The necropolis of Saqqara is located about 15 km to the south-east of the pyramid of Cheops (IV dynasty) in Giza and it covers 7-8 km on the borders of the western desert. Its name comes from the local tribe of the Beni Soqar which settled in the area during the Middle Ages. Throughout Egyptian history it has been one of the most important sectors in the Memphis cemetery. The most significant monument is the “step” pyramid of Djoser of the III dynasty. To the south-west Sekhemkhet decided to build another a gradoni pyramid, even larger than that of his predecessor, but its construction was never completed. It is sometimes called the “burnt pyramid”. An alabaster sarcophagus was found in the burial chamber.

Also the pharaohs of the V dynasty chose Saqqara as burial site, or Abu Sir. The founder of the dynasty, Userkaf, erected his first pyramid near the north-eastern corner of the Djoser belt, Isesi in the southern part of Saqqara, while Unas, the last pharaoh of the dynasty, to the south-west of the Djoser complex.

Also the pyramids of the sovereigns from the VI dynasty are in Saqqara, that of Teti in the northern sector, those of the Pepi I, Merenra and Pepi II in the southern part.

The “large step” pyramid in Djoser (III dynasty) of Saqqara is the most ancient monument of this size completely made of stone in Egypt. The architect of the pharaoh, Imhotep, initially designed a large mastaba, placed at the centre of a large row of walls, with protruding and inset sections, which encloses a surface of about 15 hectares. It is highly likely that the idea was to remind of the “White Wall”, that is Memphis. Along the four sides of the wall 14 false closed doors were built; the only entrance opens up on the south-east corner. From here, a covered passage flanked by 40 fasciculate columns (20 on each side) and a transversal room supported by four pillars lead to a large courtyard. In front of it there is the king’s cenotaph, decorated on the outside by a beautiful cobra frieze.

Subsequent changes to the original project, led to the mastaba developing into a pyramid with six large steps, about 60 m high. The entrance to the underground rooms is on the northern side: through a series of corridors, flanked by several rooms, you reach the burial chamber, located 28 m under the base of the pyramid. There is where some parts of the mummy of Djoser wre found. The numerous secondary rooms were used for the burial of close relatives of the king, more specifically children who had died young, and as warehouses. On the northern side the exception is the funerary temple; nearby a closed cell (serdab in Arabic) contained a limestone statue of the pharaoh sitting on the throne, now on display in the Cairo museum. It has been replaced with a copy. From the eastern side of the large courtyard in front of the pyramid there is an access to the jubilee complex.

The “complex of the jubilee” of the Djoser pyramid reproduced in stone the architectural constructions in perishable materials used for the regeneration feast of the sovereign. In Saqqara, however, they had a purely magical-symbolic purpose and they are therefore false buildings which could be used only by the soul of the defunct pharaoh. The remains of a temple (so-called “T temple”) include only three elegant grooved columns. To the south of the temple a narrow passage leads to an elongated courtyard, on whose side stand chapels with a horizontal or arched covering. Further north, towards the north-eastern corner of the pyramid, two more buildings were erected, also false, almost completely full on the inside. They are the “northern house” and the “southern house”, symbols of the pharaoh’s role as king of Upper and of Lower Egypt.