Kriti Mehrotra
As a Max-Salomon special documentary living up to its title in nearly every way imaginable, Netflix’s ‘Unknown: The Lost Pyramid’ can only be described as equal parts cultural and intriguing. That’s because it incorporates not just archival imagery but also exclusive interviews to really shine a light on how archeologists in Egypt seek to unearth archaic treasures to verify their history. Amongst them was actually the legendary Dr. Zahi Hawass as he hunts for traces of ancient King Huni — so now, if you simply wish to learn more about the same, we’ve got the details for you.
Huni’s Lost Pyramid: Existence Remains Unconfirmed
If we’re being honest, the tale of King Huni is a bit complicated since the only things uncovered until now are his name on a few age-old scrolls and a head of a statue many believe could be his. However, it has been confirmed he was the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt during the infamous Old Kingdom period, wherein he proudly reigned for a total of 24 years until 2613 BC. We say infamous because the Old Kingdom was the “Age of the Pyramids” — monarchs here were buried inside local limestone structures alongside their fortune, so Huni was likely no different.
The truth is many Egyptologists assume Huni was the father as well as the direct predecessor of King Sneferu from the Fourth Dynasty, yet even this has been questioned by other specialists. This is actually imperative to note since the Step Pyramid style is thought to have been kickstarted by him before being perfected by successors, making it possible he was buried in such a design. After all, over the past century, the Meidum or Maydum Pyramid, Edfu South Pyramid, and Cultic Step Pyramids have been either associated or outrightly credited to this pharaoh as his monuments.
Lost Pyramid of Huni Still Unfound, Excavations Continue
The Lost Pyramid of Huni, aka the tomb suspected of housing the king’s casket, treasures, and papyrus’ documenting his entire life, has not been discovered as of writing. In fact, there haven’t ever been any confirmed traces of it as desert sand has hidden a lot of necropolis Egypt from the world for millennia, plus his palace at Elephantine had no clear clues either. Nevertheless, Dr. Zahi Hawass is dedicated to locating this resting place no matter how long it takes, not just because he thinks it’s high time a local Egyptian makes such a find but also because this point of history intrigues him and he wants to impact the same.
As per archeologist Dr. Zahi’s (aka Dr. Egypt’s) careful research as well as decades of experience, King Huni’s lost pyramid is likely concealed deep within the sands of Gisr el-Mudir, Saqqara. This patch of open, unforgiving desert was reportedly never been excavated by anyone before the industry icon himself stepped foot on it in 2022, so of course, he was destined to find something. His team actually located a 100-meter-long structure within nine months, one of the largest ever found in the area, but it’s unclear precisely what it contains since its entry point has been seen.
Therefore, there’s an equal chance for it to be or not be The Lost Pyramid of Huni. “If you discover a Pyramid of a king, it’s something amazing,” Dr. Zahi candidly expressed in the original production. “I really believe that when we excavate the site completely, this will be the news all over the world because hundreds of archeologists have searched for the Pyramid of Huni. We need at least one more year of excavation.”
He continued, “…It took Howard Carter five years to find the tomb of King Tut, but he kept going because he believed in his dream. If you don’t have a dream, you’ll never get to your destination. Every morning when I wake up, I begin to dream and wonder. ‘What will we find at the excavation today? What’s inside the Pyramid? Does it really belong to Huni or some other lost pharaoh we have never heard of?’ All my dreams are in it.”
Read More: Dr. Mostafa Waziry: Where is the Egyptologist Now?
