Pyramid of Djed-Ef-Ra in Abu Rawash

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To the north of the Giza plateau , stands the Pyramid of Djed-ef-Re . King Djed-ef-Re , son of King Khufu , chose to build his pyramid 8 km to the north of his father's . The exact reason behind choosing this particular site remains not very clear; however , the choice of a site is usually according to reasons , either practical , religious or political . Considering the pyramids of one dynasty , such as those of the Fifth Dynasty , we find them distributed between Abusir , North Saqqara , and South Saqqara . Khufu himself chose a location for his pyramid different from that of his father Sneferu , who built at Dahshur . Likely , Djed-ef-Re found that the hill he chose is a suitable place to erect his pyramid on because it overlooks the valley . Additionally , some discoveries and burials of the First and Second Dynasties attest that the site was known since the pre-historic times . After the reign of Djed-ef-Re , and throughout the ancient Egyptian history , some parts of the site of Abu-Rawwash were used to cut some tombs in the rock .
The pyramid was discovered in the beginning of the last century , and it was clear that the pyramid had a complex that consisted of: the pyramid , the mortuary temple , the causeway , and the valley temple . The excavations are still going nowadays to find out more about this complex . To the south of the mortuary temple , which is situated to the east of the pyramid , was discovered a boat-pit , cut in the rock . It must have contained a wooden boat , similar to the one that was discovered and was attributed to Khufu .
The pyramid is now destroyed except for a number of stories of stone blocks , no more than 12 m in height; and it seems that there was a granite casing on it . At the end of the last century , some archaeologists and visitors of the site referred to the existence of another mud-brick pyramid at Abu-Rawwash , but no proof attesting this currently remains .