4000-year-old Egyptian Pyramid Opens to the Public
By Heba Tallah Mohamed
According to ABCNEWS, the North African nation’s antiquities ministry has announced that a roughly 4000-year-old mud-brick pyramid is to be opened to the general public for the first time this week.
Al Lahun, also known as the Pyramid of Senusret II, was first discovered by British archaeologist William Petrie in 1889 in Fayoum, about 60 miles southwest of Cairo. This architectural masterpiece has one unique yet intriguing fact in that its entrance lies on its southern rather than the northern side, unlike most other Egyptian pyramids.
The pyramid was built during the reign of the 12th dynasty pharaoh Senusret II, who ruled Egypt from 1897 BC to 1878 BC, according to the antiquity’s ministry.
On the inside of
According to Egyptian officials, the opening of the newly discovered pyramid was followed by extensive conservation and preservation work due to archaeologists finding obstacles in the corridors and damage to the pyramid itself. An effort was also made to make the pyramid more easily accessible to the public.
“The conservation work includes the removal of debris found inside the pyramid’s corridors and burial chamber and installing wooden stairs to facilitate its entrance,” Mostafa Waziri, General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in a statement.
“It also includes re-installing the fallen stones in the hall and corridor to its original location after restoration, as well as restoring the deteriorated stones of its floor and installing a new lighting system.”
In the same complex, artifacts were also discovered in one of the Middle Kingdom tombs on the southern side of the pyramid.
