Djoser´s Step Pyramid

Djoser´s step pyramid complex marks a major evolution in ancient Egyptian building techniques. The improvement in materials and architectural skill is often attributed to his architect, Imhotep. He was a commoner who rose to the very top of Egyptian society with the posts of Vizier, high priest of Ptah, and "overseer of works". Djoser was so pleased with his loyal service and exceptional talents that he had Imhotep´s name inscribed on the base of one of his own statues, a rare honour.

The complex is surrounded by a huge limestone wall, 10.5 metres high and enclosing a massive 37 acres, built to resemble the serekh (palace facade). Thirteen false Doors were built into the wall, along with one true doorway, set in the south east corner. From the entrance, a corridor with a stone ceiling carved to represent wooden beams runs west to the South Court.

The Northern Mortuary Temple

Located to the west of the Serdab and the House of the North, the North Temple is actually attached to the pyramid, and conceals an entrance to its underground corridors. In later times, the mortuary temple was placed to the east of the tomb (so that it would greet the sun). However, in Djoser´s reign the funerary cult was stellar not solar. As a result the mortuary temple is located to the north of the pyramid.

The temple is one of the few buildings in the complex that is not considered to have a purely symbolic function. The doorway, in the eastern wall, is made of stone carved to resemble an open wooden door. This effect can be found throughout the complex.

A long corridor led from the entrance to two open courts, each with a stone basin in its floor. From the western court a staircase allows access to the pyramid´s substructure. The stone columns were not required to support the structure, but may have represented the columns used to prop up wooden and mudbrick buildings. The rooms come in pairs, suggesting that rituals were performed for both Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.

Temple T

Temple T lies close to the entrance to the Heb-Sed court on the east side of the south courtyard. The temple is a rectangular building with three delicately carved fluted columns, one of which has been restored. The columns were joined by supporting walls, forming niches which probably housed statues of the king.

The temple´s exterior was largely undecorated, but inside the temple the lintels are decorated with beautifully carved Djed-pillars (symbolising stability). The temple is composed of an entrance hall, three inner courts and a collection of small chambers On the east face there is a fake door carved in half-open position.

It is thought that the temple was meant to represent the pavilion where the Pharaoh prepared for his Heb Sed festival (similar to a jubilee). However, there is no evidence to confirm the function

South Tomb

A small square structure carved with recessed panels and Uraei (cobra) juts out from the south wall facing the entrance hall. A small doorway on the north face allows access to the mastaba above the south tomb. A corridor slopes down past a magazine for food offerings to a series of small chambers, a granite vault and the Pharaohs palace covered with brilliant blue tiles. Three carved panels show the King performing the Heb Sed rituals.

The structure of the tomb emulates the substructure of the pyramid itself, and so it has been suggested that the tomb was in fact for the King´s ka (spirit). It could also be seen as a precursor of the satellite burial employed by some later Pharaohs (such as Khafre) in which a statue of the King was buried in a smaller pyramid.

Heb Sed Court

The Heb Sed court is located on the east side of the courtyard between the entrance corridor and the House of the South. There are no inscriptions to confirm the purpose of the buildings in this courtyard, but it is considered likely that it related to the Heb Sed festival in which the King proved that he was still fit to rule. Within the courtyard, there are three types of chapel, each preceded by a small court. Each shrine has a doorway, which penetrates the outer wall, but goes no further. The southernmost shrine incorporates the podium with round fronted steps which formed the base of the tents which would be set up during the festival. This form emulates the hieroglyph which stands for the festival.

The first chapel (on the west) has a rectangular facade. Its walls are uninscribed, except for a torus (curved) moulding at the top and sides. The flat roof is topped with imitation stone palm leaves. This would become a template for many other Ancient Egyptian buildings.

The second type of chapel (also on the west side of the Heb-Sed Court) has a rounded roof. The front of the chapel is decorated with three columns capped with carved leaves. Each column has a single round hole near the top. This type of chapel was a stone imitation of the late prehistoric temples with rounded roofs.

