The study of the pyramid complex of Pepi I falls on the XIX, XX and early XXI centuries. Each of these periods has its own characteristic features, which are determined by the scale of work carried out, their scientific and technical level and the achieved scientific and practical results. For such a long period of time (more than 130 years) scientists have collected a huge amount of scientific material and new data on a variety of problems related to the study of this monument. Excavations of the pyramid complex continue to this day.

Keywords: Ancient Egypt, archeology, Pepi I Pyramid, Pyramid texts.

To date, the surveyed part of the complex includes nine excavated pyramids: the pyramid of King Pepi I 1 himself with the northern chapel and the pyramids of members of the royal family with funeral temples adjacent to them. They are located in the necropolis of Saqqara near the ancient capital of the Egyptian kings, Memphis.

Conventionally, the history of studying the sepulchral complex of Pepi I can be divided into two stages: the discovery and first research of the pyramid texts (they fall in the middle of the XIX - beginning of the XX century) and a comprehensive study of the monument (the middle of the XX - beginning of the XXI century).

The first pyramid of Pepi I was described in the late 1830s. Vyse and engineer D. Perring [Vyse, 1842, p. 51]. But due to its poor preservation, the pyramid did not interest researchers, and no attempts were made to examine it more thoroughly. Wiz and Perring were also very interested in studying the pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty kings at Giza, especially the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Another famous researcher of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, the Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius, mentions the pyramid of Pepi I among others in his work "Monuments of Egypt and Ethiopia" (Lepsius, 1849). However, his research also focused on the larger pyramids at Abusir, Medum, and Saqqara.

By the end of the 19th century, scientists had already examined quite a large number of ancient Egyptian pyramids - in Giza, Saqqara, Abusir, Medum, and Dahshur. By that time, no inscriptions had been found in any of them. At that time, Egyptological science was firmly convinced, expressed by the famous traveler and authoritative researcher Auguste Mariette, that all the Egyptian pyramids were "mute", and they could not contain any inscriptions [Maspero, 1884, p. 157]. However, a simple accident changed everything.

In 1879, an underground chamber was discovered in the ruins of the royal tomb in Saqqara, the walls of which were covered with ancient hieroglyphs. At Mariette's request, Emil Brugsch made prints of several fragments, which were then sent to the young scientist Gaston Maspero. Maspero deciphered the cartouche

1 The reign of Pepi I is attributed to 2300-2250 BC [Lexikon der Ägyptologie, 1980, col. 926], according to Allen to 2289-2255 BC [Allen, 2005, p. 1].

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with the name of King Pepi I and ventured to suggest that the inscription was found in the royal pyramid [Maspero, 1884, p. 158]. In search of proof of his hypothesis, Maspero urgently came to Saqqara and asked to open for inspection another pyramid - King Merenr, inside which he also found texts. The next five months of 1881 shocked the entire Egyptological world. From January to May 1881, inscriptions were discovered in three more pyramids of kings of the V and VI dynasties-Unas, Pepi II, Teti.

Maspero was appointed Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service and began the first serious research of the discovered pyramids [Maspero, 1887, p. 125]. All of them, including the pyramid of Pepi I, were badly destroyed. From the pyramid of Pepi I, there are several massive masonry foundations with a deep pit in the middle. The huge beams of the pyramid's floors were broken. Fragments of texts once etched on the interior walls of the rooms were scattered among the rubble of stone blocks facing. Some of the rooms of the pyramid that were accessible were measured, and an accurate plan of the tomb was drawn up. Together with a group of scientists - the Brugsch brothers, Burian, Wilbur - Maspero made prints and copies of all the hieroglyphic inscriptions found in the pyramids right on the spot. Almost immediately, he began work on the collected texts, which took more than a decade. In 1882-1892 Maspero published some of the inscriptions in separate articles, providing them with a translation. A combined edition of the texts was published in 1894 (Maspero, 1894). Given the imperfect means of the time, the innovation of Maspero's idea itself, and the level of knowledge in Egyptological science, I cannot but agree with Kurt Zethe in evaluating the results achieved by Maspero as "deserving of the greatest respect" (Sethe, 1908, S. V).

In 1908, the outstanding Egyptologist Kurt Sethe, after studying all the collected prints of inscriptions, published a new collection of texts, which also included the texts of the pyramid of Pepi I (Sethe, 1908-1922). For the convenience of using the synopsis of texts, Zethe divided them into chapters (Sprüche) and paragraphs.

