Egypt was first united into one kingdom around 2950 BC under the rule of King Narmer – also known as Menes. He might have had a couple of predecessors coming close to uniting the country, but most scholars give Narmer the nod as becoming Egypt’s first pharaoh – though that title only utilized much later. Narmer came from the city of Abydos located about 15 miles north of the great Qena bend on the Nile. The city lay in a wide area of rich agricultural land on the west bank of the river. It was also the take off point from the water to a main caravan route leading to the oases of the Western Desert making Abydos an important communication center, as well.

MEMPHIS, OLD DYNASTIES AND A NEW NECROPOLIS

In addition to uniting the country, Narmer – as Menes – endures remembered as the founder of the capital city of Memphis. Originally called Inebu-hedj (“white walls”), the city became renamed after the pyramid of Pepi I as Men-nefer which the Greeks transformed into Memphis. The city served as the administrative center for Egypt for almost three thousand years until 332 BC when Alexandria served as capital for the Ptolemaic dynasty. Very little today remains of Memphis, only a small open-air museum built around a huge fallen statue of Ramses II. The statue is a twin – though not as complete – of the massive giant standing inside the entry to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Memphis originally stood on the east bank of the Nile, but the modern town of Mit-Rahineh today lies well to the west as the river snaked one way and then another over the eons. To the west of the former capital lies a vast necropolis stretching almost five miles in length. The necropolis on the fringe of the Western Desert, still far from excavated due to thousands of years of shifting sands. Here and there pyramids of pharaohs poke up from the desert. The southern reach of the Middle Ring Road which encircles the metroplex of Cairo runs through the southern section of the necropolis passing next to what little remains of the ancient capital. The main visited section of the necropolis lies about two miles to the northwest of the Memphis ruins taking on the name of the neighboring town of Saqqara. This is Egypt’s largest archaeological site.

PYRAMID DEVELOPMENT

The evolution of pyramids developed here at Saqqara. The earliest tombs existed as simple tombs built into the ground or cliffs. This led to the mastaba, a rectangular building surrounding the tomb. Then, putting one block mastaba onto another led to the development of the pyramid. The main visitor complex here centers around the Step Pyramid of King Djoser (Netjerikhet). Djoser ruled Egypt during the Third Dynasty, possibly as the dynastic founder ruling roughly 2686 to 2649 BC.

His minister Imhotep gains credit for both learning how to build with hewn stone in serving a physician. Through Imhotep’s guidance, the step pyramid was constructed from one mastaba placed over another. Some also think Imhotep played a role in using stone columns to support buildings. With time Imhotep became equated with Thoth, the god of architecture, mathematics and medicine. Greeks equated him to Asklepios, their god of health (like Imhotep, Asklepios was also a deified mortal). The stepped construction led to the true pyramids in the Fourth Dynasty though all pyramids showed some form of stepped construction inside their cores.

MASTABA

Death and the afterlife featured prominently in the lives of ancient Egyptians. At first bodies lay placed in pit graves on mats surrounded by items that might help them in their next journey. To provide better protection from animals and grave robbers, the mastaba came into being.

In Arabic, mastaba means bench. Benches were a feature of village homes and so the name was applied to these mud-brick walled, north-south oriented structures. The mastaba existed brick-lined with roofing beams covering the tombs. Interconnected rooms stood originally filled with offerings and funerary equipment. Into these mastabas the kings of the first two dynasties became interred in search of protection in their resurrection. The kings lay near their capital out in the desert around Abydos. The walls of the mastaba were sloped on the outside at about 49°.

The last royal tomb at Abydos was for King Khaskhemwy, last of the Second Dynasty who died about 2686 BC. Here exists some of the earliest known stone construction found with the burial chamber of the king. Stone blocks reinforced the burial chamber giving even more protection in the afterlife than mud bricks were capable of. This mastaba, in particular, stands considered the forerunner of the step pyramid built for King Djoser successor to Khasekhemwy and founder of the Third Dynasty.

THE STEP PYRAMID

Djoser and his close aide Imhotep worked from his father’s tomb design here at Saqqara creating the next step, a pyramid. The pyramid became built with one mastaba basically atop another. A huge difference, the mastabas and neighboring courtyards all now built from stone meaning the work involved – both in technique and construction – in building went up exponentially. Here at Saqqara, Djoser’s pyramid consisted of six steps rising to a height of 60 meters – 200 feet.

