Pyramid of Menkaure

Menkaure, a Fourth Dynasty king and likely son of Khafre, built the third and smallest of the three principal pyramids at Giza. The pyramid originally stood about 65 metres high, far below the scale of Khufu and Khafre, but its construction introduced a distinctive material choice: the lower courses of the casing were made from red granite quarried in Aswan, while higher sections used limestone. This made the project materially demanding despite its smaller size. Menkaure’s complex included a mortuary temple, causeway, valley temple and three subsidiary pyramids. Excavations in the valley temple produced important royal sculpture, including famous triads showing the king with deities and personifications of Egyptian nomes. The monument is therefore valuable not simply as the smallest Giza pyramid but as evidence for changing priorities in late Fourth Dynasty royal architecture, sculpture and temple design.