Exploration
The building was first noticed during the early archaeological studies of the necropolis of Abusir, but was not examined intensively. John Shae Perring (1837–1839) as well as later Karl Richard Lepsius (1842–1846), Jacques de Morgan (1890s) and Ludwig Borchardt (early 20th century) gave minimal attention to the building. Lepsius categorized the ruins under the name of Lepsius XXVI in his pyramid list.
A definitive assignment of the pyramid stump was at that time not possible. Some researchers attributed it to Raneferef, others to Shepseskare Isi and others left the question of the authorship open. At that time it was unanimously decided that the early demolition excluded the theory of a funeral and consequently a mortuary cult.
An intensive research of the remains began in 1974, by the Czech team of Charles University in Prague. These studies, headed by Miroslav Verner, brought a variety of insights. The most important was the fact that the unfinished pyramid served as the king's tomb, which was proven especially through the discovery of mummy remnants. Papyri were found in the ruins of the funerary temple in the temple archives as well as statues depicting the pharaoh, a proof that the building was definitely owned by Raneferef. The study of the ruins offered a deeper insight to the engineering of pyramids in the 5th Dynasty, as the whole core masonry of the first steps was visible. This debunked Lepsius' and Borchardt's suggested theory of a structure of the slightly inward-inclined bowls with horizontal masonry.
Read more about this topic: Pyramid Of Neferefre
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