After a tumultuous period of scientific discovery in the 19th and 20th centuries, scientists ' visits to the Pyramid of Pepi I and its research were suspended for 67 years. A new milestone in the history of the pyramid complex is associated with the work of the French Archaeological Mission (Mission archéologique française de Saqqara).

In 1951, on the advice of the Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, Pierre Lacot, the French scientists San Far Garneau and Jean-Philippe Loyer decided to continue their research of the pyramids and study the texts in Saqqara (Leclant, 1979, p. 5). This choice was due to another interesting find in the area. In 1924-1936, during excavations led by the Swiss Egyptologist Gustave Jecquier, four pyramids with texts were discovered. Three of them are the pyramids of the wives of King Pepi II (Ujebten, Neit, Iput), one is the pyramid of King VIII of the Aba dynasty. Such significant results attracted the attention of scientists to the discovered Maspero, but not yet excavated pyramids of Saqqara: Teti, Pepi I, Merenra. In the same year, 1951, Garneau and Loyer begin work on clearing and copying texts in the Teti pyramid. However, political events - the change of power in the country, and then the sudden death of Garneau in 1963-interrupted the research that had begun. The work was resumed only in 1964 by the French Archaeological Mission (FAM) under the leadership of Jean-Philippe Loyer and Jean Leclan, together with the Egyptian Antiquities Service (Mathieu, 2001, p. 44).

In the pyramid of Pepi I, archaeological work by the French Archaeological Mission began in 1965. With regret, archaeologists had to state that since the time of Maspero, the general condition of the royal tomb and its underground rooms has deteriorated even more. Of course, during its centuries-old history, the pyramid of Pepi I suffered from the effects of time and the environment, but their impact seems insignificant compared to what man did. Even in the period of the Ancient Kingdom, this monument was first subjected to barbaric looting, then, during the First Transition Period, most of the funeral temple was severely damaged by fire and was again looted. The Islamic period turned out to be the most destructive: as an external part

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both the pyramid and its inner chambers were used as quarries for stone extraction. Even in the short time interval between Maspero and Zete's exploration of the pyramid of Pepi I, several fragments of texts were stolen from the wreckage located in the descent or directly in the pyramid itself, which soon appeared in private collections.

By the time the French archaeological mission began, the ruins of the pyramid of Pepi I towered only 10.4 m above the rubble and sand heaps, and a huge pit gaped in the center. The ruins of the temple complex stretched along endless sand hills far to the east (Cornon and Labrousse, 1990, p. 123). The pyramid's interior was accessible only through a steep and steep manhole at its top, made by medieval robbers and stonecutters. It led to the heart of the stone structure - the burial chamber of the king. That's how Loyer and Leclane got inside the pyramid. The entire chamber was littered with tens of thousands of stone fragments of various origins: randomly piled up fragments of floor beams, blocks of the vaulted ceiling that had collapsed and been dismantled by medieval stonecutters, and stone blocks of the inner walls of the cell. Gradually, the rooms were cleared of the sand that filled them and the debris of stones that had accumulated over the millennia. However, this task was not easy. The entire structure of the pyramid's interior was extremely unstable and posed a danger to archaeologists, as it could collapse at any moment.

Scientists were faced with the task of carrying out restoration work along with archaeological ones. In the course of the work, many other problems also arose. In the narrow space of underground chambers, it was necessary to lift huge blocks with the help of jacks and restore them to their original places, sometimes weighing up to 10 tons. Such laborious work took a huge amount of time and effort. After clearing the chambers, the archaeologists managed to get to the inner walls with texts that, due to the rubble, were not copied earlier by any of the predecessors. This was a great success for the mission participants. Excavations in the pyramid of Pepi I continued until 1988. During this time, the following rooms of the tomb were cleared and restored: an inclined shaft leading into the underground chambers, a horizontal passage with three descending stone doors, a vestibule, an anterior chamber, a serdab and a burial chamber of the king. Simultaneously with the clearing of the king's pyramid, excavations of the surrounding temple complex were carried out. The remains of the valley temple of the sepulchral complex of Pepi I were located during electromagnetic sensing in 1988, but its excavation has not yet begun. The burial boat of Pepi I has not yet been found.

