Shop Japan The Pyramids of Unas and Teti, Saqqara

The Pyramids of Unas and Teti, Saqqara

The pyramid of Unas was the least ambitious of any king’s pyramid so far attempted. Reasons for this may have been more to do with economic practicalities than with Unas’ personal taste or ambition. Central royal authority was increasingly under threat from the growing influence and autonomy of Egypt’s provincial noblemen. The ensuing de-stabilization of state administration had an overwhelming effect on the economic might of the royal household – the resources now available to the king for large-scale building projects were no longer what they once were.

The most fantastical feature of Unas’ tomb lies not in its architectural design, but in the innovative decoration of its interior walls. Inscribed along these beautifully prepared surfaces are long vertical columns of elegant hieroglyphs. These are the earliest attested examples of pyramid texts – the oldest surviving corpus of religious texts from the ancient world. The decoration of the royal tomb with funerary inscriptions was an entirely new phenomenon – and the concept would be employed within all the pyramids of the kings of the 6th Dynasty.

Teti’s pyramid was slightly taller than that of Unas. The construction of its core followed a five step design. Packed with rubble, this core was then encased in a smooth shell of fine white limestone. Unfortunately, the pyramid has suffered the same fate that befell that of Unas. Extensive stripping of its outer casing blocks in antiquity has seen the superstructure of Teti’s pyramid collapse dramatically – leaving a crumbling mound of rubble behind.

Date of Construction: 5th Dynasty, reign of Unas (c. 2312 – 2282 B.C.) / 6th Dynasty, reign of Teti (c. 2282 – 2270 B.C.)

Highlights:
First attested examples of Pyramid Texts (burial chamber of Unas)
Unas Pyramid Causeway with famous “famine” scenes