Where is djoser buried

The pyramid is at the center of a complex 37 acres 15 hectares in size. This complex is surrounded by a recessed limestone wall that contains 13 fake doorways as well as the real colonnade entrance on the southeast side.

A temple lies on the north side of the pyramid along with a statue of the king. To the south of the pyramid lies a great court, with an altar and stones identified as boundary markers. These structures would have served ritual purposes and, curiously, they appear to have been partly buried by their builders, notes Egyptologist Mark Lehner in his book "The Complete Pyramids.

In the southeast side of the complex, next to the dummy chapels, is a court that would have allowed the king to enact the Heb-Sed jubilee festival, presumably in the afterlife. It contains a series of tunnels that mimic those found beneath the pyramid itself. What was buried there is a mystery. This design reflects the ascension of Djoser to the rank of a god. The Djoser Pyramid is found in the Saqqara necropolis, situated in the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.

Strategically situated at the mouth of the Nile Delta, the city served as a commercial, economic and religious hub throughout ancient Egyptian history. It was eventually displaced as the capital when the city of Alexandria was founded in the 4th century BC, but still remains an important historical and archaeological site.

The technological advances of the 18th century meant that Egypt began to attract more and more visitors from across the Mediterranean. In fact, modern Egyptology is thought to have officially begun with the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte in the late s. Rising prominently out of the sands of the desert, the Djoser Pyramid attracted explorers and tourists alike, and the legendary French leader was among them. Along with his soldiers, Napoleon travelled with a team of scholars and scientists who studied and documented the remains of Egyptian culture, their most important find being the Rosetta Stone.

During the subsequent decades, the Djoser Pyramid would become a symbol of this enthusiasm, with countless archaeologists and artists visiting Saqqara to make records of the remains.

In the s, a team of British and French Egyptologists launched the first project to study the site, discovering the intricate complexities of the pyramid complex and uncovering its historical significance as the first of the Egyptian pyramids.

The Djoser Pyramid has appeared again and again in popular culture throughout the millennia that have passed since its construction. During the classical period, stories circulated about the legendary figures of Djoser and Imhotep. Such stories present Imhotep as a powerful magician, whose construction of the great step pyramid was a miraculous work of sorcery. Many centuries later, the phenomenon of the Grand Tour emerged.

This was when elite young men took a year off after their formal education to visit sites of artistic, intellectual and architectural heritage. When these tourists began to travel to the ancient ruins of north Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Djoser Pyramid was a key attraction.

Consequently, there are many drawings, paintings and engravings from this period showing the magnificent monument. In the modern day, the Djoser Pyramid continues to permeate popular imagination, serving as the setting for books and poems published in the 20th century.

American poet Charles Olson uses it as a symbol of mortality:. Notably, the representation of the Egyptian pyramid in the game is actually far more detailed and accurate than many archaeological reconstructions! Over the course of thousands of years, the Djoser Pyramid gradually deteriorated, suffering from the effects of fierce desert winds, looters and general neglect.

In , an earthquake caused even more damage to the internal structure. Despite these challenges, its sturdy foundations kept the Egyptian pyramid standing, but in it was deemed to be at risk of collapse. In the inscription, Djoser asks Imhotep to save the country, a task that Imhotep fullfils. The architect's cult survived till Graeco-Roman times.

Yet, despite the efforts of archaeologists over many decades, Imhotep's tomb has never been found. Or Imhotep's tomb may lay somewhere in North Saqqara, where most well-known tombs of the period are located.

British archaeologist W. Emery searched at North Saqqara and believed the tomb labeled S to be Imhotep's final place of rest. Emery's reasoning was based on that tomb's elaborate system of cult rooms, votive offerings and seal imprints with Djoser's name. But experts also agree the famous mystery tomb could already have been found elsewhere — but never identified because of deterioration and a lack of surviving evidence.

If you ask me, though, I am convinced that the tomb of Imhotep has yet to be discovered. Journey to the West. Tell Edfu. Schools of the Trade. Theban Necropolis. Akhenaten: The Mysteries of Religious Revolution. Sign up for email updates.