Lahun Pyramid

Senusret II built at Lahun in the nineteenth century BC using a technique that saved enormous labour: he had the builders leave a natural rock knoll standing and construct the pyramid around it, with radiating limestone walls filled in with mud brick, so the core is partly geology. The casing has gone and the brick has weathered into a dark eroded cone. The entrance was hidden away from the traditional north face, which delayed its discovery. Nearby, Flinders Petrie excavated the planned settlement of Kahun in the 1880s, a purpose-built town for the pyramid workers laid out on a grid with distinct quarters for officials and labourers, and the papyri found there give an unusually direct account of ordinary Middle Kingdom administration, medicine and household life.

The main sights

• A pyramid built round a rock knoll - natural core with radiating brick walls.
• The eroded mud-brick mass - what remains once the casing is stripped.
• The site of Kahun - a planned workers' town on a grid.
• The Faiyum channel below - the gap through which the water enters the depression.

When to go

October to April. One to two hours, usually combined with Hawara a few kilometres away. Mornings are best. The site sees very few visitors at any time of year.

Practical notes

Little stands above ground and Kahun has been largely reburied and looted since Petrie worked there, so the town is more idea than sight. Access to the pyramid interior is generally not permitted. There is no shade, no signage and no facilities. A guard will want a tip.

Nearby

Hawara is a short drive north-west; Faiyum city and the waterwheels lie beyond it.

Key facts