El Lahun Pyramid

El Lahun (Arabic: اللاهون El Lāhūn, Coptic: ⲗⲉϩⲱⲛⲉ alt. Illahun, Lahun, or Kahun, (the latter being a neologism coined by archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie) is a town and pyramid complex in Faiyum, Egypt founded by Senusret II. The Pyramid of Senusret II (Greek: Sesostris II) is located near the modern town, and is often called the Pyramid of Lahun. The site was occupied during the Middle Kingdom into the late Thirteenth Dynasty, and then again in the New Kingdom. The ancient name of the site was rꜣ-ḥn.t, literally, "Mouth (or Opening) of the Canal". It was known as Ptolemais Hormos (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῒς ὅρμος, romanized: port of Ptolemy) in Ptolemaic Egypt. There are multiple areas at El Lahun including the Pyramid of Senwosret II, cemeteries, the Valley temple, and the town of Kahun. It contains many artifacts of daily life like pottery from the Middle Kingdom and evidence of administrative procedures seen on papyri and seals.

Excavation history

El Lahun was initially excavated by William Flinders Petrie in 1889–1890. He mapped the town of Kahun, located the pyramid's entrance, found many objects of daily life, and returned in 1920 to continue his work. His excavations uncovered pottery and other artifacts from the city of Kom. Ludwig Borchardt also worked there in 1899, recording the architecture in Kahun. Borchardt found thousands of papyri related to the temple during his time at Lahun. From 1989 to 1997, Egyptologist Nicholas B. Millet worked there with the University of Toronto. The most recent excavations and work at Lahun are being carried out by Zoltan Horvath and a Hungarian team.

Also found in the town were the Kahun papyri, comprising about 1,000 fragments covering legal, medical, religious, and astronomical matters. Re-excavation of the area in 2009 by Egyptian archaeologists revealed a cache of pharaonic-era mummies in brightly painted wooden coffins in the sand-covered desert rock surrounding the pyramid.