Dr Kara Cooney (real name Kathryn M. Cooney) is an Egyptologist and Assistant Professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at Los Angeles' UCLA. She has also penned several books on the beliefs and economies of Ancient Egypt, and has presented successful documentary shows for Discovery. During her career she has worked on a series of high-profile expeditions to Deir el-Medina, Dashur and Thebes, where she has explored many elite tombs.
Born in Houston, Texas, Cooney completed her PhD in Near Eastern Studies at John Hopkins University, Baltimore in 2002, and has also taught at Stanford University, California and Howard University, Washington D.C. She was curator of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs when it visited Los Angeles County Museum for Art in 2005, and also played a pivotal role in Cairo Museum's Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt.
The Black Pyramid is one of Egypt's most mysterious monuments, and a reminder not all pharaohs were as great as they thought. King Amenemhat was the sixth pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty. He wanted to stamp his authority on his people by building a towering pyramid next to the great Bent and Red Pyramids of King Sneferu, commissioned some 800 years previously. This new building would be some achievement, with a height of 75m and a 105m base.
Building began around 1860. Middle Kingdom pyramids were much more complex arrangements than their Old Kingdom counterparts, but Amenemhat's was far too ambitious. A myriad walkways, corridors and chamber lined its innards, and it was the first pyramid built both for a king and his queens - two in Amenemhat's case. Around 15 years into its construction, disaster struck. Beams began to crush and doorways crumbled, as the pyramid caved in under its own weight. Builders did their best to avert destruction, but the damage was done: the pyramid was abandoned, and the king instead turned his sights on Hawara, where he would build a successful temple many years later.
Today the pyramid is still abandoned, closed to the public because of its still-structural frailties. A French team first excavated the pyramid in 1892, with later projects undertaken up until 1983.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 12:30
There have been many great women in the times and study of Ancient Egypt - Hatshepsut and Nefertiti are two great examples. Yet in the era of discovery; the time in which great explorers pioneered the excavation of Egypt's greatest treasures, one woman sticks out louder than Liberace in a dole queue. Cue Amelia Edwards, a Victorian writer and adventurer who bucked the conservative traditions of her time to help found one of London's greatest museums.
I’m going to be filing more detailed blogs at the end, once I have the time to do a proper write-up of all the research.
For now here are some news-briefs that I want to fill you in on.
-The Seila Pyramid is flat! No – it is not a step pyramid. It is a true pyramid. Professor Kerry Muhlestein of Brigham Young University, presented the latest research.
A team of engineers, using GPS equipment, completed a 3D model of the pyramid recently. Combined with (unpublished) excavation results it is now clear that it is not a step-pyramid.
Amenemhat III (also spelt Amenemhet III) was the sixth pharaoh of Egypt's 12th Dynasty, taking over from his father Senwosret III. Regarded as the Middle Kingdom's greatest king, he enjoyed a relatively long reign, ruling from 1860-1814, or 1842-1797 BC. This was enough time to create two of Egypt's best-known, if not durable, pyramids. Experts believe he may also have co-ruled with his father for up to 20 years.
Amenemhat was a peaceful ruler thanks to the military conquests of his predecessors, and would become known rather for his huge building works - not all of which ended successfully. Desperate to stamp his authority on an already-illustrious dynasty, Amenemhat began building a large pyramid at Dashur almost immediately. This 'Black Pyramid' took up to 15 years to complete, yet began to crumble on its completion.
Was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled ca. 1870-1831 BC during the 12th dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.
He is best known for expanding Egypt’s territory into Nubia. Under his rule, Egypt conquered territory as far south as Semna, in the modern day Sudan. He built fortresses on this frontier (including Semna, Uronarti and Buhen) that kept Nubians from going north, although some of the fortresses also served as outposts for trade (Nubian gold had long been in demand in Egypt).
Egypt continued to become more centralized with the pharaoh now firmly in power over the regional nomarchs. Senwosret III took an active role in the cult of Osiris at Abydos, erecting a cenotaph there. He built a 60 meter high mud-brick pyramid at the site of Dashur that bears some resemblance to the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
Pharoah Snefru, Sneferu, Snofru, or Nebmaat was the first Pharaoh of Egypt's 4th Dynasty. He reigned from 2613 BC to 2589 BC
He was considered a benign ruler who ruled for 24 years and is credited as the original developer of pyramids as we now know them.
He began the build of the step pyramid at Maidum, which was later converted into a true pyramid although this met with disaster because of its size and position on a steep slope. He then went on to build the Red and Bent Pyramids at Dashur, the third and fourth largest pyramids to have been built in Egypt.
He also built a number of smaller pyramids at Seila as well as others across the country and as such is recognised as the most renowned of all pyramid builders of the Old Kingdom.
His pyramids incorporated evolving religious beliefs, particularly of sun worship. The orientation of the main axis of these was east to west, rather that north to south which was common in earlier pyramids.
It is believed that his remains were interred in the Red Pyramid.
The Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, and the 