Studies of the pyramid complex of Pepi I turned into large-scale systematic work. They were held annually, the season lasted from February to May. The composition of the mission was initially small, the French side was represented by Loyer and Leclan. However, two years later they were joined by a group of scientists from the National Center for Scientific Research, including: Georges Goyon, Mr. and Mrs. Jaceman, Catherine Berger-el Naggar, epigraphist artist Isabelle Pierre-Croisiot, restorer Michel Wootman. In 1973, the architect-archaeologist Audran Labrousse became a permanent member of the French mission, and later its director. Since 2007, Philippe Colomber has been responsible for managing and conducting the expedition.

For several decades, while the ancient monument was being investigated, a number of scientists and officials from various countries provided assistance to PHAM. It wasn't just a joint collaboration. Some participated on a voluntary basis, others provided all possible support and assistance, and others provided the exchange of scientific information and scientific recognition. Among the scientists who took part in the archaeological work was our Russian Egyptologist E. E. Kormysheva. Detailed progress reports published by

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Each year, they aroused great scientific interest and allowed Egyptologists to follow the progress of research [Leclant, 1967-1998].

Thanks to the long-term collective work of scientists, the following works were carried out in the funeral complex of Pepi I: archaeological excavations, conservation and restoration of the monument, architectural and epigraphic studies, restoration of pyramid Texts, computer reconstruction of the funeral complex of the king. During the years of excavation of the royal pyramid, more than ten thousand fragments of stone blocks were raised, among which more than three thousand contained texts. Almost immediately, scientists began to reunite disparate fragments with texts into meaningful phrases. The first step was to make an inventory of all known parallels of the Pyramid Texts. This includes texts discovered by Maspero and published by Zethe, texts collected by Jequier, and finally texts discovered by PHAM in the course of research on other Saqqara pyramids. As excavation progressed in the pyramid's underground chambers, the number of fragments with texts quickly increased, and their study became increasingly difficult. Now it was like putting together a huge puzzle with missing pieces of text, the absence of which was impossible to calculate initially. It took scientists many years of hard and painstaking work, trial and error, to put most of the collected fragments of texts together into a single whole.

For almost forty years, the French archaeological mission has been investigating the texts of the interior of the pyramid of Pepi I. Separately, a list of formulas discovered for the first time in the pyramid of Pepi I was compiled - they are designated under the numbers 1001 - 1081. New formulas are found in all chambers of the pyramid: in the burial chamber (south, east, north walls), the transition from the burial chamber to the front chamber (south wall), the front chamber (south, east, north walls), the transition from the front chamber to serdab (south, north, east walls), the descending shaft (the front part is the western wall, the back part is the western wall), the vestibule (eastern wall), the horizontal transition from the vestibule to the anterior chamber (rear part, eastern wall) [Leclant, Berger-el Naggar, Mathieu, Pierre-Croisiau, 2001, p. 247]. Also highlighted were: new versions of already known formulas; fragments for which it was impossible to find the appropriate place in the text; fragments of inscriptions stored in the collections of Egyptian antiquities of various museums around the world - the Royal Museum of Art History (Brussels), the Egyptian Museum (Cairo), the British Museum (London),the Petrie Museum (London), Louvre Museum (Paris), Moscow State Museum of Fine Arts. A. S. Pushkin Museum (Moscow), the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge, UK), the Oriental Institute (Chicago, USA), the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (Uppsala, Sweden). When photos of these fragments were received, they were added to the shared copies and placed in the appropriate place.

Simultaneously with the pyramid of Pepi I, work was carried out on inscriptions in the pyramids of Unas, Teti, Merenra, Pepi II. Using the method of comparative analysis of texts, scientists were able to make important discoveries in the field of ancient Egyptian morphology, syntax and lexicography, as well as in the field of methodology for studying Pyramid Texts. Based on the data obtained during the study of the pyramid of Pepi I, the artist FAM Isabel Pierre-Croisiot was able to trace the stages of applying texts to the inner walls of the pyramid [Pierre, 1990, p. 66].

Analysis of the texts of the pyramid of Pepi I allows us to draw the following conclusions. Inscriptions in the underground chambers of the tomb were placed on the walls in a certain order. Conventionally, three types of religious formulas can be distinguished. As it turned out, all of them are also found in the texts of other pyramids - Unas, Teti, Merenre, Pepi II and are often located on the same walls [Mathieu, 2001, p. 51]. The first type - "ritual" texts or texts of sacrifices, are carved on the inner north wall of the burial chamber. The second type is "theological or cosmographic" texts.

