ENiM 9, 2016, p. 15-36 - Équipe Égypte Nilotique et Méditerranéenne UMR 5140 "Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes" Cnrs - Université Paul Valéry (Montpellier III)
"By comparing the internal arrangements of the Meidum pyramid and the Bent pyramid, it is clear that the ‘chimney’ of the lower layout of the Bent pyramid was undoubtedly planned as a route to reach a burial chamber. But for some reason (we think that the invention of a new system of closure was the main cause), this lower arrangement was abandoned and it was decided to build a new one at a higher level, with an entrance in the western face. The burial chamber was made first. Following our new observations, there is no doubt that this upper room was not damaged by overloading. It underwent significant changes, its floor was raised twice, just after its ceiling was installed. The vault was also re-cut twice in order to form new flat walls for the burial space.
Technical reasons including some unpredictable settlement led the architects to reduce the slope of the pyramid’s faces from 60° to ~44°, and to abandon the new western access. In order to retain an access route to the burial chamber, the Egyptians cut a connecting passage between the lower chamber and the horizontal corridor. The modifications that had been undertaken since the beginning of the project continued to reveal unpredictable behavior in the masonry including settlement of the outer mantle and surface breakdown of the vault in the upper chamber. The architect was finally forced to leave this site with its bent shape, and to establish a new building project at North Dahshur. This third pyramid of Snefru would benefit from the knowledge developed during the first part of his reign."
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