The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt - the Step Pyramid at Saqqara

The entrance to the complex, with the Step Pyramid in the background, and the  fake buildings of the heb-sed in the foreground.

Although the Giza pyramids are the best known of Egypt’s more than one hundred pyramids, they are not the oldest. The first pyramid was built for the 3rd dynasty king Nejerikhet (also known as Djoser or Zoser). The pyramid is situated on the site of an ancient necropolis, today called Saqqara, about an hour’s drive from Cairo.

The necropolis was in use for most of Pharaonic Egypt and is the burial place of most of the Old Kingdom kings and many of their officials as well. Some of these are open to the public and are very interesting and beautiful but the main feature of the area is the funerary complex of Nejerikhet (ca.2668-2649BCE) of which the Step Pyramid is the main attraction; it’s believed to have been designed and built under the guidance of a master craftsman named Imhotep, and under his guidance, architectural features such as beams and columns which were previously executed in mudbrick or reeds are here represented for the first time in stone.

The colonnade

The pyramid itself is set within an enclosure surrounded by massive limestone walls that consist of bastions and hundreds of recessed panels which give the whole complex a 'fort-like' appearance. The entrance is at the south-eastern corner; once inside, look upwards to see the stone beams that imitate the wooden beams that were used to strengthen mudbrick walls. You find yourself in a long colonnade of forty tall columns; the columns are called ‘fasciculated’ and are thought to represent in stone, bundles of reeds tied together. (These reed columns could still be seen just a few years ago in the homes of the Marsh Arabs of Iraq.) All these columns are 'engaged' - that is, they are not free-standing.

At the end of the colonnade, a small 'vestibule' opens into the main court of the complex with the pyramid off-centre to the left at the far side; in this area are the remains of two altars.

The Frieze of Cobras

But before looking at the pyramid, glance to your left towards a panelled limestone wall (reconstructed) - this is part of a small structure commonly called the Southern Tomb and has on it's upper part a beautiful frieze of rearing cobras with spread hoods, ready to strike at the enemies of the king - the cobra represents the goddess Wadjet, one of the two tutelary goddesses of Egypt - the other is the vulture goddess, Nekhbet.

This pyramid was built in stages and evolved from a flat 'mastaba' tomb into the stepped structure we see today. It was originally covered in white Tura limestone; however, all that is long gone except for some remaining small traces. The burial place of the king is directly under the pyramid and lined with red granite; however the remains of the king have never been found and robbers did manage to penetrate to the chamber, leaving only fragments of a box bearing the king's name. The only human remains discovered in the pyramid were the bones of an 8-year old child; these were discovered in the remains of a gilded wooden coffin inside a calcite sarcophagus; another calcite sarcophagus found there was empty. The ground under the pyramid is riddled with passages some of which contained tens of thousands of stone jars and plates, etc. Due to its dangerous condition, no one is permitted to go into the pyramid.

On the eastern side is the small 'heb-sed' court - the heb-sed or jubilee festival was the time when the king proved his fitness to rule by running a pre-determined course. The numerous small buildings here are actually dummy buildings. Just beyond this are what are called the Northern Buildings and here the columns are fluted, like Greek Doric columns, with one difference - these columns are flared at the top.

The Serdab

A most interesting feature is the 'serdab' in the serdab court at the back of the pyramid. It's an Arab word and describes a closed chamber on this northern side. Look through the two holes you'll see the dour stare of king Djoser looking back at you; this is a replica of the original limestone statue, now in the Cairo museum. The spirit of the king was believed to be able to come out of his burial place and inhabit his statue. So he sits looking out of his serdab towards the northern parts of his monument. The statue is seated and wears a linen robe. One arm is crossed over his chest while on his head, he wears the well known Egyptian 'Nemes' headdress, the pointed lappets of which would later develop into straight ends. The eye sockets originally had rock crystal eyes but these are long gone and the loss of these gives King Djoser quite a nasty look!

Surrounding this complex are some later pyramids of the 5th and 6th dynasties, all in ruinous condition. An interesting experience, if it's open, is to descend, via a modern spiral staircase into the Persian Shaft Tomb; this is actually not a Persian tomb but a tomb from the Saite 26th dynasty 664-525BCE.

Also close by is the Serapeum, the burial place of the sacred bulls. Here, massive vaults hold the equally massive sarcophagi of the sacred bulls - alas all long gone, but a wonderfully eerie place to visit as the lighting is very minimal! If it's open, it's a good place to visit, and if you don't feel like walking the odd 150m down to the entrance, you can ride down on a camel!

To find out how you can visit these fascinating sites, please contact us on +27 11 678 4777 or +27 11 478 2884 or email us on: info@egyptandbeyond.co.za.

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