Saqqara or Sakkara, Saqqarah (Arabic: سقارة) is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, featuring the world's oldest standing step pyramid (). Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Step Pyramids The construction of step pyramids has been an ancient part of several cultures throughout history It is located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo and covers an area of around 7 km by 1. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. 5 km.
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Description
While Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt, Saqqara served as its necropolis. Memphis was the ancient capitol of the first nome of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt from its foundation until around 2200 BC and The history of Egypt is the longest continuous history as a unified state of any country in the world A necropolis (plural necropoleis or necropoles) is a large Cemetery or burial place (from Greek nekropolis "city of the dead" Although it was eclipsed as the burial ground of royalty by Giza and later by the Valley of the Kings in Thebes, it remained an important complex for minor burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic and Roman times. You may have been looking for the Great Pyramid of Giza. For the three pyramids of Giza visit the Giza pyramid complex. The Valley of the Kings ( Arabic: وادي الملوك Wadi Biban el-Muluk; "Gates of the King" is a Valley in Egypt where for Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile ( The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The step pyramid at Saqqara was designed by Imhotep for King Djoser (c. Imhotep (sometimes spelled Immutef, Im-hotep, or Ii-em-Hotep, circa ( fl Netjerikhet or Djoser ( Turin King List "Dsr-it" Manetho "Tosarthros" is the best-known Pharaoh of the Third dynasty 2667-2648 BC). It is the oldest complete hewn-stone building complex known in history. It is also the location of the newly opened (in 2006) Imhotep Museum. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Imhotep Museum is located at the foot of the Saqqara necropolis complex near Memphis, in Egypt and was built as part of strategic site management
History
Early Dynastic
Although the earliest burials of nobles at Saqqara can be traced back to the First Dynasty, it was not until the Second Dynasty that the first kings were buried there, including Hotepsekhemwy and Nynetjer. The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the second dynasty under the group title Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. The Second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the First dynasty under the group title Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. Hotepsekhemwy, (in Greek known as Boethos) was the first king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. Nynetjer or Ninetjer was the third king of the Second dynasty of Egypt.
Old Kingdom
The most striking feature of the necropolis, however is the Step Pyramid of the Pharaoh Djoser, which dates from the Third Dynasty. The Pyramid of Djoser(Zoser, or step pyramid ( kbhw-ntrw in Egyptian) is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis Egypt Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Netjerikhet or Djoser ( Turin King List "Dsr-it" Manetho "Tosarthros" is the best-known Pharaoh of the Third dynasty Third Dynasty The Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. In addition to Djoser's, there are another 16 pyramids on the site, in various states of preservation or dilapidation. A pyramid is a Building where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point That of the fifth-dynasty Pharaoh Unas, located just to the south of the step pyramid and on top of Hotepsekhemwi's tomb, houses the earliest known example of the Pyramid Texts – inscriptions with instructions for the afterlife used to decorate the interior of tombs, which are the precursor of the New Kingdom Book of the Dead. Unas (also Wenis, Oenas, Unis, or Ounas) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and one of the rulers of the Old Kingdom The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in Ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and ' The Book of the Dead' is the common name for the Ancient Egyptian Funerary text known as ' Spells of Coming' (or ' Going') ' Forth By Day' Saqqara is also home to an impressive number of mastaba tombs. A mastaba was a flat-roofed rectangular building with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period. Because the necropolis was lost beneath the sands for much of the past two millennia – even the sizable mortuary complex surrounding Djoser's pyramid was not uncovered until 1924 – many of these have been superbly preserved, with both their structures and lavish internal decorations intact. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Major Old Kingdom structures
- Gisr el-mudir, a massive enclosure that may date from the Early Dynastic period. Gisr el-Mudir, (Arabic for "enclosure of the boss" located at Saqqara in Egypt, just west of Sekhemkhet 's pyramid complex is a massive The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c
- Sekhemkhet's Step Pyramid (the Buried Pyramid)
- Step Pyramid of Netjerikhet Djoser
- Shepseskaf's Mastabat Fara'un
- Userkaf's pyramid, now looking like a conical hill. Sekhemkhet was a Pharaoh in Egypt during the Third dynasty. According to the Manethonian tradition a king known as Tyris (which may be The is the common name for the funerary complex of Pharaoh Sekhemkhet, and is a collection of monuments dating from the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt The Pyramid of Djoser(Zoser, or step pyramid ( kbhw-ntrw in Egyptian) is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis Egypt Netjerikhet or Djoser ( Turin King List "Dsr-it" Manetho "Tosarthros" is the best-known Pharaoh of the Third dynasty Shepseskaf was a son of Menkaure who succeeded his father on the throne Located in south Saqqara, Egypt, in the Memphite Necropolis, the structure known as Mastabat Fara'un is the burial place of king Shepseskaf Userkaf was the founder of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt and the first Pharaoh to start the tradition of building sun temples at Abusir. The Pyramid complex of Userkaf is located in the pyramid field at Saqqara.
