Satellite Pyramid of Pepi II

29.8400°N, 31.2138°E.

The satellite pyramid of Pepi II at South Saqqara, immediately south of the main pyramid of pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare (r. ~2278–2184 BCE), the longest-reigning pharaoh in Egyptian history. Original base 15.7 metres per side; original height around 13 metres at a steep slope. Excavated by Gustave Jéquier between 1926 and 1932. The structure follows the standard Sixth-Dynasty satellite-pyramid template: a small ritual pyramid with a granite-lined chamber and a shallow descending corridor, no human burial, no canopic equipment, and no funerary goods. The satellite pyramid of Pepi II is the latest large satellite pyramid built in the Old Kingdom — subsequent Sixth-Dynasty rulers built no more, and the form effectively died with the dynasty.

A small ritual pyramid attached to the main pyramid of the king who outlived his sons, his viziers, and the dynasty itself, and which closes a four-century-old architectural tradition.