The Pyramid of Menkaure' (Mycerinus) is the smallest of the three pyramids of Giza and
shows the beginning of the decline in workmanship in the Egyptian pyramid building. The
attention to detail is not as it is on the earlier pyramid. Menkaure' was the successor to
Chephren. The pyramid was not complete when Menkaure' died. Shepseskaf, who was
Menkaure's son, finished the pyramid. The granite encasement was never finished. The
pyramid stands 66.5m high, which is much smaller than the other two pyramids at Giza.
Another difference between Menkaure's and Chephren's and Khufu's pyramid is that
Menkaure's burial chamber was the lower chamber. The walls were lined with granite and
below the pyramid's foundation. The sarcophagus was found, but was lost at sea while it was
being shipped to England. A wooden coffin was found, supposedly that of Menkaure's. It was
actually put in the pyramid about 1800 years later. It is thought to have been an act of
restoration. In 1968 an inscription was found near the entrance in the casing which referred to
this action.
To the east of the pyramid is the Mortuary Temple. This temple is fairly well preserved, even
though the walls were not encased with granite or marble. It was actually made of red mud
bricks and then lined with a thin layer of limestone. A 660m mud-brick causeway connected
the Valley Temple to the temple. The causeway is now beneath the sand.
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Design, Layout and Graphic Art by Jimmy Dunn, an InterCity Oz, Inc. Employee
All content, Graphic Art, Design, Layout, and Scripting Code Copyright 1996 by InterCity Oz, Inc.