The Labyrinth at Hawara — A little known lost wonder of the ancient world

I have a riddle for you. What used to be in Egypt and was more impressive than the pyramids in Giza? Well, according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (who visited the spot in 450 BCE) that would be the Labyrinth at Hawara, an impressive temple complex built by the 12th-Dynasty Pharaoh Amenemhat III in (c.) 1800 BC (some 700 years after the great pyramids in Giza were built). The complex was located south of the Fayum Oasis in Egypt and had its very own (you guessed it) pyramid. 

Historical accounts describe the structure as absolutely massive. Herodotus himself wrote how

“[The Egyptians] made a labyrinth [… which] surpasses even the pyramids”.

A few centuries after Herodotus, a Greek geographer Strabo described the labyrinth in his work Geographica

“We have [near Lake Moeris] also the Labyrinth, a work equal to the Pyramids, and adjoining to it the tomb of the king who constructed the Labyrinth. [… This structure is a] large palace composed of as many palaces”. 

Unfortunately, the structure has been destroyed in antiquity, but scientists estimate that the floorplan of the labyrinth covered around 28,000 m² (300,000 ft²). 

Fun fact: Pharaoh Amenemhat III, who most likely built the structure, was the father of Sobekneferu aka “Neferusobek” (Egyptian: Sbk-nfrw, lit. ’Beauty of Sobek’) who is considered to be the first female Pharaoh of ancient Egypt.