Built 4700 years ago, the Saqqara step pyramid is an archeological remnant in Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis, northwest of the “strong>city of Memphis” It was built during the third dynasty of Djoser, the pharaoh, in the 27th century. The stupendous structure, designed by an experienced architect and constructed for a single king, marked the beginning of the Saqqara Step Pyramid’s development.
The first pyramid built in Egypt was the Saqqara step pyramid, which has six mastabas and is 60 meters tall. One of the most mysterious structures constructed outside of the Giza Plateau is this one. Imhotep, Djoser’s great architect, designed and constructed this magnificent tomb.
Interesting Facts About the Step Pyramid of Djoser
- Saqqara Step Pyramid is the only pyramid from the old kingdom that 11 of the king’s daughters were buried inside.
- Saqqara step pyramid took about twenty years to be built with about 100,000 free skilled workers.
- It took another 10 years to connect the Pyramid with the Valley temple below.
- It is considered to be an experimental structure in ancient Egypt.
- This pyramid was initially a Mastaba tomb but some expansions happened and its structure evolved six layers built upon each other.
- A lot of people don’t know that there are tunnels beneath the pyramid stretching across a labyrinth of 5.5 kilometers in length.
- Beneath this pyramid at the deep of 28m, there is the burial chamber of the king Djoser. It reveals fragments of the king’s granite sarcophagus.
- Saqqara step pyramid was totally built from limestone.
The Description of Djoser Pyramid
Saqqara step pyramid has four sides. The northern side is the main entrance of the pyramid, there is a room on the north-western side of the pyramid where there is a beautiful limestone statue of King Djoser. This statue was removed to The Egyptian Museum in Cairo. On the southern side of the Pyramid, there is the second entrance that people have to get in to enter the pyramid.
This entrance leads to a colonnade consisting of 40 columns which were built to ensure the safety of the ceiling. There are small rooms in-between these columns where you can find an amazing statue for Djoser as a ruler for Upper and Lower Egypt. Imhotep has built a temple for Djoser so that he can practice his rituals throughout his afterlife. This temple is known as a Hep-Sed temple. There are two buildings behind the temple which are known as the northern and southern houses in which the king is supposed to host his dignitaries who came to attend his rituals.
