Archaeoastronomy and Archaeo-Topography as Tools in the Search for a Missing Egyptian Pyramid

Abstract

Among the royal pyramids of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty, that of the second king, Userkare, is missing. This Pharaoh, however, ruled long enough – two to four years – to plan his pyramid on the ground and have the workers excavate the substructure. Userkare’s unfi nished tomb might therefore be buried in the sands of the Memphite necropolis, possibly with a copy of the Pyramid Texts carved on its walls. In the present paper, methods based on archaeo-topography and archaeoastronomy have been applied with the aim of fi nding the possible location of the building site of this monument.