Description: Pyramid GIII-a is the easternmost of the three satellite pyramids of the Pyramid of Menkaure. Archaeologists believe that the Satellite Pyramid was the tomb of the king’s wife, but no direct evidence of this has been found. Almost the only suggestion put forward by the Egyptologist George Reisner is that the Pyramid belonged to the wife of Menkaure, Queen Khamerernebty II. The entrance to the Pyramid was first cleared and described in 1837 by Colonel Howard Vyse, together with engineer and archaeologist John Shae Perring. They managed to find a granite sarcophagus sunk into the floor of the burial chamber and several fragments of pottery. Today, the Satellite Pyramid is a relatively well-preserved pyramidal structure with casing blocks in some places at its base. The descending corridor and the burial chamber are located below the level of the bedrock surface. Alternative names: Pyramid of Menkaure's Queen I Lepsius No: 12 Type: True Pyramid Location: Giza Plateau Country: Egypt
Lehner, Mark and Zahi Hawass. Giza and the Pyramids. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2017.
Lehner, Mark. The Complete Pyramids. Solving the Ancient Mysteries. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1997. Reprinted 2001.
Maragioglio, Vito and Celeste Ambrogio Rinaldi. L'Architettura delle Piramidi Menfite. Parte VI. La Grande Fossa di Zauiet el-Aryan, la Piramide di Micerino, il Mastabat Faraun, la Tomba di Khentkaus. Tavole. Tipografia Canessa: Rapallo, 1967.
Maragioglio, Vito and Celeste Ambrogio Rinaldi. L'Architettura delle Piramidi Menfite. Parte VI. La Grande Fossa di Zauiet el-Aryan, la Piramide di Micerino, il Mastabat Faraun, la Tomba di Khentkaus. Testo. Tipografia Canessa: Rapallo, 1967.
Perring, John Shae. The Pyramids of Gizeh, from actual survey and admeasurement, by J. S. Perring. Part II. The Second and Third Pyramids, the Three Smaller to the Southward of the Third, and the Three to the Eastward of the Great Pyramid. James Frazer, London, 1840.
Verner, Miroslav. The Pyramids: The Archeology and History of Egypt's Iconic Monuments. New and Updated Edition. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2020.
Verner, Miroslav. The Pyramids. The Mystery, Culture and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments. London: Atlantic Books, 2001.
