Dahshour

Photo by Roman Bruehwiler.

Dahshour archaeological area is part of the Tentative list of Egypt in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.

The Dahshour archaeological area comprises a royal necropolis with several old and well-preserved pyramids. Here the Egyptians learned to transition from step-sided pyramids to smooth-sided pyramids. It has already been inscribed as part of the ‘Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur’ WHS.

Map of Dahshour

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The coordinates shown for all tentative sites were produced as a community effort. They are not official and may change on inscription.

Community Reviews

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Wojciech Fedoruk

Poland - 26-Feb-23 -

Dahshour archaeological area (T) by Wojciech Fedoruk

After visiting the pyramids of Giza and Saqqara with tons of visitors, me and my family went to Dahshour. It is a place that every visitor to the Egyptian pyramids should visit. Until recently, it was possible to visit only the Red Pyramid from the inside, but from 2019 you can also enter the Bent Pyramid. Apart from them, there are a few others, inaccessible to visitors. Admission costs only EGP 60 ($2) per adult and includes the entrance to the two pyramids. Compared to Giza or Saqqara, it is a much better value for money. We started from the inside of the Red Pyramid, where you have to climb from a hundred steps in an inclined position to reach the burial chamber. My daughter hardly had to bend over, but her parents felt some rarely used muscles. On the second day we had great difficulty in walking up the stairs.

The culmination of the day was the Bent Pyramid. It is distinguished not only by its unusual shape, but also by the use of polished stone. And an extremely difficult approach to the burial chamber (see photo). While the Red Pyramid squeezed the seventh sweat, Bent is a real hardcore. I made a count – you have to overcome 130 steps of stairs and 220 steps / rungs on the ramp – the latter of course bending down hard, sometimes so much that you have to walk on all fours.

Maybe that's why we have the best memories of the Bent Pyramid. Compared to Giza or even Saqqara, there were also far fewer people in Dahshour, which made the experience much better.

While I don't think it makes sense to put Dahshour as a separate entry to the list, the place is a must see component of ‘Memphis and its necropolis’.


Clyde

Malta - 05-Feb-13 -

The Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid are close to an off-limits military zone but should be visited to give you a clear idea of the first attempts of pyramid construction. I climbed up to the heart of the Dahshur pyramid and on a clear day you can clearly spot several pyramid ruins in the distance (inside the military zone). Together with Saqqara, I feel these deserve a WHS listing


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