Pyramid of Khendjer

The Pyramid of Khendjer stands in South Saqqara, about 30 kilometres south of Cairo, and is one of the few surviving royal tombs of the 13th Dynasty. It was built for Pharaoh Khendjer around 1750 BCE, in a politically turbulent period when most royal pyramids were left unfinished. Unlike the monumental pyramids of the Old Kingdom, Khendjer's pyramid has a core of mud brick once clad in white limestone; the casing was stripped over millennia, leaving today a low, weathered mound. The German Archaeological Institute documented the site in a 2006 survey under the code SAK S 5. A vaulted inner chamber with its original granite ceiling survives but is closed to visitors. South Saqqara lies well off the standard tourist routes; those who arrive with a private driver usually have the site to themselves.