Event: Egypt

Saqqara

When:	Daily
Where:	Saqqara

One of the most important necropoli of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, Saqqara contains a host of important archaeological sites and buildings, including the phenomenal step pyramid of Zozer.

The incredibly vast necropolis of Saqqara contains hundreds and hundreds of worthy sights, far too many to list here. Among the crypts, burial monuments, temples, statues, colossi, columnades and squares of this tremendous city of the dead, perhaps the most outstanding sight is the step pyramid built for king Zozer, or Djoser, during the third dynasty (around 2600 BC).

The pyramid is about 200 feet tall, composed of six levels that diminish in size as they approach the apex of the structure. The burial chamber was located 28 feet underground, at the end of a steep vertical shaft leading down under the pyramid.

Zozer's step pyramid is said to be the first major Egyptian structure constructed entirely in stone and represents a major revolution in the building techniques of the Egyptians. It is the precursor of the pyramids, temples and other important pieces of Egyptian stonework you can still see today. Its structural origins lie in the mastaba, a platform or burial slate placed on top of tombs, with a shaft leading down to the burial chamber. Aspirations of posthumous grandeur lead gradually to the evolution of the rather imposing structures that were the pyramids.

The construction of the pyramid and the idea of using stone for construction work were attributed to the Pharaoh's vizier, the multi-talented scribe Imhotep, who later became the Egyptian god of Learning and Medicine. Imhotep was a veritable Renaissance man, who excelled among other things as an architect, scribe, historian and astronomer.

The bull-god Apis was worshipped at Saqqarah - his sacred bulls were mummified and kept in a vast subterranean complex underlying the overground structures, to be consulted as oracles.

A new excavation project is currently under way and its progress can followed online by clicking on "Digging Diaries" on the Saqqara Online website.