KING DJEDEFRE
Parents Cheops and Meritites I
Queens Hetepheres II and Khentetka
He married his (half) sister Hetepheres II.
KING DJEDEFRE
He also had another wife, Chentetenka, with whom he had at least three sons, Setka, Baka and Hernet, and a daughter, Neferhetepes.
These children are confirmed by statuary fragments found in the ruined mortuary temple adjacent to the pyramid. Several fragmentary statues of Khentetka were found in this ruler’s mortuary temple at Abu Rawash. Abu Rawash actually lies at a height higher than the rest of Giza.
KING DJEDEFRE
Djedefre married his brother Kawab’s widow, Hetepheres II, who was sister to both of them. Another queen, Chentetenka, is known to us from the statue fragments in the Abu Rowash mortuary temple.
Well-known children of Djedefre are:
HORNIT, known from a statue depicting him and his wife.
BAKA, known from a statue base found in Djedefre’s mortuary temple depicting him with his wife Hetepheres.
SETKA, known for a writer statue found in his father’s pyramid complex. It is possible that he ruled for a short time after his father’s death.
An unfinished pyramid at Zawiyet el-Arian was started whose name ends in ka; this may have been Setka or Baka.
NEFERHETEPES, is known from a statue fragment from Abu Rowash.
Until recently it was believed that the mother of a pharaoh of the next dynasty, either Userkaf or Sahure.
The French excavation team led by Michel Vallogia found the names of two other possible children of Djedefre in the pyramid complex:
NIKAUDJEDEFRE, was buried in Tomb F15 in Abu Rowash; it is possible that he was not a son of Djedefre but lived later and his title was merely honorary.
HETEPHERES was mentioned on a statue fragment.
The Turin King List credits him with a reign of eight years, but referred the highest known year during this reign to be the year of his 11th cattle count.
The anonymous Year of the 11th date supposedly from Djedefre count found was written at the bottom,
of one of the massive roof beams that covered the south of the Cheops boat-wells.
Djedefre’s pyramid largely used a natural rock headland that represented approximately 45% of its core;
the side of the pyramid was 200 cubits long and its height was 125 cubits.
The original volume of the monument of Djedefre is therefore approximately equal to that of the pyramid of Menkaura.
This means that Djedefre probably ruled Egypt for at least eleven years if
the livestock count took place annually or 22 years if it was biennial,
But 11 years seems quite plausible considering the relatively few monuments and records left behind
by Djedefre do not seem to be a very long reign of this king.
Djedefre built his pyramid at Abu Rawash, about 8 km north of Giza.
It is the northernmost part of the Memphite necropolis.
The most recent evidence indicates that his pyramid complex was extensively plundered in later periods.
Due to the poor condition of the monuments at Abu Rouwasj, only small traces of his mortuary complex have been found;
the causeway turned out to run from north to south instead of
the more conventional east to west while no Valley temple has been found.
Only the rough plan of his mud-brick mortuary temple was traced to the usual location on the east face of the pyramid.”
