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The Layer Pyramid (known locally in Arabic as ''il-haram il-midawwar'', (アラビア語:الهرم المدور), meaning 'rubble-hill pyramid') is a ruined step pyramid dating to the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt (2686 BC to 2613 BC) and located in the necropolis of Zawyet el'Aryan. Its ownership is uncertain and may be attributable to pharaoh Khaba. The pyramid architecture, however, is very similar to that of the Buried Pyramid of king Sekhemkhet and for this reason is firmly datable to the 3rd Dynasty. The pyramid was excavated at the beginning of the 20th century by two different teams who reported conflicting estimates regarding its size and number of subterranean chambers. No artefacts were found over the course of the excavations, and no trace of a burial could be found. For this reason, it is unclear whether the pyramid was used to bury a pharaoh or was abandoned following the premature death of the king. At the time of its construction the pyramid was surrounded by a necropolis housing large mastabas belonging to the high officials of the 3rd Dynasty state. A mortuary temple was built on the eastern side of the pyramid and a valley temple was possibly located several hundred metres from it. Nowadays, the pyramid is located within the confines of a restricted military area, barring modern excavations of the site. == Research history == The layer pyramid was first examined and its surroundings explored in 1839 by John Shae Perring. Soon after, in 1848, the pyramid was identified as such by Karl Richard Lepsius, who listed it as number XIV in his pioneering list of pyramids.〔Karl Richard Lepsius: ''Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien'', Text 1, p.128, Pyramid no. XIV, (available online ).〕〔Mark Lehner: ''Z500 and The Layer Pyramid of Zawiyet-el-Aryan'', (Excerpt available online )〕 Around 40 years later, in 1886, Gaston Maspero unsuccessfully searched for the entrance of the subterranean passages of the pyramid, which was discovered in 1896 by Jacques de Morgan.〔 The latter undertook excavations of the pyramid but stopped after clearing the first few steps of the descending stairway.〔〔 Further investigations were then performed in 1900 by Alessandro Barsanti,〔Alexandre Barsanti: ''Ouverture de la pyramide de Zaouiet el-Aryân'', Annales du service des antiquités de l'Égypte, Vol. 2, 1902, pp. 92-94, (available online ).〕 who uncovered the vertical access shaft leading to the burial chamber. Barsanti, seeing that several corridors and chambers were seemingly unfinished and that all were completely devoid of artefacts, deemed that the pyramid had never been used.〔 Shortly after, in 1910–1911, George Reisner and Clarence S. Fisher worked on the site,〔G.A. Reisner and C.S. Fisher: ''"The Work of the Harvard University - Museum of Fine Arts Egyptian Expedition" (pyramid of Zawiyet el-Aryan)'', Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts (BMFA) 9, Boston, No. 54 Vol. IX (December 1911), pp. 54-59, (available online )〕 excavating the north and east exteriors of the pyramid as well as the cemeteries surrounding it.〔〔〔〔Dows Dunham: ''Zawiyet el-Aryan - The Cemeteries Adjacent To The Layer Pyramid'', Museum of Fine Art, Boston 1978, ISBN 978-0-87846-108-0〕 The dimensions of the pyramid as estimated by Barsanti, Reisner and Fisher differ greatly and even the numbers of subterranean galleries they report are in disagreement.〔Aidan Dodson: ''The Layer Pyramid of Zawiyet El-Aryan Its Layout and Context'', Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 37 (2000), pp. 81-90, (Available online )〕 Unfortunately, the pyramid lies within a restricted military area since 1970 and consequently no excavation has been undertaken there since Reisner and Fisher's superficial work,〔〔 leaving the structures beneath the pyramid in doubt. Furthermore, the pyramid is now sanded up, hampering modern estimations of its dimensions.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Layer Pyramid」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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