Tours: The Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser

Learn about the layout of the first stone monument erected by mandkind, the step pyramid complex of Djoser.
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|-|Djoser's Funeral Complex=
The step pyramid is at the center of an enclosed complex comprised of temples, models of palaces and artificial constructions all built for the afterlife of Pharaoh Djoser.
The funeral complex itself covers 15 hectares and is located on the highest point of the Saqgara plateau.
It's clear from the elaborate detail and scale of the complex that this was a technological marvel of its time.
The only fragment of information regarding the design plans of the complex was discovered on a section of stone containing an architectural sketch of a vault.
|-|The Step Pyramid=
The step pyramid is the first monument built of stone. Standing at 60 meters high, it was the tallest of its time.
Built 4700 years ago, it was originally intended as a mastaba, which was a flat-roofed rectangular tomb. Its famous architect, Imhotep, may have felt this was too humble for the great Pharaoh Djoser, and began to add the steps.
|-|The Enclosure Wall=
The Step Pyramid complex is enclosed within a 1600-meter long wall that is 10 meters high.
This large wall was made out of white limestone, and oriented along the north-south axis.
|-|A Symbolic Fortress=
While there are fourteen doors, only its eastern door was intended to accommodate the living. The remaining false doors were built as portals for the king's ka to pass through.
Along with false doorways, the walls were designed with bastions and steeples resembling a defensive wall.
The positioning of these design elements suggest that they were related to the Heb Sed festival.
|-|The Colonnade Entrance=
The only real entrance into the complex is at the end of a long narrow passageway.
This enclosure has a stone canopy carved to resemble wooden logs.
At the end of the passage is a large opening. Meant to resemble a doorway, it has carved doors and hinges that are permanently open and immovable.
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|-|A Work of Illusion=
The corridor is lined with twenty pairs of columns up to 6 meters high, built by stacking stone drums. The completed façade was made to resemble reed stalk bundles.
Traces of red paint were found on the columns, along with black paint on the support walls. This would have had the effect of blending the walls into the shadows to give the red columns the illusion of standing on their own.
|-|Importance of Symbols=
Chambers are located on either side of the columns, and are thought to be chapels representing the provinces of Upper and Lower Egypt.
According to some , the arrangement of the rooms may be symbolic of jurisdiction and judgement.
|-|The South Tomb=
Guarded by a line of carved snakes, this tomb is located at the southern end of the courtyard. The burial chamber is beneath it, down a 30-meter deep shaft.
The low-ceilinged chamber resembles a mastaba, and is relatively intact compared to the later burial chamber.
The tomb is made of pink granite, though there is evidence it was once polished limestone. Too small for a body, it is possible that the tomb was intended for the king's ka, or to hold the canopic jars containing the king's organs.
Later traditions in burials would have the canopic jars in the same chamber as the body.
|-|South Underground Chambers=
A polished limestone staircase leads west from the tomb to underground apartments.
Some of these rooms were intended to accommodate the king and his family in the afterlite. Many large jars of pottery were found, including some that still had deposits of beer, milk and oil inside them.
The false doorways are decorated with reliefs of the king taking part in rituals.
In these reliefs he is seen carrying agricultural tools, running, and performing a ritual for the reanimation of the deceased.
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|-|Inventing & Building the Step Pyramid=
The architect, Imhotep chose stone as a building material in order for the complex to last.
Following the completion of the initial mastaba, Imhotep devised a burial of more ambitious dimensions. He set about stacking mastabas on top of each other.
Evidence shows that the pyramid was enlarged twice by additional cuts into the steps, eventually reaching 62 meters in height, and 121 meters by 109 meters at its base.
|-|A Spiritual Staircase=
A staircase allowing the pharaoh to enter the divine world was represented by a tiered pyramid, oblong in shape, completely enveloping the original mastaba.
The pyramid itself is a solid structure. All of the chambers and tunneis are beneath the structure.
|-|Djoser, Divine of the Body=
Pharaoh Djoser the Sacred was the founder of the 3rd Dynasty. He ruled for nineteen years.
During his reign he was known as Horus Netjerykhet, "Divine of the Body." He was given the name Djoser several centuries after his death as a sign of respect, and he is regarded as one of the greatest pharaohs of Egypt.
An apocrypha was drafted in his name during the Ptotemaic period, two thousand five hundred years after his death.
|-|Memphis' Necropolis=
Djoser was associated with the sky god Horus in his human form. A plinth near the Step Pyramid is inscribed with his name and associated with Horus.
He was the first to reside in Memphis, making it the central hub of government for the region. Djoser was known to have built many temples and monuments before the complex at Saqqara.
The funerary complex was the first of its kind, and would mark Djoser's greatest architectural achievement.
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|-|Afterlife Palace=
The funerary complex was built to resemble Djoser's palace, with the stone carved to imitate mud brick, trees and reeds.
Creating these details and softer textures in hard stone would have been a time-consuming, labor-intensive task.
Much of the complex is designed to accommodate the Heb Sed festival, allowing the king the ability to affirm his rule even in the afterlife.
|-|T Temple=
In the corner is a temple referred to as: T. This temple is among the most mysterious structures in the complex.
Its outer façade is plain, while inside it is decorated with intricate djed pillars and carvings.
It's possible that this place was intended to be where the ka of the king materialized, symbolically visiting the platform of the Heb Sed courtyard from the afterlife.
|-|The Heb Sed=
The Heb Sed festival enabled the pharaoh to maintain universal order, and renew godly powers.
Through a series of trials and religious rites such as dance, offerings and visiting the sanctuaries of various deities, the ruler's vital force and divine nature was confirmed.
The celebration was meant to represent the ruler's jubilee and would take place every 30 years, though the deadline was not always followed.
The earliest known ritual dates from the 1st Dynasty.
|-|The Heb Sed Courtyard=
Within the complex of Djoser, south-east of the pyramid, is a dedicated space for this essential ritual to be performed by the king even in the afterlife.
The Heb Sed courtyard is lined with false chapels, and equipped with a platform featuring two staircases meant to represent Upper and Lower Egypt.
|-|The North & South Pavilions=
Located in the courtyard, the two pavilions are believed to represent the palaces of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Rectangular in shape, the two replica structures face one another. Their façade is similar to the chapels of the Heb Sed ceremony, with column crowns carved to look Like falling leaves.
Because Queen Hetephernebty and Princess Inetkaes' names were discovered on a stela near the pavilions, it is thought that these funerary chapels were intended for them.
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|-|The Northern Funerary Temple & the Serdab=
The funerary temple is on the north side of the complex, facing the stars where the deceased ruler was believed to travel after death.
Within this temple was the pharaoh's serdab or cellar. It is a small enclosed space with one wall sloped to match the first step of the pyramid.
|-|Djoser Eternal=
The north wall has two observation holes.
A statue of Djoser is seated on the throne, wearing a mantle and a tripartite wig with a crown known as a nemes.
Representing the king's ka, this statue looks through the observation holes into the courtyard, enabling the king to observe the ceremonies and receive offerings in the afterlife.
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Category:Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt