Exploration of the pyramid complex of King Djedkare: season 2018

During the latest fieldwork in the pyramid complex of King Djedkare in the 2018 season, the Egyptian mission focused on cleaning and documentation of the central and northern parts of the king’s funerary temple, including the open courtyard (T.e), and the north court (T.o). In addition, archaeological exploration was pursued in the area between the king’s northern portico, the northern massif, and the south wall of the queen’s pyramid (T.g area), which had not been explored previously. Thus, this area constitutes a valuable source of evidence showing that this area was used as a dump during the late Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period and as a burial ground from the late Second Intermediate Period probably until the Ptolemaic and Roman times. Besides the burials, remains of the architecture of the king’s and queen’s precincts were documented, which allowed us to distinguish precisely between the king’s and the queen’s funerary temples; also, many relief fragments were uncovered, revealing not only details of the queen’s decorative program but also her name and titles, which had been unknown to scholars until now. Finally, one of the main tasks included the consolidation work in the substructure of the king’s pyramid, focusing on the north walls of its antechamber and burial chamber.