Saqqara · The First Pyramid Built of Stone

The Step Pyramid at Saqqara was designed by the architect Imhotep for the pharaoh Djoser, and it is the first pyramid in the world to be built of stone: six steps rising one above another, surrounded by a ring of false doors and colonnades, the columns carved with papyrus and lotus.

Imhotep was later honoured as a god of medicine and a symbol of wisdom. Under the ground here are rows of burial chambers, passages and emptied bull tombs.

The most recent excavation found sealed shaft tombs in recent years. Those who watch the dig say this: there is always still something under the sand.

Historical Mysteries / Saqqara · Egypt / 2650 BC