The Egyptian Antiquities Service excavation of the Sneferu Bent pyramid, Dahshur, Egypt

Dahshūr is an ancient site known for its five pyramids, located on the West bank of the Nile. Two pyramids were built in the 4th dynasty by King Snefru (2575-2551 BCE). The earliest of those two is commonly known as the Bent Pyramid, because of a change in angle during construction, and is the only pyramid that has two entrances. The remaining three pyramids were built during the 12th dynasty (1938-ca. 1756 BCE). [The J.P.Getty Fund: Thesaurus of Geographic Names]. During his trip to Egypt, Elisofon visited the archeologic site of the ancient city of Memphis, partially covered by the modern village of Mit Rahina. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.