[5] This theory appears to be born out by the fact that the adjacent Red Pyramid, was built immediately afterwards by Sneferu, constructed at an angle of 43 degrees from its base.
In 1974, Kurt Mendelssohn suggested the change of the angle to have been made as a stability precaution in reaction to a catastrophic collapse of the Meidum Pyramid while it was still under construction.
The royal tomb was no longer considered as a staircase to the stars; instead, it was served as a symbol of the solar cult and of the primeval mound from which all life sprang.
[7] It is also unique among the approximately one hundred and eighteen pyramids to be found in Egypt, in that its original polished limestone outer casing remains largely intact.
[9] Tourists are able to reach two 4,600-year-old chambers through a 79-metre (259 ft) narrow tunnel built from the northern entrance of the pyramid.
The 18-metre-high (59 ft) "side pyramid", which is assumed to have been built for Sneferu's wife Hetepheres will also be accessible.
In the first construction phase, a steep pyramid with a base length of 157 meters and an inclination angle of approximately 58° (possibly even 60°) was planned.
This increased the base length to 188 m. Here, too, inclined wall layers were used as in the step pyramids, because masons were not able to produce trapezoid stones at this phase.
[16][better source needed] The Bent Pyramid has two entrances, one fairly low down on the north side, to which a substantial wooden stairway has been built for the convenience of tourists.
One of these was lowered in antiquity and a hole has been cut through it, the other remains propped up by a piece of ancient cedar wood.
The Valley temple front is facing south and helps to form the northern boundary of the court.
The burial chamber is accessible from a descending corridor with its entrance located 1.10 metres (3 ft 7 in) above the ground in the middle of the north face.
[24] When the archaeologists observed the landscape closely, the plateau of the pyramid seemed leveled artificially and nearby escarpment and trenches were all made by human beings.
The slope of southern wadi channel seemed to have been rectified when the archaeologists compared it to the natural and twisted northern side.
Arne Ramisch supported this idea by providing evidence that displays a low correlation of fraternal patterns of channel and natural topography in the environs, which is southern side of wadi, of the Bent Pyramid.
Based on available evidence, garden enclosure and water basins both are the counterparts of funeral rites which indicates a regular practice of rituals at Dahshur.
A multi-author study has shed light on the question where the material of the casing of the Bent Pyramid originated from, and whether it is dressed stone or an early form of concrete.
By examining NMR spectra it was shown that these stones consist of limestone from the Tura quarries, brought across from the opposite bank of the Nile and cemented with an artificial calcium-silicate binder, probably using diatomaceous earth from Fayium.