Neferefre

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Neferefre
in hieroglyphs

praenomen or throne name

nomen or birth name

Neferefre (in Greek possibly identified with Cheris), was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Fifth dynasty. A significant cache of administrative papyri–comparable in size to those found in the temple of Neferirkare–was discovered by a 1982 Egyptological Institute of the University of Prague excavation in a storeroom of his mortuary temple. While Neferefre is given a reign of some twenty years in Manetho's Epitome, this seems to be a vast overestimation of his true reign length, and the current academic view is that he had a very short rule of 1 to 2 or 3 years based on the completely unfinished state of his intended pyramid. A visual examination of the partly damaged data for Neferefre's reign in the Turin King List contains space for only a single verticle stroke. This would give him a reign of only 1 Year which agrees well with the archaeological evidence. The Czech Egyptologist, Miroslav Verner, who has been working at Abusir since 1976, wrote in a recent 2001 article that:

"The shape of the tomb of Neferefra...as well as a number of other archaeological finds clearly indicate that the construction of the king's funerary monument was interrupted, owing to the unexpected early death of the king. The plan of the unfinished building had to be basically changed and a decision was taken to hastily convert the unfinished pyramid, (of which only the incomplete lowest step of the core was built), into a "square-shaped mastaba" or, more precisely, a stylized primeval hill. At the moment of the king's death neither the burial apartment was built, nor was the foundation of the mortuary temple laid." Verner then states that based on the position of a mason's inscribed Year 1 date from Neferefre's reign–"on a large corner block situated at the end of the tunnel for the [pyramid's] descending corridor...at about two thirds of the height of the extant core of the monument."–Neferefre had a reign of only "one or, probably no more than two years," (p. 400).

Neferefre was the son of king Neferirkare Kakai by queen Khentkaus II, and the elder brother of pharaoh Nyuserre Ini. The only known date from his reign is the aforementioned mason's inscription from his First Year in the foundation of his pyramid tomb. Not much is known about Neferefre, but it is possible that he planned to construct a sun temple called Hetep-Re, although such a structure has never been discovered.

[edit] Pyramid Complex

Because of the premature death of Neferefre, his successor hastily completed work on Neferefre's pyramid at Abusir, which acquired the form of a mastaba. Although it may share the same resemblance to a mastaba tomb, it is not situated north-south, and it is not rectangular in shape, but square on all sides. Known as the "Unfinished Pyramid", it stands just seven meters high, but from the constructed portions, the walls slope at a 64º angle. Similarly to other sites of other Ancient Egyptian pyramids, the burial site of Neferefre contains more than one pyramid, and his lines up the three pyramids, similarly to the Great Pyramids. Artifacts found at the sight show that the name of his pyramid is "Divine is Neferefre's Power." All the other buildings of Neferefre's mortuary complex were erected under the reign of his brother, Nyuserre Ini. While exploring ruins of the mortuary complex, a Czech archaeological expedition discovered papyri of temple accounts, statues of the king, decorated plates and many seal prints. Pieces of mummy wrappings and bones were also found, which were discovered to be the remains of Neferefre. The anthropological analysis of his mummy reveals him to have died in his early twenties, between 20 and 23 Years, according to Verner. This evidence accords well for a king who died relatively soon into his reign.