Page 118 - آثار مصر الفرعونية الجزء الأول

another granite corridor leads downward before becoming
horizontal shortly before the actual burial chamber. Just before
the entrance to the burial chamber, a short flight of Steps leads to
an area with six small, deep niches, sometimes known as the
"cellar", which has an undetermined function, though there is a
similarity to architectural elements in the Mastabat Faraun of
Shepseskaf and the stepped tomb of Queen Khentkaues I. Four of
the niches are on the east side, and Ricke believed that these were
to hold the four canopic vessels containing Menkaure's entrails.
He believed that the two additional niches on the north side may
have been graced with the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt.
However, others believe it may be a forerunner of the three
chambers to the left (east) in the standardized substructures of 5th
and 6th Dynasty pyramids, though it may have simply been used
to store funerary equipment and supplies.

Unlike the pyramids of his father and grandfather (Khufu),
the rectangular burial chamber is oriented north-south. It is
completely covered in pink granite, including even the gabled
ceiling, which was actually hollowed out from beneath to make a
round, barrel vault. The chamber lies some 15.5 meters beneath
the level of the pyramid's base so that the ceiling could be
constructed of nine pairs of enormous granite blocks. This
construction was carried out after the modification of the plan for
the substructure, which made it both difficult and laborious to

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