The third type of chapel (on the east side) also has a curved roof, but with a tall narrow face, set slightly apart from the rest of the building. Two of these chapels have been reconstructed at the North side of the court. Their shape is unique in ancient Egyptian architecture.

Serdab

Close to the northern entrance to the pyramid stands the Serdab (cellar in Arabic). This is a box like structure built of Tura Limestone with two holes cut in the front facing slab. Inside the box, a life size statue of Djoser in painted limestone was discovered. The king is represented wearing the white cloak he would have worn during the Heb Sed. The two holes in the limestone allowed the statue to gaze out of the box to the offering table in front of it. The Ka of the king (his spirit) could take sustenance from the offerings.

House of the North and House of the South

To the north of the Heb Sed court between the pyramid and the outer wall there are two fairly mysterious bulidings - the Houses of the North and South. Again we are unsure of their names and purpose, but they seem to represent Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt.

The courts are surrounded by an enclosure wall. On the east side of each building, there is a recess in the enclosure wall. The recess in the northern court is decorated with three columns with carved papyrus capitals, symbolising Lower-Egypt. The recess in the southern court has only one column with a lotus-shaped capital, symbolising Upper-Egypt. Furthermore, the House of the South is the same shape as the pre-dynastic shrines of the vulture goddess Nekhbet, so the House of the North may be intended to represent the national shrine of the snake goddess Uto.

The doorway to the House of the North is flanked by two columns which look very like Doric columns, but predate them by some time. The capital of each column resembles two large pendant leaves, a motif found only in this complex. The House of the South has a Khekher frieze above the door, representing a protective fence.

Both buildings have an asymmetrically placed entrance on front face. Inside each building, a narrow passage leads to a collection of niches, probably intended to house statues. The ceilings of these passages were carved to resemble the wooden beams (another device found all over the pyramid complex).

Pyramid

The pyramid sits in the north of the courtyard, roughly in the middle of the whole complex. The pyramid itself consists of six unequal steps rising to a height of 62 metres. The base measures 109 metres by 125 metres. There are numerous tunnels in the pyramid, some of which were left by tomb robbers in antiquity, but there are also unfinished tunnels. A large quantity of pottery from the origins of earlier Kings has led to the suggestion that Djoser was interring the relics of his ancestors as an act of piety.

The pyramid started as a mastaba, with a core of roughly shaped stones cased in fine limestone casing with a layer of packing in between. However, instead of laying horizontal sections on top of the first, they built in accretions which leaned inwards. By using larger well shaped blocks they avoided the need for mortar, using only clay to seal the joints with large amounts of mortar. A few years after the king's mastaba had been encased in fine limestone, it was completely covered by the Step Pyramid!

The substructure of the pyramid was also built in stages and altered to compensate for each change in design. A central shaft of 7 metres square and 28 metres deep descends to a maze of corridors and rooms. There are more than 5,700 metres of shafts, tunnels, chambers and galleries, making it by far the largest Old Kingdom tomb.

At the bottom of the central shaft a granite vault was built as the Pharaoh´s resting place. There is some evidence that there was an earlier vault constructed with alabaster walls and schist or diorite floor. The limestone ceiling, decorated with five-pointed stars, probably formed the roof of the earlier vault. It is the first example of what was to become a standard motif for the Pharaohs burial chamber.

From the bottom of the central shaft, passages lead to three sets of crudely cut magazine galleries. In the east of the shaft's wall, another passage opens unto a set of corridors and six chambers decorated with beautiful blue faience tiles set in the limestone, representing the kings palace. Three of the chambers also have a arch of blue faience Djed-pillars, representing stability. In one of the chambers, illustrations on three false doors showing Djoser performing a ritual run (part of the Heb Sed) and visiting shrines. The east-wall of this room was unfinished.

At least four of the galleries were used as tombs and two of them contained intact alabaster sarcophagi in which a child and a young woman had been buried. Carbon dating has confirmed that the burials were of Djoser´s ancestors. Either the Pharaoh was re-burying them as an act of piety, or his pyramid encroached on an older burial.