Perhaps Pepi I had moved the royal palace south and away from the city, or perhaps no viable sites were left in North and Central Saqqara after Teti built his pyramid there.

Excavation work at the causeway has only extended out to a few metres, and the valley temple and pyramid town remain unexcavated.

He selected a site in South Saqqara, a mound that had been previously mapped by Karl Richard Lepsius, for his first archaeological dig.

[4] Under Jean Leclant's supervision, a "major architectural and epigraphic project" was undertaken in the pyramids of Unas, Teti, Pepi I, and Merenre I.

It was revealed that the texts in Pepi I's pyramid were engraved and painted in a shade of green, referred to by ancient Egyptians as wadj, that symbolized "renewal and germination".

[30] Inenek-Inti, a wife of Pepi I, appears on multiple blocks inscribed with titles indicating her role as the architect and builder of the monument.

[41][38] A fragmentary inscription found by MAFS in 1993 belonging to Khaemwaset, High Priest of Memphis and son of Ramesses II,[42] from the Nineteenth Dynasty indicates that the pyramid was in relatively good condition at this time, needing only minor improvements.

[2] The remaining ruins leave a mound about 12 m (39 ft; 23 cu) tall,[1][5] with a pit in its centre dug by stone robbers.

[46] MAFS made a rare discovery while conducting restorative work in the chamber:[2] a pink granite canopic chest, sunk into a niche at the foot of the sarcophagus, along with a bundle of viscera, once contained inside an alabaster jar and retaining its shape, presumed to belong to the king.

[38][2] The provenance of a mummy fragment and fine linen wrappings found in the burial chamber are unknown, but are hypothesized to belong to Pepi I.

[46] The walls of Pepi I's antechamber, burial chamber, and corridor were inscribed with vertical columns of green painted hieroglyphic text.

[55][58] The function of the texts, in congruence with all funerary literature, was to enable the reunion of the ruler's ba and ka leading to the transformation into an akh,[64][62] and to secure eternal life among the gods in the sky.

The remainder of the south wall of the burial chamber is inscribed with the Resurrection Ritual;[75] these deal with the king's relationship with the gods and his departure from his tomb.

Their dominant theme is the king's ascent into the sky, alongside other personal texts, a protective spell for the tomb, and a "final imprecation against the guardian of the door" in the north-east section.

[91] Limestone statues of kneeling captives with hands tied behind their backs were discovered[90] in the south-western section of the inner temple, where they were planned to be thrown into a lime furnace.

[2] Miroslav Verner states that these statues once lined open columned courtyard, and possibly also the entrance hall, where they served to ward off anyone who threatened the tomb.

Discoveries inside the room include sections of pavement along with the base of the central column which remained in situ in the chamber's centre.

Each doorjamb has a complete image of the queen depicting her as a slender woman, wearing a wig that frames her face, equipped with a scabbard and a large necklace dangling around her neck.

[107][108] Her name and title are inscribed on the doorjambs: "the wife of the king, his beloved, Nebuunet" (French: l'épouse du roi, son aimée, Noubounet).

[103] Inside the hall, fragments of sculptures depict the queen on a podium with lions facing a goddess holding a was scepter and the ankh sign.

The pillars are engraved with Inenek-Inti's name, and the queen depicted seated, breathing in the scent of a lotus flower.

[113][108][98] Substantial remains of funerary equipment were found inside, but no name:[116] wooden weights and ostrich feathers, copper fish hooks, and fired-clay vessels.

[118][98] It has a base length of 21 m (69 ft; 40 cu)[d] and its substructure is decorated with the titulary of the queen painted halfway up the chamber walls.

Its size constrained by the boundary of the complex to the west, Ankhesenpepi II's mortuary temple to the south and east, and an esplanade to the north that likely contained worship facilities.

[132] Fragments of a decree from Pepi II honouring Ankhesenpepi III were found north of the complex's enclosure wall.

It contains a sarcophagus made from a single sandstone block buried in the floor, with a lid of roughly cut granite.

[137] The walls surrounding the sarcophagus in the burial chamber were adorned with a black and red painted rendition of the royal palace facade and text inscribed above.

[140] In the debris of the temple, which bore marks of destruction and restoration, a preserved statuette head of Behenu wearing a wig and with in-laid eyes was found.

Remnants of stelae, offering tables, door stops and lintel, many of which bear names were found in the core of the pyramid.

[147] The substructure has a simple design: from the north, a shaft leads to the burial chamber covered with stone slabs, one of which bears Reherishefnakht's name.