The construction of the pyramid took place in stages. The step pyramid was but a feature of the massive funerary complex. In front of the enclosure wall of the complex lay a large trench cut from the underlying rock. Most of the rock cut from the trench went into the pyramid. Layers of the pyramid became built in 2-3 meter-thick layers. They leaned in each other from opposite ends to give greater stability. The project expanded from four steps later to six steps with packing placed between the steps, the whole encased in fine white limestone.

interior

Underneath the pyramid lay tunnels and chambers totaling 6 kilometers in length. Within the pyramid, room for the king and his family members were laid out. Chambers held goods and offerings to help those inside in their journey in the afterlife. The entrance shaft was built on the north side of the pyramid. Limestone passageways featured blue inlaid tiles replicating reed matting to help mimic the king’s palace in order to be worthy enough to serve the royal spirit – ka – in the afterlife.

Eleven shafts were constructed to a depth of 32 meters for royal family members on the east side. Over 40,000 stone vessels have been found in the under-pyramid chambers. Goods from earlier kings of the First Dynasty were included with the thinking being Djoser restored the original ancestral tombs sealing grave good in the new pyramid to better help save them in the face of grave robbers.

The burial chamber for Djoser was walled with granite with one opening. Note the granite came from quarries around Aswan meaning they had to be transported some 860 kilometers. The opening was sealed with a 3.5-ton block. Evidence exists of a ceiling wall originally incised with five-pointed stars which became traditional in future burial chambers. The stars never set on the stone walls ensuring eternal resurrection.

PYRAMID COMPLEX

Cost to get into the Saqqara complex is EGP 600 ~$12.50.

Outside the complex, a 10.5-meter-high wall partially encased in limestone stretched for 1.6 kilometers. An entrance colonnade led through the enclosure wall into a large courtyard on the south side of the pyramid. 40 paired limestone columns lined the corridor fashioned to resemble bundled reeds. They supported a limestone ceiling – the present roof provided by archaeologists – with column support given by a wall to which the columns stood connected to. At either end of the entrance was a nonfunctional stone imitation door. They were built to allow visitors entry into the king’s eternal palace.

On the north side of the pyramid was a funerary temple. The temple faced the northern sky because the king sought to go north to become one of the eternal stars that never set. This theme of a north-facing funerary temple was repeated throughout the Third Dynasty.

Within the south courtyard there are two sets of double horseshoe stone markers about 45 meters apart. These represented the borders of Egypt at the time and one ritual during the celebrations of a king’s reign included the king running around the markers proving he was still capable of physically ruling the kingdom.

south tomb

On the south side of the complex is a large structure known as the South Tomb. Beneath the superstructure lay another 28-meter-deep granite vaulted chamber, though this was smaller than the one inside the pyramid. Possibly it held the king’s organs, royal crowns or other needed items for the king to use in the afterlife. On the east side are a couple of chapels and courtyards dedicated to the Heb-Seb an annual ritual reaffirming the right of the king to rule. Possibly the court and chapels here were not used during the king’s lifetime but only provided a place for the king’s ka to perform the rituals in the afterlife. We did not have enough time to warrant an extra EGP 280 ~$6.

OTHER PYRAMIDS

Pyramid of Sekhemkhet

There are several other pyramids nearby here a Saqqara providing a final resting place for other Fifth and Sixth Dynasty kings. To the immediate south is the pyramids of Unas and Sekhemkhet. Sekhemkhet was Djoser’s successor. He planned for a seven-step pyramid to outshine his father, but he only ruled for six years. Ground level was barely broken by the time of the king’s death and the project was abandoned.

Passageways and substructures were built but only the first level was completed reaching an average height of just under 2.5 meters above ground level. It was buried and only discovered in 1951 by Zakaria Goneim an Egyptian Egyptologist. The pyramid was never finished and is also known as the Buried Pyramid. Passageways and substructures were built but only the first level was completed reaching an average height of just under 2.5 meters above ground level.

Goneim died in 1959 with his body found floating in the Nile. There are some who point to homicide. His story could easily lend its weight to the many stories of revenge from the afterworld is response for disturbing their repose.

