A team of Swiss and French archaeologists have discovered in Saqqara, one of the «valley of pyramids» in Egypt, the Golden tip of the pyramid that adorned the tomb of the mother of Pepi II, one of the last pharaohs of the old Kingdom.
The tip was found to the North of the pyramid of Pharaoh Pepi I, near the place where was to be built the pyramid of his wife, Queen Ankiecie II, mother of the Pharaoh Pepi II. Archeologists had no hints that they would be able to find such a pyramidion.
A rare golden Tip of a pyramid was found in Egypt for the first time ever!
Virtually all ancient Egyptian pyramids, built during the heyday of this ancient civilization were visible for tens of kilometers due to the fact that their top was decorated with a special structure, the pyramidion, «burning» in the Sun.
It was a stone of pyramidal form, covered with gold and other precious metals, and decorated with the name of the person buried in the chamber.
To date, none of these stones did survive intact.
Studying sediments in the vicinity of the pyramid of Pepi I, one of the most powerful rulers of the sixth dynasty of the old Kingdom, scientists found a partially destroyed, 1.3 x 1.1 meter pyramidion (image above).
According to the team of archaeologists, the top of the pyramid was intended for Queen Ankiecie II, wife of Pepi I and the alleged mother of Pepi II.