This is the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. It was the Pharaoh Sneferu’s architect’s idea for a smooth sided pyramid. The stones were laid at an angle (rather than flat as in all the other pyramids) and the pyramid was angled at 54 degrees. But stress and instability showed about half way up so they switched and started laying the stones flat and reduced the angle to 43 degrees. That explains the strange shape and also the name. You can see this in the first two photos, taken at different distances from the pyramid. You will also notice that much of the Bent Pyramid still has its white limestone casing – more about that later.

Inside access to the Bent Pyramid was closed. A nearby pyramid and temple were barely still in existence. We did have this whole pyramid to ourselves as there were no other tourists here. We walked all the way around these pyramids. The guards seem to think we were crazy for even wanting to walk around these pyramids, but as they were no doubt obligated to keep an eye on us, they followed us around.

The third photo is just one that I took at one of the corners of the Bent Pyramid. I liked the precision and look of the pyramid from this angle.

I tried to capture how this pyramid was different from the others. All the other pyramids had their stones laid down flat. The only stone that was angled on other pyramids was the outer edge of the white limestone casing stones. In the Bent Pyramid, there were no “casing stones” as such. The outer edged stones in the Bent Pyramid were the casing stones, because they were all laid at an angle.

If you look at the prior photo, I was standing very square to the ground. You can see the angle of the pyramid and also notice that the stones in the pyramid are not level to the ground. The next photo is more of a close-up, but it’s harder to tell that the stones are not level to the ground, but rather at an angle of 54 degrees. The third photo is also a close-up, but this time, looking straight up the side of the pyramid.

Pharaoh Sneferu’s architect obviously made a miscalculation in terms of the stability of his original idea. But what a long-lasting testimonial to an intriguing architectural idea.