Zawiyet el-Aryan

The Northern Pyramid, lying farther into the desert, is known as the Shughl Iskandar ("Alexander's Excavation") after its excavator, Alexander Baranti. It is believed to have been destined for the burial of a King of the fourth Dynasty but to have been abandoned at a very early stage in its construction. The pyramid was apparently planned on a considerable scale, with a base measurement of 590-660ft/180-200m. A rock cut ramp 28ft/8.50m wide and 360ft/110m long runs down to a depth of 82ft/25m, leading to a square shaft in which the tomb chamber was to have been constructed. The foundations and paving of the chamber, in red granite, were completed, and in it stands the finely worked royal sarcophagus of pink granite, which was to have been set into the pavement.

1mi/1.5km to the southeast is a low mound of rubble marking the site of a stone Step Pyramid which is ascribed to King Khaba (Third Dynasty). The exterior was apparently completed, with five steps and a base measurement of 272ft/83m, but the interior was left unfinished. In an early tomb in the immediate vicinity was found a seal impression with the name of the Pre-Dynastic or Early Dynastic King Narmer, whose dates have not been precisely established.