The Pyramid of Menkaure: The Smallest of the Three Great Pyramids

The Pyramid of Menkaure (Mykerinos in Greek) is the third and smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza. It closes the great Old-Kingdom triad — Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure — and marks, in a way, the beginning of the end of the giant-pyramid model. It's the least famous of the three, but it hides unique details: a half-finished granite casing, a huge gash on the north face, and three small pyramids for its queens.

Who was Menkaure

Menkaure was the fifth pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty, son of Khafre and grandson of Khufu. He reigned approximately between 2532 and 2503 BC. After him, royal pyramids would become progressively more modest in scale.

Some of the finest sculptures of the Old Kingdom depict Menkaure: the so-called "Menkaure triads", sculptural groups in greenish greywacke showing the pharaoh with the goddess Hathor and various local deities. They are split today between the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The numbers

• Original height: 65 m (61 m today). Roughly half the size of its two neighbours.
• Base: 102.2 m per side (Khufu was 230 m).
• Volume: about one tenth of the Great Pyramid.
• Casing: the lower 16 courses were clad in red Aswan granite, not white limestone. The upper part was limestone.

The granite is the most distinctive detail: an extremely expensive material, hard to work. It signals huge investment per block in exchange for fewer blocks overall.

Why so small?

The most accepted theories combine:

• Shifting priorities: the state may have decided it wasn't worth mobilising so many resources for 25–30 years per pharaoh.
• Shorter reign: Menkaure ruled for fewer years than his predecessors, based on the available records.
• Greater sophistication: resources were redirected toward sculptural quality and the funerary complex, instead of sheer size.

Whatever the reason, Menkaure marks a cultural turning point that continued in later dynasties.

The great gash on the north face

If you walk up to it, you'll see an enormous vertical scar on the north face. It is not ancient damage. It was caused in the 12th century by Sultan Al-Aziz Uthman, son of Saladin, who tried to demolish the pyramid to reuse its stone. After 8 months of work and prohibitive costs, he gave up. The gash is what remains of that attempt.

That's the "wound" you see today — and the reason the pyramid still stands.

The three queen pyramids

In front of the south face there are three subsidiary pyramids, aligned, presumably dedicated to Menkaure's queens and consorts. Small but unmistakable. It's one of the most beautiful sights in the complex, often overlooked by visitors who don't know what they are.

One is still relatively well preserved; the other two are more ruined.

What's inside

The burial chamber is more elaborate than its neighbours':

• Descending passage lined with granite.
• Antechamber with carved decorative panels (a "palace facade" style).
• Main burial chamber with a vaulted granite ceiling.

The original sarcophagus of Menkaure, in decorated basalt, was lost at sea: the ship Beatrice, carrying it to England in 1838, sank near the Spanish coast. Menkaure's body, also recovered, remains in the British Museum.

How to visit it

• General Giza entry: around 540 EGP (includes the Sphinx and the outside).
• Inside Menkaure: extra ticket of about 200 EGP (the cheapest of the three).
• Queue: almost non-existent.
• Capacity: rarely sold out.

Sometimes, depending on maintenance, the inside is closed and only Khufu and Khafre are open. Check at the ticket office before paying.

Why enter Menkaure

• Much quieter than the other two.
• Vaulted-ceiling chamber with funerary decoration.
• Shorter, less physically demanding access.
• You get the "full trilogy" if you enter all three.

How to combine it in your visit

The natural route is to walk the pyramids north to south, in chronological order: Khufu → Khafre → Menkaure. Behind Menkaure the site ends; from there you can head to the panorama point in the desert for the classic shot of the three lined up.

Practical tips

• Bring water: the southern section of the site has less shade.
• Better in the morning: from 13:00 onwards the heat at the base is heavy.
• Walk between Khafre and Menkaure: easy distance and lets you appreciate the scale of each.
• Don't skip the queen pyramids: more interesting up close than they look from afar.

Where to stay

As with the other two pyramids, the best base to visit Menkaure calmly is Giza / Al Haram. You'll see all three pyramids from many hotels in the area and you can reach the entrance in 5–10 minutes.