The Black Pyramid of King Amenemhat III

The Black Pyramid was built by King Amenemhat III during the late Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Originally named Amenemhet is Mighty, the pyramid earned its current name for its dark, decaying appearance as a rubble mound. It is one of the five remaining pyramids at Dahshur and was the first to house both the deceased king and his queens.

Originally about 75 metres tall with an incline of 57 degrees, the pyramid was constructed with an east-west orientation. Unlike many other structures, it was made of mud brick and clay instead of stone, though it was encased in a limestone veneer held together with dovetail pegs. Because it was built on clay that was incapable of supporting its weight, the pyramid began to sink, similar to the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu located approximately 1.5 kilometres away.

Below ground level lies a network of complicated passages. While the King's section remains mostly intact with a sarcophagus and canopic jar, the King was not buried there. The Queen's section was broken into by robbers and looted. The pyramid eventually had to be abandoned after builders tried to install supporting beams and mud brick walls to stop the sinking. Excavations began in 1892 by Jacques de Morgan and were completed by the German Archaeological Institute of Cairo in 1983.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons