick pyramids that terminated in pyramidia. The four lateral sides included texts and scenes related to the cult of the Sun God ( as the representation of Pharaoh ). The scenes typically depict the course of the sun, rising on one lateral face, setting on the opposite face, and traveling, through the night, through the underworld, ruled by Osiris. Scribe Moses pyramidion Scribe Moses / / Mes, S in hieroglyphs The pyramidion of the scribe Moses ( mes, s, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC, limestone, 53 cm tall ) depicts himself making an offering, with his name on two opposite faces. The adjacent opposite faces feature a baboon : `` Screeching upon the rising of the Sun, and the Day ''. ( The baboon is also the god - scribe representation of the Scribe, for the god Thoth. ) Ptahemwia pyramidion The pyramidion of Ptahemwia ( 19th Dynasty, Ramesside Period, c. 1200 BC, limestone, 28 cm wide, 42 cm tall ) likewise displays sun - related scenes. The Sun God, Re-Horakhti, and the god of the Underworld, Osiris, are shown on one lateral face. Facing the two gods, on the adjacent lateral face, is the deceased Ptahemwia, standing in an offering pose, facing three columns of hieroglyphs. See also Washington Monument, which has a solid aluminum pyramidion that serves as a lightning rod References Jump up ^ `` Pyramidion - Definition of Pyramidion by Merriam - Webster ''. Retrieved 18 February 2016. ^ Jump up to : Toby Wilkinson, The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 2005. p. 197 Jump up ^ Ermann, Grapow, Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache 1, 459.13 - 14 Jump up ^ Pyramidia by Alan Winston ^ Jump up to : editors Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel ( w / 34 contributing Authors ), Egypt, The World of the Pharaohs, Konemann, Germany : 1998. Amenemhat III, 1842 -- 1797 BC Jump up ^ Zuberbühler, Franz Löhner, Teresa. `` How was the pyramidion put on top of the pyramid of Khufu ? ''. www.cheops-pyramide.ch. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ Peck, William. Splendors of Ancient Egypt, William H. Peck, The Detroit Institute of Arts, ( University Lithoprinters Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich. ), c. 1997, ( p. 67 ). ( Moses Pyramidion from `` Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim, Germany ''. ) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pyramidia. 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 Nyuserre 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 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 Ancient Egypt topics Outline Index Major topics Glossary of artifacts Agriculture Architecture ( Egyptian Revival architecture ) Art Astronomy Chronology Cities ( list ) Clothing Cuisine Dynasties Funerary practices Geography Great Royal Wives History Language Literature Mathematics Medicine Military Music Mythology People Pharaohs ( list ) Philosophy Religion Sites Technology Trade Writing Egyptology Egyptologists Museums Book Ancient Egypt portal WikiProject Commons GND : 4176436 - 5 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pyramidion&oldid=827727761 '' Categories : Ancient Egyptian pyramids Architectural elements Egyptian artefact types Hidden categories : Egypt articles missing geocoordinate data All articles needing coordinates Interlanguage link template link number Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara Français Galego Italiano עברית Latina Nederlands Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Українська 10 more Edit links This page was last edited on 26 February 2018, at 11 : 03. 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Question: what is the top of a pyramid called
Answer: pyramidion