Lisht

Lisht is a village south of Cairo, in Lower Egypt.

Understand

This is the site of Middle Kingdom royal and elite burials, including two pyramids built by Amenemhat I and Senusret I. The two main pyramids were surrounded by smaller pyramids of members of the royal family, and many mastaba tombs of high officials and their family members, constructed throughout the 12th and 13th Dynasties. The location is probably close to their capital city Itj-Tawy ("Binder of the Two Lands", i. e. Upper and Lower Egypt), whose ruins have never been conclusively identified.

Get in

By car

Lisht is about 35 km south of Saqqara and 26 km south of Dahshur. It is possible, but not recommended, to combine all of them in a single day trip.

See

• 1 Pyramid of Senusret I. The pyramid has been severely damaged over time, and little of its limestone cladding remains. It now appears as little more than a hillock of stone. None of the excavations penetrated to the burial chamber due to high water levels, but much was learned about pyramid construction from the surrounding quarries, which contained one of the highest concentrations of ancient debris of any Egyptian archaeological site. (updated Aug 2020)
• 2 Pyramid of Amenemhet I. The pyramid had undergone much disintegration and is now only 20 m-high, with most of the surrounding complex gone. None of the expeditions successfully explored the interior of the pyramid, due to the internal passageways being flooded with groundwater. (updated Aug 2020)

Go next

• Saqqara
• Dahshur
• Memphis