North Saqqara

Saqqara’s largest edifice is the mountainous Step Pyramid built by Imhotep, chief architect to the Pharaoh Zoser, in about 2650 BC. This was the first monumental tomb and the inspiration for Egypt’s many subsequent architectural wonders. like most pharaonic structures, the Step Pyramid was built as part of a funerary complex. Most experts believe the tomb began as a mastaba and was augmented five separate times, producing the present six-level structure.

Enter the Step Pyramid complex from the eastern side of the limestone enclosure wall. The paneled barrier was designed to resemble the mud-brickwork which graced the fortifications surrounding the cities and palaces of the period. On your way into the complex itself, you pass through a hallway with a stone ceiling that mimics the palm log rafters of earlier wooden structures. Two fixed stone panels, carved to resemble a massive wooden doorway, open onto a 40-pillared colonnade. The walls and roof have been restored as part of a lifetime project of reconstruction undertaken by the French archeologist Jean-Philippe Lauer. The Egyptian pillars, ridged to create the stylized effect of a bundle of papyrus stems, are probably the world’s first stone columns. This imposing corridor culminates in the Hypostyle Hall, a fledgling version of the great hallways found at Karnak and Abydos.