Saqqara - Step Pyramid

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lmhotep, who according to Manetho (c. 280 B.C.) devised the method of construction with dressed stone. It is remarkable for the complete mastery of the technique shown even at this early stage in its use.

The Step Pyramid stands some 200ft/60m high, with a base measurement of 397ft/121m by 358ft/109m. It is built of locally quarried clayey sandstone of poor quality. The entrance to the burial chambers, which are below ground level, is on the north side of the lowest step. The chambers and passages in the interior of the pyramid served partly for the burial of close relatives of the King, in particular those of his sons who died in childhood, and partly for storing grave-goods for the use of the dead. Large numbers of costly vessels for foodstuffs were found in these store rooms. Some of the passages and chambers were due to the work of tomb robbers and to later attempts at restoration. Fragments of the King's mummy were found in the main tomb chamber, 92ft/28m below the base of the pyramid. In another chamber constructed at an earlier date the walls were faced with tiles of bluish green faience imitating plaited reed mats (now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo).