Many of the casing stones remain onthe pyramid peak. It’s hard to imagine these stone monuments as smooth and polished — we are so used to seeing the rough stacked-block image of the pyramid that seeing even a bit of the smooth casing stones is just a glimpse at what they might have looked like. Our guide assured us that they were painted white with a red band around the bottom, and would have glittered in the sun.

Valley Temple is one of the best preserved Old kingdom temples. Cleared of sand in 1869. Fronted to the east by a large terrace paved with limestone, hrough which two causeways led from the Nile canal.

Five boat pits found outside the mortuary temple, 2 to the north, 3 to the south. Another may have been planned. Two retain their roofing slabs, although they have all been looted