As the centralized government of Egypt declined, so did the overall power of the king. The individual burials of these kings also declined in both size and construction quality. The pyramids of the 4th Dynasty have endured in good condition to this day; others of later dynasties have not fared as well. One of those eras of pyramid builders was called the First Intermediate Period.

Pyramids of the First Intermediate Period were much smaller than their earlier counterparts, and may have been of poorer quality. Three pyramids of this era illustrate this. The pyramid of Qakara-Iby, the pyramid of Khui and one called Lepsius XXIX.

The first of these pyramids was from the 8th Dynasty and was built in the Sakkara necropolis. The pyramid dimensions were a height of 69ft(21 meters) and base length of 103(31.5 meters). It also had a small mortuary chapel on the eastern side which little remains. One artifact that remains is a rectangular basin set into the floor of the chapel. The current condition of this pyramid is of one that is almost totally destroyed. All that remains is several heaps of rubble from the core, which consists of mud and limestone chips. The burial chamber was inscribed with Pyramid Texts and is now covered over with concrete.

The second pyramid of this time is one, which belonged to Khui.This pyramid was constructed at Dara, near the Dakhla oasis. At one time, Ahmed Kamal, the archaeologist working on the site thought that it was a mastaba. This had been revised a bit later. Its base length was 426 ft 6 inches, almost the size of the Stepped Pyramid, and had a mud brick core with sloping sides. It also has a burial chamber that was below the base of the pyramid. The passage leading to the burial chamber was reinforced with pilasters (a column that is not free standing but abuts the wall of the structure) and was lined with limestone from tombs of the 6th Dynasty, an example of stone robbery.


The third of these pyramids has no identifiable owner and was simply termed Lepsius XXIX. It was suspected that it may have belong to a 9th or 10th Dynasty ruler named Merikare, but this has not been proved yet. It was called the “Headless Pyramid” and may have not been completed. Not much remains of the superstructure but the foundation. It measured 52 meters or 170 feet per side and the entrance is in the middle of the northern side of the pyramid. Two granite blocks sealed the entrance to the ante and burial chambers. Those blocks and a sarcophagus lid indicate that a burial did indeed take place at this site. It has been suggested that this pyramid belonged to an earlier 5th Dynasty ruler, Menkauhor. It still remains a mystery about the identity of the owner of this burial site.


It should be noted that pyramids ranging from the 3rd Dynasty to the 6th Dynasty have substantial remains that leave clues to the quality of the construction these monuments. The First Intermediate Period pyramids, on the other hand leave very little of themselves.



MH

Source: The Complete Pyramids Solving the Ancient Mysteries, Mark Lehner Thames and Hudson 1997