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40 minute hike up hills
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Seila Step Pyramid
seila step pyramid from the main road
Most egyptologists assume that the small pyramids were built by Huni. There are seven of these small pyramids, which may mark the boundaries of the land, or were built for ceremonial purposes...no one really knows. They aren't "complete" pyramids -- they don't have the whole pyramid complex around them, and most have no internal structures..
They wre built in the second half of the third dynasty, and are mostly on the west bank of the Nile, as befitting funerary momuments. They are not tombs, however, but some havesuggested that they are cenotaphs (false tombs) for queens, or religious shrines. Seila is the northernmost of these pyramids and may have been bult by Sneferu. It stands only 7 meters high and has a four-step core of local limestone.
driving through the town near Seila, on the canal road
Of course, we never got that close. We spent nearly a n entire day trying to find out where the pyramid was, trekking through the desert in a non-four-wheel drive van (when we should have had one!) and discovering that it was another hour's hike up into the hills to see it. By that time, we were happy to get pictures from the base of the site.
asking directions...for the first time
No on knew where it was -- not our driver or guide, or the truckload of guards who had to escort us. We had to stop and ask directions. >> more >>