Pyramid of UNAS

In between the South Tomb of Djoser and the pyramid of Sekhemkhet is the pyramid of Unas. Unas was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, and the pyramid is the smallest of all Old Kingdom pyramids. Important was the discovery of Pyramid Texts incised into the walls of its chambers. Here the funerary texts used during the Old and Middle Kingdom were revealed which form the basis of the Book of the Dead.

Earlier tombs were demolished and covered over when a causeway was built to provide access to the site for construction. Several Second Dynasty tombs have been found underneath.

Beyond Unas and the Sixth Dynasty, tombs from private individual from the Eighteenth to Twentieth Dynasties as well as Late Period “Persian” tombs have been uncovered. Longboat pits have been discovered on the south side of the causeway leading to the pyramid. The mortuary temple is located on the east face of the pyramid showing the change in orientation.

The 283 spells discovered in the pyramid comprise the oldest and best-preserved religious writings from the Old Kingdom. There is much more to the pyramid, but we simply did not have enough time to explore beyond the complex of Djoser.

PYRAMID OF TETI

Entry into the Pyramid of Unas and Teti I are both included in the general Saqqara ticket. Unas’ pyramid is on the south side of the Step Pyramid and for Teti I, we find his pyramid on the northeast side. Teti I was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty with a reign of around 12 years. Like other pyramids of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, Teti’s is similar in plan.

Teti gained the Horus name of Sehoteptawy, “He who pacifies the Two Lands”. His mother, Sesheshet was instrumental in Teti’s accession to the throne. Her tomb was only discovered in a small 5 meters tall pyramid in November 2008. Teti’s Pyramid is like many other pyramids lying covered by drifting sands. At first glance, it seems like only a mound unto itself in the desert landscape. Aboveground on the east side are ruins of a funerary temple that take a bit of imagination when walking about today, While the pyramid seems to be fairly unremarkable, but here you can descend inside down steep steps scrunching down as you go. Below, the chambers and corridors are well preserved.

The pyramid is similar in plan to others with the entrance on the north side. Originally, the pyramid is thought to have risen to a height of 52.4 meters (100 cubits), but today, the ruins are only about 20 meters high. Little of the original casing of the pyramid still survive.

DOWN INSIDE A PyrAMID

You descend from a former chapel on the side through the entrance hallway – 18.23 meters long. The passage is only a bit wider than a meter with a height of only 1.35 meters. The slope of the passage is a little more than 25° making it interesting to pass with people going up and down at the same time. Previous damage to the passage by robbers has seen repair for the most part. A granite belt existed near the top of the entry shaft, presumably where a granite block used to block entry. The block has long since disappeared.

burial chamber

You pass into a vestibule before a final corridor leads to a granite passage opening into an antechamber for the burial chamber of the king. The granite helped support the ceiling of the burial chamber. Inside the chamber lies the sarcophagus which contains inscriptions. Note the sarcophagus sits too large for the passageways, meaning it probably came inside early in construction which may explain the unfinished nature of the sarcophagus.

The vaulted ceiling rise above, incised with five-pointed stars. The background behind the stars stands without the blue background seen in other tombs. At the top of the ceiling, you can notice a little slippage that has occurred over the many centuries. The walls of both the antechamber and the burial chamber lie with hieroglyphic inscriptions with the name of the former king repeated continually.

TETI NECROPOLIS

Three other small pyramids stand nearby outside housing his two principal wives – Khuit and Iput as well as one for his mother Sesheshet I. Next to his pyramid lie several mastabas for officials from his court – Tetiankhkem (a royal prince who died at only about 15 years of age), Mereuka, Kagemni and Ankhmahor.

Mereruka, married to one of King Teti’s daughters, Seshseshet Waatetkhethor, was one of the most powerful people of his time in Egypt after Teti. His mastaba survives one of the most elaborate of all the mastabas found at Saqqara. His mastaba is the largest of the Teti complex. Time did not allow us to fully observe the interior.

mASTABA OF KAGEMNI

We did get into the mastaba of Kagemni however. Kagemni, as vizier (highest political position behind the King) was the overseer of all the works of King Teti. Holding several religious positions, Kagemni also stood in charge of overseeing the treasuries and also married a daughter of the king, Seshseshet Nubkhetnebty. His mastaba is the largest of the Teti complex. Time did not allow us to fully observe the interior. Several rooms stand decorated with daily life scenes – dancing, hunting, poultry fattening, presentation of offerings. One of the rooms is dedicated to the transportation of the seven sacred oils necessary for the resurrection ritual and their presentation to Kagemni.

