No. 2
Saqqara and the Step Pyramid of Djoser
- Where
- Egypt
- Built by
- Imhotep for King Djoser
- Era
- 2670 BCE
- Known for
- The first large cut-stone building on Earth.
- How it ended
- Used as a burial ground for 3,000 years, then sanded over.
Lyra Kael can take you here on the globe, tell you the story out loud and answer your questions. Start the time jump.
Background
The Pyramid of Djoser, sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser or Step Pyramid of Horus Netjerikhet, is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis. It was the first Egyptian pyramid to be built. The six-tier, four-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The pyramid is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.
The pyramid went through several revisions and redevelopments of the original plan. The pyramid originally stood 62.5 m (205 ft; 119 cu) tall, with a base of 109 m × 121 m (358 ft × 397 ft; 208 cu × 231 cu) and was clad in polished white limestone. As of 1997, the step pyramid (or proto-pyramid) was considered to be the earliest large-scale cut stone construction made by man, although the nearby enclosure wall "Gisr el-Mudir" is suggested by some Egyptologists to predate the complex, and the South American pyramids at Caral are contemporary.
In March 2020, the pyramid was reopened for visitors after a 14-year restoration.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.