Seila Pyramid

The pyramid at Seila is something of an enigma, having been reduced to little more than a glorified 7m-high mound over its 4,500-year history. It was built by prolific 4th Dynasty pharaoh Snefru, father of Khufu and famous for having commissioned pyramids at Dashur and Meidum. Located six miles west, in the Fayum town of the same name, the Seila Pyramid has long been one of Egypt's forgotten landmarks. Yet now archaeologists are beginning to think it may have been more impressive than they thought.

Snefru was the first pharaoh to construct true pyramids (unlike the step pyramids of, say, Djoser). Seila appears to have been designed in this vein, with experts from Brigham Young presenting laser models of how it would have looked back around 2,600 BC, as shown to the left. The team also noted the pyramid may well have had an internal burial chamber, but that it may have been looted and destroyed in antiquity.

The pyramid is interestingly built with almost the same angle as Snefru's pyramid at Meidum: 52 degrees to Meidum's 51. It also has a causeway that leads nowhere - at least nowhere still standing today - the same as Meidum. Seila includes a mortuary temple but no valley temple, the same as Meidum but the opposite of the Dashur pyramids. In the future Seila may be able to shed light on Snefru's seemingly haphazard reign - and could determine whether his collection of four pyramids were ordered for a particular reason or not.