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View looking up the north face near the entrance to the pyramid; Dahshur is the site of an ancient Egyptian necropolis consisting of Old and Middle Kingdom pyramids, on the west bank of the Nile, 75 km south of Cairo. The oldest pyramid is that of King Sneferu (reigned ca. 2575-ca. 2551 BCE), which is the first to have been designed from the start as a true pyramid. The angle of its sides was decreased halfway up, giving it a rhomboidal appearance, hence its name of Bent Pyramid. Sneferu's other monument, the Red Pyramid, lies 2 km north of the Bent Pyramid. The angle of its sides is the same as that of the upper part of its southern predecessor. Although the pyramid's casing was almost completely removed by later builders, its capstone has been found; this pyramidion (Cairo, Egyptian Museum) is the oldest so far discovered and the only one surviving from the Old Kingdom. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/16/2008)