El-Lisht in the context of Mastaba

Herbert Eustis Winlock (February 1, 1884 – January 27, 1950) was an American Egyptologist and archaeologist, employed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) for his entire career. Between 1906 and 1931 he took part in excavations at El-Lisht, Kharga Oasis and around Luxor, before serving as director of the Metropolitan Museum from 1932 to 1939.

The Pyramid of Senusret I is an Egyptian pyramid built to be the burial place of King Senusret I. The pyramid was built during the 12th Dynasty of Egypt at el-Lisht, near the pyramid of his father, Amenemhat I. Its ancient name was Senusret Peter Tawi (Senusret beholds the two lands).

The pyramid was 105 meters on each side with a height of 61.25 meters; the slope of the four faces was 49° 24'. The pyramid used a method of construction never before seen in an Egyptian pyramid; four stone walls radiated from the center built of rough-hewn blocks that decreased in size the higher their placement. The eight sections formed by these walls were then subdivided by three more walls, splitting the pyramid into 32 different units which were then filled with slabs of stone as well as debris. An exoskeleton of fine limestone then covered the structure. This new method of construction was not particularly efficient, however, and the completed pyramid suffered from stability problems. Unusually, clear evidence for the ramps used to construct the pyramid also remain.