Named for the rusty reddish hue of its red limestone stones, it is also the third largest Egyptian pyramid, after those of Khufu and Khafre at Giza.

[7] Archaeologists speculate its design may be an outcome of engineering crises experienced during the construction of Sneferu's two earlier pyramids.

However, whether the fragments were actually ever part of a pyramidion is unclear, as the reconstruction's angle of inclination differs from that of the pyramid for which it was apparently intended.

It is now usually open for tourists and a somewhat intrusive ventilation system has been installed which pipes air down the entrance shaft to the interior chambers.

Visitors climb steps cut in or built over the stones of the pyramid to an entrance high on the north side.

High in the southern wall of the chamber is an entrance, now reached by a large wooden staircase built for the convenience of tourists.