Saqqara (or
Sakkara, Saqqarah; ) is a vast,
ancient burial ground in Egypt
, serving as
the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis
. Saqqara features numerous pyramids,
including the world famous
Step
Pyramid, as well as a number of
mastabas.
Located some 30 km south of modern-day
Cairo
, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 km by 1.5
km.
At Saqqara, the oldest complete hewn-stone building complex known
in history was built:
Djoser's step pyramid,
built during the
third
dynasty. 16 other Egyptian kings have built pyramids at
Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation or
dilapidation. High officials have added private funeral monuments
to this necropolis during the entire
pharaonic period. It remained an
important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for
more than 3,000 years, well into
Ptolemaic and
Roman times.
North of
the area known as Saqqara lies Abusir
; south lies
Dahshur
. The area running from Giza
to Dahshur has been used as necropolis by the
inhabitants of Memphis at different times, and it has been
designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.
The name Saqqara is possibly derived from
Sokar, an ancient Egyptian funerary god.
History
Early Dynastic
The earliest burials of nobles can be traced back to the
First Dynasty, at the north side of
the Saqqara plateau.
During this time, the royal burial ground was
at Abydos
. The
first royal burials at Saqqara, comprising underground galleries,
date to the
Second Dynasty.
The last
Second Dynasty king Khasekhemwy was
buried in his tomb at Abydos, but also built a funerary monument at
Saqqara consisting of a large rectangular enclosure, known as
Gisr
el-Mudir
. It
probably inspired the monumental enclosure wall around the Step
Pyramid complex. Djoser's funerary complex, built by the royal
architect
Imhotep, further comprises a large
number of dummy buildings and a secondary mastaba (the so-called
'Southern Tomb'). French architect and Egyptologist
Jean-Philippe Lauer spent the greater
part of his life excavating and restoring Djoser's funerary
complex.
Early Dynastic monuments
Funerary complex of Djoser
Old Kingdom
Nearly
all Fourth Dynasty kings
chose a different location for their pyramids
. During the second half of the
Old Kingdom, under the
Fifth and
Sixth Dynasties, Saqqara was again
the royal burial ground. The Fifth and Sixth Dynasty pyramids are
not built of massive stone, but with a core consisting of rubble.
They are
consequently less well preserved than the world famous pyramids
built by the Fourth Dynasty kings at Giza.
Unas, the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, was
the first king to adorn the chambers in his pyramid with
Pyramid Texts. It was custom for courtiers
during the Old Kingdom to be buried in mastaba tombs close to the
pyramid of their king. Clusters of private tombs were thus formed
in Saqqara around the pyramid complexes of Unas and
Teti.
Old Kingdom monuments
- pyramid of king Ibi (Dynasty 8)
Middle Kingdom
From the
Middle Kingdom
onwards, Memphis was no longer the capital of the country, and
kings built their funerary complexes elsewhere. Few private
monuments from this period have been found at Saqqara.
New Kingdom
During the
New Kingdom Memphis
was an important administrative and military centre, second only to
the capital. From the
Eighteenth Dynasty onwards many
high officials built tombs at Saqqara.
When still a general,
Horemheb built a large tomb here, though he
was later buried as Pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings
at Thebes.
Many monuments from earlier periods were still standing, but
dilapidated by this period. Prince
Khaemweset, son of Pharaoh
Ramesses II, made repairs to buildings at
Saqqara.
Among other things, he restored the Pyramid of
Unas
and added an inscription to its south face to
commemorate the restoration. He enlarged the
Serapeum, the burial site of the mummified
Apis bulls, and was later
buried in the catacombs. The Serapeum, containing one undisturbed
interment of an Apis bull and the tomb of Khaemweset, were
rediscovered by the French Egyptologist
Auguste Mariette.
New Kingdom monuments
After the New Kingdom
In the
periods after the New Kingdsom, when several cities in the Delta
served as capital of Egypt, Saqqara remained in use
as a burial ground for nobles. Moreover the area became an
important destination for pilgrims to a number of cult centres.
Acitivities sprang up around the Serapeum, and extensive
underground galleries were cut into the rock as burial sites for
large amounts of mummified ibises, baboons, cats, dogs, and
falcons.
See also
References
External links
, funerary complex of king Sekhemkhet
, funerary complex of king Djoser
, tomb of king Shepseskaf
(Dynasty 4)
of king Userkaf (Dynasty
5)
of king Teti (Dynasty
6)
of king Pepi I
at Leiden, the Netherlands, and in the British
Museum
, London.
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Search
