saqqara

saqqara is an immense field of tombs, last resting noble dignitaries and mummified animals. During the Pharaonic era, and especially in the Empire the late period, the desert sands of Sakara tigos the permanent activity of constructions, funeral processions and ritual ceremonies. and almost two thousand years of tranquility, only occasional disturbances of tombs, Sakara flew to the archaeological teams began digging and tourists followed the steps.

Probably named after Sokar, the hawk god of the dead, Sakara was the official necropolis of the main capital of Egypt, Mènfis. Its most outstanding landmark is the famous step pyramid in the céhtro of a quadrangular space dedicated to the other life of Zóser (3rd dynasty). This architectural marvel was completed by lmhotep, high dignitary and architect of Zoser. That was a period of experimentation in monumental construction in stone. The elegance of white limestone was exploited for the first time in the construction of graceful but impractical architectural forms, such as embedded columns, false doors, ceilings that imitated wood, false arches, rounded corners, etc. On the other hand, the solidity of the architectural stone emphasized by the use of huge blocks that can be seen in the Giza complex (14th dynasty), is not found in the Zoser monument.

The step pyramid is the earliest example of an Egyptian pyramid. It was originally conceived as mastaba, and later evolved into a step pyramid. The granite funerary chamber is underground, and is reached by a descending corridor from the north courtyard of the pyramid. Many underground galleries were discovered under the pyramid, and several enclosures with walls covered with blue tiles, in which there were thousands of stone vessels with the name of Zoser.

To the southwest of the Zoser complex, his successor Sekhemhet built a similar estate that he could not finish. Some theories about the construction of the pyramids can be confirmed with the discovery of this unfinished pyramid.

 

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