Designation for the top of both pyramids and obelisks. The custom was to provide a pyramid with a capstone of a different, often harder type of stone. This dates back to the constructions of the Old Kingdom. The pyramidia of some of the mudbrick pyramids of the Middle Kingdom have been preserved. In the New Kingdom the tombs of private individuals were provided with small, mudbrick pyramids. They often had a pyramidion on top as well, usually made of sandstone, limestone, granite or even faience. These pyramidia often had relief representations on them with a definite preference for solar motifs. The top of an obelisk is also pyramid-shaped and thus also called a pyramidion, although in this case it is not a separate piece. The tops of obelisks were often coated in metal, usually electrum.