Through the Eras

Architecture and DesignCourt of the serdabChapel of theSouth TombWestern massifsBoundary markersAltarPyramid cut awayto show stages ofconstructionNorthern templeEvidence of rampover northeast cornerof enclosure wallThe South TombThe South CourtColonnade entranceTemple THeb-Sed courtPavilion ofthe SouthPavilion ofthe NorthEnclosure wall withbastions and dummydoorwaysArea north of thepyramid not yetfully clearedDiagram of Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex. CREATED BY GGS INFORMATION SERVICES. GALE.functional elements in the complex were the entrance atthe southeast corner of the enclosure, the pyramid whichserved as a tomb for Djoser, and the Northern templeused for the funeral service. The American archeologistMark Lehner suggested that it is more likely that Djoser’sfuneral procession entered the building over the stillexistingramp at the northeast corner than through thefunctional entranceway at the southeast. None of thepassageways that lead from the southeast entrance to thenorthern temple are wider than one meter (39 inches),so a funeral procession through the complex would bevery difficult. The functional entrance way to Djoser’scomplex is located at the southeast corner of the enclosurewall. This location parallels similar functional entrancesin the southeast corners of the enclosures thatkings of the First and Second Dynasties built at Abydos.Djoser’s entranceway, however, was built of stone carvedto imitate a building built of reeds and wood. A monumentaldoorway leads to a hallway surrounded on bothsides with engaged columns attached to the sidewallspainted green and carved to resemble columns madefrom bundles of reeds. The limestone roof is paintedbrown and carved to resemble logs. Clearly this entrancewayimitates the type of ritual buildings that Egyptiansbuilt of these light materials previous to the ThirdDynasty.THE STEP PYRAMID. The pyramid itself standsslightly off-center in the complex toward the south. Itreaches sixty meters (167 feet) in height in six layers andis the only Egyptian pyramid that has a rectangular baserather than a square base. Lauer interpreted the constructionhistory as a series of additions. The first stageof the building was a square mastaba built in stone.Roughly every three years of Djoser’s nineteen-yearreign, workers added an additional layer. Lauer andGerman archaeologist Dieter Arnold have interpretedthe expansions as gradual, reflecting emerging ideasabout the king’s future in the afterlife. The GermanEgyptologist Rainer Stadelmann, on the other hand, believesthat Imhotep planned the step pyramid shape fromthe beginning. In any case, the shape represented a staircaseto the northern stars. These stars represented thegod Osiris because they never disappear as do stars inother parts of the heavens. Thus they are eternal, likeOsiris. Beneath the Step Pyramid at Djoser’s complexare over 400 rooms connected by tunnels. The totallength of the rooms and tunnels combined is 5.7 kilometers(3.5 miles). The rooms include the king’s burialchamber and a palace to serve as the home for the king’sspirit. The king’s burial chamber was accessed througha vertical shaft in the pyramid that was seven meters(22.9 feet) on each side and reached a depth of 28 meters(91.8 feet), lined entirely in granite. At the bottomof the shaft was a burial chamber lined with four coursesof granite blocks. After the burial, workers lowered a 3.5-ton granite block to block the shaft and prevent futureaccess by robbers. The palace for the king’s spirit, locatedunder the east wall of the pyramid, was lined withlimestone and decorated with relief sculptures. Other areaswere lined with faience tiles arranged to imitate matsmade of reeds. The storage rooms were on the east sideof the pyramid and housed over forty thousand jars,some inscribed with Djoser’s name, but many moremade in earlier times for other kings. Some scholars be-12 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)