- Djedkare Isesi pyramid complex, known as Haram el-Shawaf. Djedkare Isesi in Greek known as Tancheres from Manetho 's Aegyptiaca, was a Pharaoh of Egypt during the Haram el-Shawaf (حرم الشواف ( The Sentinel) located in south Saqqara in Egypt, is a Pyramid complex built by Djedkare
- Unas pyramid complex, now mainly collapsed. Unas (also Wenis, Oenas, Unis, or Ounas) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and one of the rulers of the Old Kingdom The Pyramid Complex of Unas is located in the Pyramid field at Saqqara, near Cairo in Egypt.
- Teti's pyramid complex, looking more like a small hill, rather than a man-made construction. Teti was the first Pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. He is also known (much less commonly as Othoes. The Pyramid complex of Teti is located in the Pyramid field at Saqqara, in Egypt.
- Pepi I pyramid complex, with its associated queens pyramids. Pepi I Meryre (reigned 2332 &ndash 2283 BC was the third king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. The mortuary complex of Pepi I is situated in the southern archaeological complex of Saqqara, Egypt.
- Merenre's complex
- Pepi II, last great pyramid built in the Old Kingdom. Merenre Nemtyemsaf I (reigned 2283-2278 BC was the fourth king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. Pepi II (reigned c 2278 BC–c 2184 BC was a Pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement
- Ibi, built in the Eighth dynasty, it is now almost totally destroyed. Qakare Ibi was an ancient Egyptian ruler of the 8th Dynasty. Qa-ka-Re (='strong is the soul of Re') The Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Tenth and Eleventh (Thebes only Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title First Intermediate Period
There are a few pyramids that date from the First Intermediate Period, the most notable being Khendjer's Pyramid in South Saqqara. The First Intermediate Period is the name conventionally given by Egyptologists to that period in Ancient Egyptian history between the end of the Old Khendjer was an Egyptian king (throne name Userkare) of the 13th Dynasty. The Pyramid of Khendjer was built for the burial of Pharaoh Khendjer, who ruled Egypt during the 13th Dynasty.
New Kingdom Necropolis
While most of the mastabas date from the Old Kingdom, one major figure from the New Kingdom is also represented: Horemheb, the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, who had a tomb built here for himself before he assumed the throne in his own right, while still serving as one of Tutankhamun's generals. The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 18th Dynasty from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of The Memphite tomb of Horemheb is located in the Saqqara necropolis near Memphis Egypt However, he was never buried here and after his death he was interred, as were many other 18th Dynasty kings, in the Valley of the Kings in Ancient Thebes. The Valley of the Kings ( Arabic: وادي الملوك Wadi Biban el-Muluk; "Gates of the King" is a Valley in Egypt where for Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile (
Later burials and monuments
Another major monument at Saqqara is the Serapeum: a gallery of tombs, cut from the rock, which served as the eternal resting place of the mummified bodies of the Apis bulls worshipped in Memphis as embodiments of the god Ptah. A Serapeum is a Temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Hellenistic - Egyptian god Serapis, who combined aspects In Egyptian mythology, Ptah (also spelt Peteh) was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead Cosmogony, which was more literally Rediscovered by Auguste Mariette in 1851, the tombs had been opened and plundered in antiquity – with the exception of one that lay undisturbed for some 3,700 years. The French scholar and archaeologist François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette ( February 11, 1821 &ndash January 19, 1881) was the foremost 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year The mummified bull it contained can now be seen in Cairo's agricultural museum.
On the approach to the Serapeum stands the slightly incongruous arrangement of statues known the Philosophers' Circle: a Ptolemaic recognition of the greatest poets and thinkers of their Greek ancestors, originally situated in a nearby temple. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Represented here are Hesiod, Homer, Pindar, Plato, and others. Hesiod ( Greek: Hesiodos) was an early Greek Poet and Rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BCE Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece
External links
- Information on Saqqara
- Saqqara on-line (Leiden University)
- Discoveries on the site from February 2007
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