The fifth pharaoh of the Egyptian Twelfth Dynasty (Middle Kingdom), Khakaure Senwosret III (reigned ca. 1878-40 B.C.E.) constructed his pyramid complex at Dahshur, a site at the southern end of the Memphite necropolis, a traditional burial place for Egyptian monarchs. At the center of the complex stood the king’s pyramid, constructed with a mud brick core and a fine limestone casing. A so-called pyramid temple was attached to the east side of the pyramid, the area in which such structures had been erected since the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. These temples were the focal points for rituals connected with the king’s afterlife and deification, though not his actual burial. In the Old Kingdom, pyramid temples were generally large structures with elaborate decorative programs, but by the reign of Senwosret III, they had been dramatically reduced in size with a corresponding decrease in the amount of wall decoration.

The area of Senwosret III's pyramid temple was first explored by Jacques de Morgan in 1894. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, undertook a comprehensive excavation of the pyramid temple and its surrounding area between 1992 and 2003. The temple was so completely destroyed in ancient times that no standing walls or foundations remain and our only means of understanding the structure is the over 12,000 fragments of wall decoration that were recovered during the excavation. Subjects depicted include processions of deities and fecundity figures who meet the king, rituals enacted by the king and various deities, and offering rites. Presented here are those scenes in which the king and/or deities appear. The meaning of these scenes is discussed in relation to Egyptian beliefs surrounding kingship and reconstructions of the scenes are proposed. In addition, a possible ground plan of the pyramid temple is offered. Finally, consideration is given to changes in Egyptian religious beliefs concerning the role and afterlife of the king that may account for the evolution of the pyramid temple form.