The [I 037 / Bent Pyramid] is significant because its construction indicates that the builders were reaching the peak of their competency with little outside influence, allowing them to raise ever larger structures of enduring stability. The pyramid's core is an innovation over Meidum. The masons seemed to have recognized the planes of weakness formed by [I 045 / buttress] faces and avoided this by bonding the core stones horizontally from face to face. Face stones were attached at an angle to the pitch following earlier practice with buttresses and leaning walls, but they do not affect the stability of the structure. Although the pattern of the facework is copied from Meidum, the course thickness and size of the stones are greater. Some scholars think the Bent Pyramid's unusual shape resulted from hasty work when time ran out. However, the quality of the quoins in the lower slopes is continued in the upper mantle, refuting this notion. Others believe that had the original angle been maintained, the interior would have collapsed from excessive weight. The collapse of the Meidum pyramid may also have prompted a change in plans.
