Northern Mazghuna pyramid

There are no remains evidencing the existence of a superstructure, with the only information that can be gleaned from the site being that the northern pyramid was planned on a larger scale than its southern neighbour which had a known base length of about 52.5 m (172 ft 3 in; 100.2 cu)^[2] – Christoffer Theis offers an approximation of 64 m (210 ft 0 in; 122 cu).^[3] Ernest Mackay interpreted the lack of any remains to mean that the superstructure had been built entirely of limestone – a mudbrick core would have left traces behind – that was later thoroughly dismantled;^[4] Mark Lehner suggests that work on the superstructure had never begun.^[5]

The hypogeum is similar to that of the southern pyramid but much more tortuous, changing direction six times. The entrance is on the north side. From there, a staircase leads down to a square chamber and then to another staircase and to the first quartzite blocking. After that, two other chambers are connected by a passage with a second, still unsealed blocking. After the third chamber, a stairway and then a corridor leads to the antechamber just prior to the large burial chamber: this room, partially covered by an inverted V-shaped ceiling, is entirely filled by a huge sarcophagus-vault, which was carved from a single block of quartzite. The never-used sarcophagus lid, a 42-ton quartzite slab, still awaits to be fitted in the chamber. All exposed quartzite, which was built in the pyramid, had been painted with red paint and sometimes also decorated with vertical black stripes. The function of a large room behind the burial chamber remain unknown.^[6][7]

There are no traces of a valley or mortuary temple, or of the enclosure walls^[8] – like the one that exists at the southern pyramid.^[7] Mackay had discovered a 15.4 m (50 ft 6 in) long section of a north–south oriented mudbrick retaining wall that he originally thought belonged to the enclosure, but this had been built to control debris and keep the site level.^[9] The only other significant remains of the wider complex discovered were a section of the east–west oriented causeway built to serve the workforce as they brought in materials for the project and a large stone block found abandoned to its south.^[10] The causeway had an inner path measuring 43.74 m (143 ft 6 in) wide by 116.43 m (382 ft 0 in) long that was bordered on the north and south by double mudbrick walls and terminated 36.35 m (119 ft 3 in) east of the tomb's entrance.^[11] These were much thicker on their outer side than inner and had an 11.68 m (38 ft 4 in) wide void between packed with debris.^[12]

When the two Mazghuna pyramids were rediscovered, scholars noticed many structural similarities between those two and Amenemhat III's pyramid at Hawara; for this reason the southern pyramid was attributed to the son and successor of this king, Amenemhat IV. Subsequently, the northern pyramid was attributed to the female-pharaoh Sobekneferu, sister of Amenemhat IV and last ruler of the 12th Dynasty.

However, some scholars such as William C. Hayes^[13] believed that the two Mazghuna pyramids were built during the 13th Dynasty, on the basis of some similarities with the pyramid of Khendjer. In this case, the northern pyramid should have belonged to one of the many pharaohs who ruled between the beginning of the 13th Dynasty and the loss of control of the northern territory occurred during or after the reign of Merneferre Ay.^[14]

• Comparison of substructure layout of the late Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasty pyramids
• 
  Amenemhat III at Hawara
• 
  Ameny-Qemau
• 
  North Mazghuna
• 
  South Mazghuna
• 
  Khendjer

• List of Egyptian pyramids