ABU RUWAYSH

also spelled Abu Roash, ancient Egyptian site of a 4th-dynasty (c. 2575-c. 2465 BC) pyramid built by Redjedef, usually considered the third of the seven kings of that dynasty. The site is about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the Pyramids of Giza (Al-Jizah) on the west bank of the Nile River. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site-along with Dahshur, Saqqarah, Abu Sir, Memphis, and the Pyramids of Giza-that was designated in 1979. Of the pyramid superstructure very little remains, and some scholars believe that it was never finished-a theory reinforced by evidence that the walls of the mortuary temple next to the pyramid were hastily made of mud brick instead of the usual cut stone; the complex was also deliberately ransacked, as Redjedef was involved in a dynastic struggle. Nothing remains of the pyramid's valley temple, but the causeway from it to the mortuary temple can still be traced. An Early Dynastic (c. 2925-c. 2575 BC) private cemetery has also been found at Abu Ruwaysh.