page_title: Pyramid of Nyuserre
section_title: Conjectural: wives' tombs
hierarchical_section_title: Pyramid of Nyuserre / Other significant structures / Conjectural: wives' tombs
caption_attribution_description: Pyramid Lepsius XXIV in Abousir
context_page_description: The Pyramid of Nyuserre is a mid 25th century BC pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Nyuserre Ini of the Fifth Dynasty. During his reign, Nyuserre had the unfinished monuments of his father, Neferirkare Kakai, mother, Khentkaus II, and brother, Neferefre, completed, before commencing work on his personal pyramid complex. He chose a site in the Abusir necropolis between the complexes of Neferirkare and Sahure, which, restrictive in area and terrain, economized the costs of labour and material. Nyuserre was the last king to be entombed in the necropolis, whilst his successors chose to be buried elsewhere.
  Nyuserre's monument encompass a main pyramid, a mortuary temple adjacent the east face, a valley temple on Abusir Lake and an accompanying causeway intended for Neferirkare's monument, and a cult pyramid. The main pyramid had a stepped core built from roughly cut limestone encased in fine Tura limestone. The limestone casing was stripped by stone thieves, leaving the core exposed to the elements and further human activity, reducing the once nearly 52 m tall pyramid to a ruined mound, with a substructure that is dangerous to enter due to the risk of cave-ins.
context_section_description: Nyuserre's wife, Reputnub, was not buried within the pyramid complex of Nyuserre. Two small pyramids found on the southern margin of the pyramid cluster, designated Lepsius XXIV and Lepsius XXV, are conjectured to belong to his consorts. These structures are very badly damaged, and Verner expects that no exceptional finds will be made during excavations.
  The first of these pyramids, Lepsius XXIV, consisted of the pyramid, mortuary temple and small cult pyramid. Extensive damage to the tomb's structure, due to stone thieves in the New Kingdom, has left the structure in ruins, though some details can be discerned. The mortuary temple was built on the east face of the pyramid, confirming that the tomb belonged to a queen. Its destruction has laid the interior bare for archaeologists to study. The pyramid was constructed during Nyuserre's reign, as evidenced by Ptahshepses' name appearing on blocks amidst many other masons' marks and inscriptions. Inside the wreckage of the burial chamber lie the remnants of a pink granite sarcophagus, shards of pottery, and the mummified remains of a young woman, between twenty-one and twenty-five years of age.
  The mummy is fragmented, likely due to the activities of tomb robbers and stone thieves. Her name was not found inscribed anywhere in the complex, leaving the mummy remains unidentified. Dating suggests that the mummy was either the consort to Nyuserre, or possibly, his short lived pharaoh brother, Neferefre. Queen Reputnub is a potential candidate for the identity of the mummy, though the possibility of other wives remains feasible. Unusually, this mummy has undergone excerebration, a procedure which Verner states was not known to have been conducted prior to the Middle Kingdom. Professors Eugen Strouhal, Viktor Černý, and Luboš Vyhnánek challenge this, stating that some mummies from the Eighth Dynasty and one from the Sixth Dynasty are confirmed to have undergone the procedure.
  The sister tomb, Lepsius XXV, is in close proximity to Lepsius XXIV. A superficial study of the tomb revealed that it was built during Nyuserre's reign. Excavations were conducted by Verner's archaeological team between 2001 and 2004. Verner had originally believed that the mortuary temple for this tomb was built on the western face of the pyramid, instead of the usual eastern one. His later excavations revealed that the pyramid lacked a mortuary temple altogether. It was revealed that the monument consisted of two pyramid tombs placed adjacent to each other. Both tombs are oblong shaped, though the eastern tomb is larger than the western one. The tombs are oriented along a north–south axis. The owners and relations of these tombs remain unknown.
caption: Remains of Lepsius XXIV, possibly the tomb of Nyuserre's consort
exif: {}