Pyramidion

Close-up of the Pyramidion of the Pyramid of Amenemhat III at Dahshur. Egyptian Museum, Cairo

A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or the upper section of an obelisk.[1] Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as benbenet [2] and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone.[3]

Pyramidia were usually made of limestone, sandstone, basalt or granite,[4][5] and were sometimes covered with plates of copper,[6] gold or electrum.[3][7] From the Middle Kingdom onward, they were often "inscribed with royal titles and religious symbols".[3]

  1. ^ "Pyramidion - Definition of Pyramidion by Merriam-Webster". Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  2. ^ Ermann, Grapow, Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache 1, 459.13-14
  3. ^ a b c Toby Wilkinson, The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 2005. p. 197
  4. ^ Jánosi, Peter (1992). "Das Pyramidion der Pyramide G III-a. Bemerkungen zu den Pyramidenspitzen des Alten Reiches". Studia Aegyptiaca (in German). 14: 301–308.
  5. ^ Rammant-Peeters, Agnès (1983). Les pyramidions égyptiens du Nouvel Empire (in French). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789070192082.
  6. ^ Verner, Miroslav (2007). The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments. p. 318.
  7. ^ Edwards, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen (1993) [1947]. The Pyramids of Egypt (Revised ed.). Penguin Group. p. 267. ISBN 9780140136340.