The Egyptian Pyramids
The Great Pyramid
Introduction
The Step Pyramid is the first known
monumental structure made of stone anywhere in the world. The Step Pyramid Complex of
Djoser (also spelled Zozer) was built during the Third Dynasty (ca. 2800 B.C.) ) for King Djoser
and its construction was overseen by his vizier Imhotep. The Step Pyramid is located in
what is now Saqqara, Egypt, an immense necropolis (cemetery) just south of Cairo and west
of the ancient city of Memphis. It was used as a burial ground for thousands of years.
As its name
suggests, the Step Pyramid is a series of six levels of stone decreasing in size as they
ascend to about 200 feet/60 meters in height. Until this time, mastabas had been the
principal form of pyramid architecture. A mastaba (Arabic for "bench") is a low
rectangular structure which was built over a shaft which descended to a burial location.
The Step Pyramid originally began as a mastaba, and it may have been visualized as a
series of mastaba shapes, decreasing in size, stacked one on top of another. The
four sides of the mastaba were aligned to the compass points through observation of the
heavens.
The diagram shows the three design changes made
during construction of the Step Pyramid.
The first stage is the mastaba, the traditional tomb of the pharaohs.
The second stage is the four step pyramid.
The third stage is enlarged to make a six step pyramid
Djoser's
Step Pyramid then measured 140m EW by 118m NS and was 60m high. The royal tomb is 28m
underground with a vertical shaft leading to it. The entrance was sealed with a 3 ton
piece of granite. The chamber walls have inscriptions that show that it served
as a burial chamber. It also contains offering rooms and most of the other features that
were often found in both earlier and later tombs.
The pyramid was the central part of an intricate complex of buildings and courts. These are surrounded by a massive enclosure wall made of limestone measuring 545m by 277m, originally standing to 10.4m.
The Step pyramid served as a model for later pyramids, including the Great Pyramid.
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Last modified: July 09, 2000