The color absent in the burial chamber of King Teti is alive in the rooms of Kagemni. Colors still vivid after 4,600 years! With more time, there are several other tombs close at hand. The tombs – mostly mastabas – belonged to families seeing use over several generations. Some saw royalty, though many others used by powerful officials of the king – viziers, governors, priests. Inside these tombs then is a chance to see what life was like in the Old Kingdom. Here is the Egypt behind the pyramids.

SAQQARA BEYOND

The necropolis of Saqqara is vast. There are many other tombs and temples present. The trick is knowing which are open. A visit to the Imhotep Museum near the entrance gate is a good place to start. Here you can find out about the many archaeological excavations carried out here. Art, vessels, statues, architectural elements, Imhotep – himself, all on display. Also a room devotes to the French Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer who worked the Saqqara complex from the 1920s until the end of his career 75 years later.

There are several mastabas on the south side of the Step Pyramid complex along with the Pyramid of Sekhemkhet of the Third Dynasty. The pyramid never saw completion, now known as the Buried Pyramid. Sekhemkhet was the successor of Djoser. It may have been designed to be larger than Djoser’s, but its incompletion was probably due to Sekhemkhet’s short reign of six years. Passageways and substructures some competion but only for the first level reaching an average height of just under 2.5 meters above ground level. Turly buried, the pyramid became discovered in 1951 by Zakaria Goneim an Egyptian Egyptologist.

PYRAMID OF USERKAF

Lying between the Step Pyramid and Teti’s stands the Pyramid of Userkaf with two smaller associated pyramids. Userkaf was the founder of the Fifth Dynasty ruling for seven to eight years in the early 25^th century BC. The great Pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty had moved further north to Giza, but as a founder of a new dynasty, Userkaf moved his tomb back to Saqqara, close to Djoser’s – now over two hundred years gone – who founded a dynasty just like Userkaf.

His pyramid is much smaller than the Step Pyramid. Its height rises to only 49 meters. Nearby sat a cult pyramid and one for his wife Neferhetepes, ruined today robbed of whatever lay within over the many centuries. The pyramid lay neglected until October 1927 when Cecil Mallaby Firth and his associate Lauer began to clear the south side discovering both the mortuary temple and tombs from the much later Twenty-sixth Dynasty.

ROCK TOMBS AND CATS

Another recent find are the rock tombs and workshops dating back to the Thirtieth Dynasty and Ptolemaic era with other tombs much older back to the Fifth Dynasty. They are cut into a rock cliff and work on the area by archaeologists is ongoing. A cat temple was among one of the findings with cat statues, cat mummies and the mummies of other animals. Only a couple of the tombs are open at present.

For a great guide to most of the ruins visitable at Saqqara, check out this website.

BEYOND THE TICKET OFFICE OF SAQQARA

Most visitors – us included – limit their visit to Saqqara to that found around the Step Pyramid, but the necropolis continues to the south with more pyramids and mastabas. Obvious points of interest clearly visible from the Step complex looking to the south. These are the pyramids of Dashur.

Most famous is the Bent Pyramid, a learning case for builders of a pyramid for King Sneferu, founder of the Fourth Dynasty, followed by the more successful Red Pyramid. These pyramids served as an example for those of others of the Fourth Dynasty farther north at Giza. Other nearby pyramids date to other dynasties – White Pyramid of Amenemhat II, Senusret III and the Black Pyramid of Amenenhat III (all from the Twelfth Dynasty) as well as pyramids for kings from the Thirteenth Dynasty.

Further to the north of Saqqara is the Abusir necropolis where pyramids of Fifth Dynasty kings lie – Sahura, Neferikara (and his wife Khentkhaus II), Shepseskare, Neferefra with the sun temple of King Niuserre a bit further to the north. Note that for Abusir, you need advance permission to visit which you can get from some tour groups.