Ancient site · Giza
Abu Rawash
An archaeological site north of Giza holding Egypt's northernmost pyramid, that of Djedefre, son of Khufu, along with dozens of ancient mastabas.
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The story
Abu Rawash lies about eight kilometres north of Giza and holds Egypt's northernmost pyramid, that of Djedefre, the son and successor of Khufu, sometimes called the lost pyramid. It was once thought unfinished, but the current archaeological view is that it was completed at a size close to the pyramid of Menkaure. Its destruction began by the end of the New Kingdom at the latest and grew intense in Roman and early Christian times, with stone still being carted away late in the nineteenth century. Around fifty mastabas stand nearby, and the excavation report on the pyramid complex appeared in 2011.
Good to know
- Djedefre's pyramid is the northernmost pyramid in Egypt, catalogued by Egyptologists as Lepsius Number One.
- The site includes around fifty mastabas, roughly one and a half kilometres from the pyramid of Djedefre.