Through the Eras

Architecture and Designlieve that many of these stored materials came from earliertombs that had been removed from the Saqqaraplateau to make room for Djoser’s complex. Nevertheless,the great wealth stored in the pyramid demonstratesboth the opulence of the king’s life on earth and in thenext world.JUBILEE FESTIVAL (SED) COURT. The Jubilee Festival(sed) Court at Djoser’s complex was conceived asa space where the king’s ka—royal spirit—could celebratethe Jubilee Festival for eternity. Egyptian kingscelebrated the Jubilee Festival (sed) after roughly thirtyyears of rule and then every two years thereafter as longas the king lived. During the festival, the gods of thenomes (Egyptian provinces) visited the king in the formof statues to pledge loyalty to him. The details of theritual remain unknown. The kings of the First Dynastycelebrated this festival, both in life and in the afterlifeat the so-called forts of Kom es Sultan at Abydos. Thereis evidence that kings continued to celebrate this festivalin every period of Egyptian history, but Djoser’scourtyard is the only three-dimensional representationof the physical setting of the festival. The Jubilee FestivalCourt contains non-functional buildings in tworows that face each other across an open space. Thesebuildings housed the spirits of the visiting gods, probablyin the form of statues, during the festival. Thedummy non-functional buildings, built of stone, areonly façades. The stone is carved to resemble buildingsbuilt of woven mats, bundles of reeds, and logs. Insome cases doorways carved in stone appear to be open,but it is impossible to enter any of the buildings. Atthe south end of the open space is a platform reachedby steps. This platform supported the royal thrones,one for Lower Egypt and one for Upper Egypt. Therethe king celebrated the end of the ceremony whereinthe gods officially reconfirmed him as king. Since onlythe spirits of the deceased king and the gods used thisspace, the American archaeologist Mark Lehner suggestedthat workers buried it in sand soon after its construction,though the reason for this is unknown.While living, the king probably celebrated this festivalat the royal palace.PAVILION OF THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH. Twoof the non-functional buildings at Djoser’s complexrepresent the palaces of Upper and Lower Egypt. Theyare called the Pavilion of the North and the Pavilionof the South. They are located near the northeast cornerof the pyramid, not far from the mortuary temple.The two buildings face each other across an open courtyard.Lauer suggested that the two buildings symbolicallyrepresent the palaces Djoser maintained in life asSeated statue of Imhotep. BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART, 08.480.24,CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.the king of Upper Egypt and the king of Lower Egypt.Both buildings are only façades and may have beenburied along with all the dummy buildings in the complexafter completion. These buildings attest to the earliestpolitical division in Egyptian thinking, the divisionbetween Upper and Lower Egypt. The Egyptians oftencalled their country “The Two Lands” (tawy) in referenceto this division. The king was actually regarded asa king of two different places that were combined inhis person.THE SOUTH TOMB. The South Tomb at Djoser’scomplex is located against the center of the southArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 13