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In pyramids with texts, they are located on the southern wall of the burial chamber. The third type - "protective" texts, are spells that protect the deceased from polymorphic enemies, metaphorical images of which are quite common on the walls of the pyramid - these are snakes, scorpions, lions and bulls. Spells are placed on the eastern wall of the anterior chamber (Leclant, 1990, p. 64). A comparative analysis of the Pyramid texts indicates that the set of utterances changed depending on the time of origin of the monument (Leclant, 1985, p. 300). In the pyramid of Pepi I, quite a few fragments of texts have been identified that appear for the first time in this pyramid, and then occur in the successors of Pepi I-in the pyramids of Merenra and Pepi P. Some of these fragments of texts are repeated twice or even three times, such as the texts in the burial chamber of the king, which indicates their special significance for the deceased. The same phenomenon can often be observed in later monuments - on the walls of internal and external sarcophagi of the tsar's subjects.

The increase in the number of texts and the discovery of new variants led to the need to introduce a new classification of inscriptions. Scientists of the French Archaeological Mission developed their own system of designations based on the location of texts in the inner chambers of the pyramid. For each wall containing texts, a code was entered consisting of the name of the king (queen or individual) for whom the tomb was built, the name of the tomb room, the orientation of the walls to the cardinal directions, and the ordinal number of the column or line of text. The arrangement of the text on the walls of the inner chambers of the tomb has two directions of reading: according to the progress of the funeral procession (from the northern sanctuary to the burial chamber) and in the opposite direction, from the sarcophagus to the exit, as it would be read by a resurrected king ascending to heaven. For its system of designations, PHAM adopted the first sequence of text placement: from the outer entrance deep into the pyramid, to the burial site. The proposed system of designations makes it easy to find the location of inscriptions in tomb chambers or compare them with inscriptions in different pyramids. This system was applied to all Pyramid Texts studied by FAM.

The graphical text system of the Pyramid of Pepi I has a number of interesting and unique features. First of all, it should be noted that the shape of some hieroglyphic signs in the epochs that followed the period of the Ancient Kingdom changed greatly, and some of the signs were not preserved at all. Among the hieroglyphic signs there are quite rare images of various animals, such as lions, bulls, elephants, giraffes. The outline of the sign is completely carved in stone, but the images of animals are divided into two parts - one of them is either not painted over,or half filled with plaster. In the earlier pyramids of Unas and Teti, such phenomena are not found, the animals are depicted in full, and their figures were not subjected to any changes. However, this tradition of deforming images is preserved in the pyramids of the successor kings of Pepi I - Merenre and Pepi II. Also, in the texts of Pepi I, a complete image of a person is never found, but only its individual parts. Based on the collected data, Pierre suggested that such changes were related to the religious beliefs of the Egyptians and were a manifestation of sacred awe towards the Pyramid Texts as a whole and individual hieroglyphs [Pierre, 1990, p. 65]. According to the Egyptians, any image had magical power, and scribes tried to neutralize some hieroglyphic characters. But why this fear might have increased is anyone's guess.

It is important to note that the texts in the pyramid of the king were subject to changes. In some places, the text was even corrected several times. The replaced signs were sometimes scraped off, and sometimes covered with plaster on top. In the texts, two throne names of King Pepi I are used-Nfr-z3-Hr (Beautiful is our Choir) and Mrjj-R'

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(Beloved of Ra). The question of the reasons that prompted the tsar to change his throne name is still debatable.

The results of research on the texts of the pyramid of Pepi I became one of the most interesting in scientific terms and fully rewarded the mission scientists for their many years of hard work. It is safe to say that the new data obtained greatly enriched the knowledge of Egyptologists in the field of Pyramid Texts.

As the research progressed, the mission participants came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a single corpus of texts from the pyramid of Pepi I and completely reconstruct them on the inner walls of the Pyramid of the king.

