05b: Sneferu's Beauties

The History of Egypt Podcast

Dominic Perry

History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 January 2013

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Magical mystery cruise. King Sneferu was a legendary ruler. His three pyramids at Meidum and Dahshur mark the transition from Step Pyramids to True Pyramids. But his legacy is more than stone. The King left other records and hints of his personality. We go in search of the ruler who loved beauty... Re-written and re-recorded in 2022. Date: c. 2650 BCE. Texts: The Westcar Papyrus (translation by Mark-Jan Nederhof). Pyramids: The Meidum Pyramid, Bent Pyramid, and Red Pyramid (see all at wikimedia). Logo image: Sneferu's pyramid at Meidum via Wikimedia. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Audio editing and processing by yourpodcastpal.com. Select Bibliography: N. Alexanian and F. Arnold, ‘The Complex of the Bent Pyramid as a Landscape Design Project’, in M. Ullmann (ed.), 10. Ägyptologische Tempeltagung (2016), 1—16. Online. N. Alexanian et al., ‘Untersuchungen am unteren Aufweg der Knickpyramide in Dahschur’, Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo 68 (2012), 1—30. F. Arnold, ‘A Ceremonial Building of King Snofru at Dahshur’, in M. Bietak and S. Prell (eds.), Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Palaces (2018), 113—124. Online. G. Dormion and J.-Y. Verd’hurt, La chambre de Meidoum : analyse architecturale. 1, Texte (2013). F. Monnier, ‘New Light on the Architecture of the Bent Pyramid’, Nile Magazine 20 (2019), 44—50. Online. F. Monnier, ‘A New Survey of the Upper Chambers of Snefru’s Pyramids at Dahshur’, Journal of Ancient Egyptian Architecture 4 (2020), 1—17. Online. M-J. Nederhof, “The Westcar Papyrus,” translation online. L. Parys, Le récit du Papyrus Westcar : texte, traduction, interprétation (2017). C. Reader, ‘The Meidum Pyramid’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (2015), 203—224. Online. D. Rosenow, ‘Dahschur, Ägypten. Die Arbeiten der Herbstkampagne 2019 und Frühjahrskampagne 2020’, Elektronische Publikationen Desdeutschen Archäologischen Instituts 2 (2020), 8—15. Online. M. Verner, The Pyramids: The Archaeology and History of Egypt’s Iconic Monuments (2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. Before we begin a quick note this episode is divided into two chapters. In the first chapter we describe
0:26.5	some archaeological discoveries from the reign of King Sneferu. In the second chapter we tell a story of King's Nefrew himself.
0:36.0	This story is a fairy tale, a fantasy, but it includes elements of sexuality.
0:42.0	It may not be suitable for all audiences, so please use
0:47.2	discretion when listening to this episode. Thank you. Hello folks. Welcome to a side episode. 5B. Sineferu's beauties. Today I cover some additional material from the reign of King Seneferu,
1:17.0	first ruler of Dynasty 4, builder of three pyramids and all-round legend among the kings of Egypt.
1:25.8	This ruler is famous for many reasons, but archaeologists and historians are learning more about
1:32.1	him and his reign every day.
1:35.0	In this episode, I want to explore some other details,
1:39.0	including wonderful features that recently came to light.
1:43.0	In episode five, I described the construction of three major pyramids at Meidum, Dashua South and Dashua North, Royal Architects and Workers labored on immense building projects.
2:06.7	The whole process took 45 years, maybe more, and by the end, Senefro's agents had moved more stone, done more building work than anyone
2:17.9	before.
2:19.6	As far as royal propaganda is concerned, it was something beyond imagining, a marvel or wonder of the
2:27.0	king's power.
2:29.2	There are a couple of things I did not mention, so I'd like to take a few minutes to expand the tale of Snafaru.
2:36.8	You see, the monuments of this king have recently received more attention.
2:42.4	In particular, the pyramid of Meidum, the first monument that
2:46.5	Snaferu commissioned, has undergone a bit of a Renaissance. In recent years, a pair of researchers studied the monument and they raised interesting questions about the structure.
3:00.0	Long story short, there may be some undiscovered parts to this pyramid.
3:05.9	Let me explain. The Meidum pyramid is complicated in an architectural sense.
3:15.9	Today, we see a half-collapsed structure surrounded by debris with a somewhat dilapidated shape. That is partly the
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dominic Perry, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dominic Perry and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.