![Meidum Pyramid Egypt](https://www.cairotoptours.com/storage/40343/conversions/Meidum Pyramid "Facts & History-webp.webp "Meidum Pyramid \"Facts & History")
Meidum Pyramid
Details on the Meidum Pyramid
Founder of the 4th Dynasty, Snefru long remained a model for his successors. It was with him that the era of the Great Pyramids truly began. Snefru reigned for almost 24 years (2575-2551 BC). Son of Houni (2599-2575 BC) and Queen Meresankh I, he completed his father's pyramid at Meidum and built several pyramids, including two at Dahshur: the Rhomboid Pyramid and the Red Pyramid. Both are considered to be the first pyramids with a smooth slope. The Seilah pyramid in Fayoum is also attributed to him.
Meidum was the choice of the first king of the 4th Dynasty, Sneferu (c. 2613–2589 BC), for the location of his royal tomb. The monument as it stands now is very different from the original, which was a step pyramid that was later converted into a real pyramid with smooth sides.
Sneferu's reign was crucial to the Old Kingdom for these and other reasons, and the Meidum site is an essential component, symbolizing the advancements in technology, methods, and building expertise that would eventually result in the construction of some of Egypt's most well-known monuments.
Sneferu started construction on a seven-step pyramid that would have stood 65 meters tall in Meidum. This was later expanded into an eight-step pyramid, maybe before it was finished. Egyptologists refer to these two stages as E1 and E2, respectively. When the E2 pyramid was finished, its height would have been 85 meters, and its base would have measured 120.75 meters.
At this time, Sneferu began construction of the enormous Bent and Red Pyramids at Dahshur. The eight-step E2 pyramid was subsequently converted by him into the genuine pyramid (E3), which had a base length of 144 meters and a height of between 92 and 95 meters.