Restoration work under the direction of Michel Wootman began in 1984 and continued until 1995. During the work, blocks of the pyramid's interior walls and ceiling were almost completely restored and repaired. However, one of the main difficulties for the restorers was to solve the problem of the destructive impact on the pyramid of the environment-the salts and water that soaked and destroyed the limestone. After carefully studying the condition of the monument, Wuttmann developed a special method of restoration [Wuttmann, 1990, p. 73]. The resulting sharp salt crystals were carefully removed with a brush. Between the stages of restoration inside the pyramid, a break was made, about one year, so that the masonry and plaster could dry out, and the resulting moisture did not damage the stone blocks with texts. The cracks and voids between the limestone blocks of the pyramid's surface were filled with a special, similar-colored mortar consisting of sand, lime, lime powder, and a small amount of cement. The work carried out was an important stage for further reconstruction of the texts located on the inner walls of the pyramid of Pepi I.

During the restoration of the texts, it was decided not to glue fragments and blocks with texts together, but to install fragments and large blocks on the masonry made of limestone, previously cleaned of soluble salts. First of all, it was necessary to make it possible to add new fragments with texts to the restored internal walls at any time or change their position.

As a result of the complex work carried out by the FAM, the pyramid of the king was preserved and completely restored inside. It has regained its original appearance, and the restored texts have regained life.

Audran Labrousse conducted a thorough study of the architecture of the pyramids of kings of the V-VI dynasties, excavated by the French archaeological mission [Labrousse, 1996, 2000]. Based on their comparative analysis, it is now possible to more clearly trace the evolution of the architecture of the royal pyramids. Research has confirmed the previously established view that by the end of the Fifth Dynasty, pyramid architecture tends to be simplified and uniform. The pyramids are already much smaller than the previous ones. The interior layout and composition of the four pyramids of the kings of the VI Dynasty-Teti, Pepi I, Merenre and Pepi II-are approximately the same. The same size of the sides of their base (78.6 m), the height of the faces (52.4 m), which formed the sacred triangle (4/3). Regarding the relationship between tomb architecture and Pyramid Texts, Labrus concluded that the first appearance of these texts in the pyramid of Unas and their maximum development in the pyramid of Pepi I were not accompanied by significant architectural changes. The texts covered more or less space inside the subterranean chambers of the royal pyramids. The biggest changes concerned the dimensions of architectural elements - the length of the lobby, the passage, the serdab, and even the descent. The pyramid of Pepi I reveals a number of distinctive features and innovations introduced by ancient builders. Almost all the interior walls of the pyramid of Pepi I, with the exception of the serdab and a small part of the descent, located under the northern sanctuary, are covered from top to bottom with funeral texts. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs lose their polychrome, they are painted in a single color.-

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lazy color - the color of a young growth, symbolizing growth and rebirth. A similar technique would later be used in the pyramids of Pepi I's successors. In the burial chamber, a canopic jar with an authentic lid has been preserved, which is a rare find. The contents of one of the canopies, fragments of a calcite canopic jar, as well as gilding on hieroglyphic characters of the text on the sarcophagus of the king were preserved.

The study of the architecture of the pyramids of the kings of the Fifth and Sixth dynasties touches on a number of extremely interesting but complex problems, such as the location of the pyramid on the ground, orientation, symmetry, the ritual of laying, the choice of sacred space, the stages of construction, the construction material used, construction methods and design of the complex. Some of these issues are still debatable: for example, the orientation of the pyramid to the royal palace in Memphis, which may have been only symbolic [Labrousse, 1996, p. 75], the secondary use of stone blocks in the construction of the funeral complex [Maspero, 1884, p. 158] (22 blocks from the funeral complex were discovered). the complex of Pepi I's predecessor and father, King Teti), the existence of a special religious ritual for laying the pyramid (Labrousse, 1996, p. 121). The hypothesis remains the assumption of Labrus about the relationship between the architecture and Texts of the pyramids. In his opinion, the texts that expressed the idea of the posthumous ascension of the king, as it were, emphasized the symbolism of the architecture of the pyramid rising up [Labrousse, 1996, p. 183]. But, without a doubt, texts are immeasurably more versatile than architectural symbolism.

The final stage of FAM's work was the creation of a computer reconstruction of the funeral complex of King Pepi I. In 1988, together with the Electricite de France, the French Archaeological Mission began to develop a special program aimed at creating a computer model of the Pepi I architectural complex. The project was led by Audran Labrousse and Patrice Cornon, an EDF research engineer. The basis of this project was the use of a computer-aided design system (SAP) [Cornon and Labrousse, 1990, p. 124]. Thanks to the latest technical developments, scientists were able for the first time to recreate the entire architectural ensemble of the funeral complex of King Pepi I.

