Unas

Ancient Egyptian King - Unas Fact Sheet

Ancient Egyptian King - Unas Fact Sheet

Fact 11 on Unas:

King Unas is famous due to his pyramid complex that forms part of the Saqqara necropolis and contains the first of the Pyramid texts.
 

Fact 12 on Unas:

The pyramid complex of Unas consisted of:

The Pyramid
The cult, or subsidiary, pyramid
Mortuary Temple
The causeway (a raised roadway) that led to the
Valley Temple which linked to the River Nile
 

Fact 13 on Unas:

The complex was accessed by boat on the River Nile and would land at a harbor outside the Valley Temple where visitors would disembark - see the picture below.
 

Fact 14 on Unas:

The Valley Temple contained different chambers, some of which were dedicated to deities and others that were used in the embalming rituals and and the wrapping of the mummy.
 

Fact 15 on Unas:

The  Valley Temple provided direct access to the causeway (raised roadway) a processional road that led to the main pyramid complex. The Unas causeway ran for 220 meters (730 feet).
 

Fact 16 on Unas:

The long causeway was excavated by Selim Bay Hassan in 1937. The inner walls of the causeway were richly decorated with scenes depicting events during the reign of the king. The scenes included trading ships, craftsmen working on various building projects, farmers, hunting scenes and the famous 'famine scene'. 
 

Fact 17 on Unas:

The causeway led to the entrance courtyard of the pyramid complex of Unas which which enclosed in a high wall and provided entry to the pyramid and Mortuary Temple.
 

Fact 18 on Unas:

The Mortuary Temple was the place where the sun priests of Ra performed daily funerary rites and presented offerings to the dead king’s Ka. The structure consisted of an entrance hall, an open, columned courtyard, alcoves for his statues,  storage chambers and an inner temple, or sanctuary.
 

Fact 19 on Unas:

The pyramid is oriented east-west and was built with a local limestone core and fine white limestone casing from the Tura Quarry.
 

Fact 20 on Unas:

Inside the pyramid is a substructure consisting of a descending entrance corridor, with a barrier, leading to the dead king's mortuary apartment which was located directly under the vertical apex of the pyramid. The corridor leads to an antechamber then the burial chamber.
 

Fact 21 on Unas:

The pyramid of Unas was first investigated by John Shae Perring in 1838 and Lepsius in 1844. But it was Gaston Maspero (1846 – 1916) who first gained entry to the burial chambers in 1881, where he discovered the religious inscriptions that would become known as the Pyramid texts.
 

Fact 22 on Unas:

The vertical lines of hieroglyphs, filled with blue pigment contain 228 magic spells, that were intended to help the king in the Afterlife.
 

Fact 23 on Unas:

Unas was the last king of the 5th dynasty leaving no male heir. His daughter, Iput, married Teti who founded the 6th Dynasty following the death of the king.