The Bent Pyramid of Sneferu

Bent Pyramid of Sneferu

The following pyramid usually associated with Sneferu is the Bent Pyramid. Some it and the Red Pyramid are placed at Dashur between Saqqara and the Meidum Pyramid. Whatever pyramids are near two thirds the height of the Great Pyramid. The Bent Pyramid is 101 ms high while the  Red  Pyramid  is  104  metres  high  which  is  about  the  height  of  a  30  story  building.

The  lower  part  of  the  pyramid  rises  from  the  desert  at  a  54-degree  lean,  but  the  top segment is built at the shallower angle of 43 points, lending the pyramid its very plain "bent" visual aspect. Archaeologists  now  believe  that  the  Bent Pyramid  being  a  transitional  form between  step-sided  and  smooth-sided pyramids. It has been indicated that due to the  steepness  of  the  particular  angle  of leaning  the  construction  may  have  got to  show  signs  of  instability  during construction, forcing the builders to adopt a  shallower  angle  to  avert  the  social system's collapse.  This  theory  comes out  to  be  borne out  by  the  fact  that  the  adjacent  Red Pyramid,  built  immediately  afterwards  by the  same  Pharaoh,  was  constructed  at  an angle of 43 degrees from its base. 

View in the lower main chamber of bent pyramid

This fact also belies the theory that at the original angle the construction would take too long because  Sneferu's  dying  was  nearing,  so  the  builders  transferred  the  angle  to  complete  the expression in time. In 1974 Kurt Mendelssohn indicated the change of the angle to have been made  as  a  protection  precaution  in  reaction  to  a  bad  collapse  of  the Meidum Pyramid while it was still under construction.

It is also unique amongst the or so ninety pyramids to be found in Egypt, in that its original processed limestone outer in case remains for the Nearly part intact. British functional engineer Peter James  attributes  this  to  larger  clearances  between  the  parts  of  the  casing  than  used  in  later pyramids;  these  imperfections  would  work  as  expansion  joints  and  preclude  the  successive wipe-out of the outer in case by thermal expansion.