The next important stage in the study of the pyramid complex of Pepi I, which should be mentioned in particular, was the study of the pyramids of the king's wives. As scientists assumed, there should have been other places of worship near the funeral complex of the tsar. The pyramid of the king was surrounded by the tombs of queens, princes, officials and nobles, contemporaries of the pharaoh, who served their master and received his favor after his death.

By the beginning of the search for the tombs of the king's wives, it was known from documentary sources that Pepi I had three wives. The first was named Imtes. The other two were sisters with the same names-Ankhnespepi 1, Ankhnespepi II. The results of the archaeological work carried out by the French mission turned out to be stunning and quite seriously changed the previously known historical facts. In 1987, an archaeological mission led by Leclan began searching for the tombs of the wives of King Pepi I. After several unsuccessful attempts, it was decided to use a new method of searching for archaeological sites that had not previously been used in Egyptology. Now the search for ancient burial structures was carried out by scientists together with engineers from Electricite de France and the Company de Prospeccion Geophysicist Francaise using the latest technical and geophysical equipment. Nevertheless, the task of finding ancient burial structures under several meters of sand and stone fragments remained quite difficult. The EDF team was led by Jacques Montluson, geological engineer Pierre Deletier, Jean-Pierre Baron and Yves Lemoine. Based on the type and structure of the object under study, geophysicists decided to use several geophysical methods of surface investigation to search for it. The main ones

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The methods used were electromagnetic and magnetic analysis, electrical sensing, and the use of ultrasonic frequencies (Deletie, Lemoine, and Montluçon, 1990, p. 88).

After analyzing the estimated size and orientation of the tombs of the queens in relation to the pyramid of the king, the mission scientists selected three priority research areas. Soil soundings were made in these areas. Based on the information received, further excavations were planned, which lasted about ten years. As a result of the FAM, three pyramids of the queens consorts of Pepi I (Inenek - Inti, Nubunet, an unnamed "western" queen) were excavated. Thus, it became known about three more wives of King Pepi I. The names of two of them became known for the first time in history - these are Queens Inenek/Inti and Nubunet. The third wife was known to have been " the wife of Pepi I and the eldest daughter of the king ." In the western part of the pyramid of the king, the remains of the tomb of Prince Khor-necheri-het were discovered/Necherikhethor, son of Pepi I. This was the first, and so far only, discovery of the pyramid of the prince of the Ancient Kingdom era, discovered in the necropolis of the wives of the king. Studies have shown that Khor-necheri-het died young, before his accession to the throne, and was buried by his mother, Queen Mehaa, also a previously unknown wife of Pepi I (Labrousse, 2001, p. 58). Excavations of the prince's rather large tomb were continued in 2008.

It was surprising that during the excavations of the pyramid complex of the king, no pyramids of the three previously known wives of Pepi I were found. Moreover, scientists hoped to find new Pyramid Texts in the tombs of the queens studied, similar to those discovered in the 1930s by Gustave Jequier. But no funeral texts were found inside the pyramids.

Excavations of the necropolis by the French archaeological mission were continued. In April 1997, a discovery was made that met all the long-term expectations of scientists - the funeral complex of Queen Ankhnespepi II was discovered-the wife of Pepi I and mother of Pepi P. The discovery of new pyramid Texts inside the tomb of the queen became a real sensation in the Egyptological world. As you know, the image of Pyramid Texts on the walls of the tomb was a privilege of the Egyptian kings of the V and VI dynasties. Ankhnespepi II became the first ancient Egyptian queen to receive this right on an equal basis with the king. And later this right was granted to the wives of Pepi P.

Research at the Ankhnespepi II memorial complex allowed scientists to rethink previously known historical data from the Ancient Kingdom period. It was possible to restore genealogical ties in the royal family of the VI dynasty, including the royal harem. As it turned out, the wife of Pepi I, Queen mother of Ankhnespepi II, after the death of the king, married her nephew, the son of Pepi I and her own or half-sister of Ankhnespepi I - Merenra. Then she becomes regent for her son, Pepi II. Perhaps, because of such a high social status, Ankhnespepi II was honored, like the Pharaoh, to inscribe the Texts of the pyramids on the walls of her tomb. However, the new discovery led to new problems. Now scientists have a question: whose son was actually King Pepi II-Pepi I or Merenra? Further research may provide an answer to this question.

