King Shepseskaf and his Pyramid, the Mastabat Fara'un

Recently, in arXiv, we have proposed a discussion about the Egyptian kings Shepseskaf and Userkaf, in relation to an eclipse of 2471 BC, a total eclipse that was visible from the Delta of the Nile. Here we must focus on some further points, specifically on two, which we have not previously discussed in arXiv:2412.20407, but that we can find reported by Italian newspapers and websites, particularly Wired Italia. One of these two points is regarding the end of the dominance of the solar cult, as declared by archaeoastronomer G. Magli, in newspapers and websites. This end would have been caused by the above-mentioned solar eclipse, which Shepseskaf would have witnessed and reacted accordingly. We will stress that the solar cult did not end with the end of the Fourth Dynasty; it became dominant during the following Fifth Dynasty. The kings of this V Dynasty, besides pyramids, built solar temples too. Regarding news, we must also consider what is reported by earth.com, where we find it said that "evidence of this eclipse exists ... in... ancient texts". No ancient Egyptian text refers to the eclipse of 2471 BC. The other point we discuss is the interior of Shepseskaf’s mastaba. We will see that the orientations of the entrance of the Mastabat Fara’un and of its burial chamber are the same as in the case of the Giza pyramids. Therefore, in the last part of our work, we prefer to add also a discussion about the orientation of entrances, burial chambers and sarcophagi of the pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty, including Seila, Meidum, Bent, Red and Giza pyramids. It is strictly necessary to note that the Mastabat Fara’un was restored by Khaemwaset, the fourth son of Ramesses II. We know this fact from an inscription on the monument. In this inscription, we can find that the Shepseskaf’s burial place was defined as a pyramid.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2025-02-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14834775
Primary Topic
Ancient Egypt and Archaeology
Type
article
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article

King Shepseskaf and his Pyramid, the Mastabat Fara'un

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Ancient Egypt and Archaeology
article

King Shepseskaf and his Pyramid, the Mastabat Fara'un

article en

Abstract

Recently, in arXiv, we have proposed a discussion about the Egyptian kings Shepseskaf and Userkaf, in relation to an eclipse of 2471 BC, a total eclipse that was visible from the Delta of the Nile. Here we must focus on some further points, specifically on two, which we have not previously discussed in arXiv:2412.20407, but that we can find reported by Italian newspapers and websites, particularly Wired Italia. One of these two points is regarding the end of the dominance of the solar cult, as declared by archaeoastronomer G. Magli, in newspapers and websites. This end would have been caused by the above-mentioned solar eclipse, which Shepseskaf would have witnessed and reacted accordingly. We will stress that the solar cult did not end with the end of the Fourth Dynasty; it became dominant during the following Fifth Dynasty. The kings of this V Dynasty, besides pyramids, built solar temples too. Regarding news, we must also consider what is reported by earth.com, where we find it said that "evidence of this eclipse exists ... in... ancient texts". No ancient Egyptian text refers to the eclipse of 2471 BC. The other point we discuss is the interior of Shepseskaf’s mastaba. We will see that the orientations of the entrance of the Mastabat Fara’un and of its burial chamber are the same as in the case of the Giza pyramids. Therefore, in the last part of our work, we prefer to add also a discussion about the orientation of entrances, burial chambers and sarcophagi of the pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty, including Seila, Meidum, Bent, Red and Giza pyramids. It is strictly necessary to note that the Mastabat Fara’un was restored by Khaemwaset, the fourth son of Ramesses II. We know this fact from an inscription on the monument. In this inscription, we can find that the Shepseskaf’s burial place was defined as a pyramid.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Politecnico di Torino (IT), Turin Polytechnic University (UZ)
Openalex Percentile: Top 60%
Ancient Egypt and Archaeology
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