Necropolis of Saqqara

The vast necropolis of Saqqara, the cemetery area of ancient Memphis, lies on the edge of the Western (Libyan) Desert, on the west bank of the Nile, some 9mi/15km south of the Pyramid of Cheops. Extending over an area of almost 4.25mi/7km from north to south and 550-1,650yd/500-1,500m from east to west, it contains tombs from almost every period of Egyptian history. The whole necropolis has been repeatedly prospected and plundered from an early period down to modern times, notably under the Byzantine Emperors and the Caliphs. Nevertheless modern scientific excavations, most recently those directed by Walter B. Emery in 1936-56 and by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities since 1965, have still been able to recover much new material which has made important contributions to knowledge.