During the research of the necropolis in 1999-2000, the pyramids of previously unknown queens were also discovered near the pyramid of Pepi I: the consort of King Neferkar (probably Pepi II) Meretites II, possibly the daughters of Pepi I, the pyramid of Pepi II's consort Ankhnespepi III [Leclant and Labrousse, 2001, p. 2], the daughter of Merenre, and the tomb of the young priestess Hathor, also named Ankhnespepi. The location of the tomb of Pepi I's wife, Queen Ankhnespepi I, remains an unsolved mystery, although it would seem that her grave should be located in the immediate vicinity of the king's pyramid.

In the following years, the French archaeological Mission examined several monuments of the funeral cult of private individuals of a later era - the First Transition Period, discovered during the excavations of the pyramid complex of Pepi I.

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In 2004, to the north of the pyramid of Queen Ankhnespepi III, a small pyramid of Reherichefnacht was found almost completely destroyed. The tomb was excavated in 2005. Studies have shown that the owner of the pyramid lived at the very end of the XI dynasty-the beginning of the XII dynasty, but was in no way connected with the royal family. However, it is interesting that the tomb walls contain both Pyramid Texts and Sarcophagus Texts. This once again demonstrates the common nature of these texts, the origin of which is still not agreed upon [Mathieu, 2004, p. 247-262].

Excavations of the Pepi I necropolis by the French archaeological Mission were continued, and in 2006 a new interesting discovery was made. Next to the tomb of Khor-necheri-het, a pyramid and the funeral temple of another wife of Pepi I, the previously unknown Queen Behenu, were discovered. Excavations of this complex continue to this day. The first studies have already yielded important results. Similar to the tomb of Ankhnespepi II, fragments of Pyramid Texts were also found in Behenu's tomb (Berger-el Naggar, Fraise, 2008, p. 1). The findings raised new questions for future research. As mentioned above, the first queen to have the honor, like Pharaoh, of inscribing Pyramid Texts on the walls of her tomb was Ankhnespepi P. The next queen to accept this honor was Queen Neith, the wife of Pepi II and possibly the daughter of Ankhnespepi P. Scholars have suggested that Queen Behenu may have had some family ties with Ankhnespepi P. These and many other secrets of the genealogy of the royal house may be revealed during further excavations of the archaeological mission in the pyramid complex of Pepi I.

A special stage in the work of the French Archaeological Mission was the publication of research results. Over the years of research, the mission's participants have published two monographs. The first work is Audran Labrousse's two - volume work "Pyramid Architecture with texts", devoted to a comparative analysis of the architecture of the pyramids of the kings of the V-VI dynasties, the second is a collective work of the mission participants Leclan, Berger-el Naggar, Mathieu, Pierre-Croisiot "Texts of the Pyramid of Pepi I". The first volume of this major work contains a description and analysis of all the texts, indicating their location in the tomb. The second volume is an excellent facsimile of these texts. The next editions will be devoted to the translation of these texts and their paleographic research.

This is briefly the history of the study of the pyramid complex of Pepi I. Excavations of the royal necropolis are currently ongoing, which means that its history has not yet been completed. All the scientists who studied this monument made a huge contribution to the study of the history and culture of Ancient Egypt. The works carried out by FAM, as well as the results obtained, are of exceptional scientific interest. The method developed in the course of research is innovative: when studying the monument, electrical exploration, magnetic exploration, and aerial photography were used for the first time.

Thanks to PHAM's research in the funeral complex of Pepi I, his complete death was prevented. The Pyramid of Pepi I has become one of the most painstakingly researched monuments. Today, this unique ancient complex is no longer a field covered with ruins, but one of the most impressive archaeological sites - an authentic open-air museum.

list of literature

Allen J.P. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Translation with an introduction and notes. Atlanta. 2005.

Berger-el Naggar C., Fraise M.-N. Behenu, "aimee de Pepi", une nouvelle reine d'Egypte // Bulletin del'Istitut francais d'archeologie orientale. N 108. Le Caire, 2008.

Cornon P., Labrousse A. La CAO au complexe funeraire de Pepi Ier // Dossiers d'archeologie. N 146 - 147. Dijon, 1990.

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